Chapter 4
3:07 PM December 28th 2010, Watchtower
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" I yell at Clark.
For Dick and Jasmine's sake, I waited until we had them back to the Watchtower to speak my mind to Superman about what he did. My first priority was getting the two medical attention, especially Jasmine because of the state she is in. Now since we have them back at the Watchtower being worked on in the med bay, I am holding nothing back.
"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED THE GIRL!"
Superman can't look me in the eye. He, Diana and I are in the conference room. Clark is currently sitting in a chair, staring at the floor with a horrified look on his face.
"I…I don't know" Clark stutters. "I was suddenly just so angry, I couldn't control myself."
"You couldn't control yourself" I hiss. "Jasmine has a broken back, leg, ribs, and arm along with several fractures all over her body. Her lung is partially collapsed, not to mention the damage you could have done to her brain from how many times you smashed her head onto brick and cement. She could die because you had a temper tantrum."
Clark takes in a stressed breath. "I can't…I…I can't believe I did that."
"Then why did you" Diana asks harshly. "I literally had to rip you away from the girl, what were you thinking?"
"I wasn't" Clark mutters, half to himself. "When I pinned Urien to the wall, he kept telling me how I wasn't mad at him, but at Jasmine. How I wanted to hurt her for taking Dick away just like how she hurt all of us. He kept saying everything was her fault. All of that just kept running through my head the entire time I attacked her, none of my own thoughts could break through."
"Since when is it a good idea to listen to a villain!" I snarl.
"I wasn't trying to!" Clark exclaims defensively. "Once he started talking, I couldn't stop listening. After he told me I wanted to hurt Jasmine, for some reason I believed him. So I did what he told me to do, smash her around, immobilize her."
"What is wrong with you Clark" I hiss. "You know how lucky you are, that you didn't kill her."
"I know" Clark stutters, guilt dripping from his voice. "You don't think I feel awful about what I did? I do. I don't think I will ever be able to look at myself in a mirror again if she dies. I…I just couldn't think."
"I'd say" Diana snaps. "It took Dick screaming your name to get you to stop. You are also lucky that nobody was around to hear him use your civilian name."
Clark takes in another shaky breath and puts his head in his hands. "How are they doing?" he whispers miserably.
"We don't know" I hiss. "The med bay is still working on both of Richard and Jasmine."
Superman doesn't respond, instead he chooses to stare at the floor again. I can see him mentally beating himself up.
Diana shifts focus, letting Superman sulk. "Do we know if Dick is related to Jasmine yet?"
I shake my head while still glaring at Clark. "The blood work will take a day or two after the med bay begins. Right now though, they are more focused on taking care of the two, not running blood test."
"Did you notice what Sita said to Jasmine about her father."
"That he pays well? Yes. No doubt he was talking about Urien."
Diana sighs, "The poor girl, I could feel Jasmine tense up when he walked in. She was terrified. If what we think is true, that would mean Urien is also Joey's father. Do you think he had anything to do with why Joey hasn't shown up lately?"
"I have no idea, but that is the most likely explanation" I state.
"Should we tell the League everything that has happened?" Diana asks. So far, I have kept Jasmine and Dick's abilities a secret to most of the League. They know Dick has been disguising himself, but they don't know how. The only people who know everything is Clark, Diana, Selina, Alfred and I.
"No" I answer. "Until we figure out how Dick and Jasmine got their abilities, I don't want anyone to find out. There must be a reason Dick kept them a secret from me, and with everything that has been going on it is obvious having any knowledge about it is dangerous. Plus we still don't know what exactly this all is."
Diana nods and thinks for a while. She frowns and says "Do you think Urien also has some unusual abilities?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Dick and Jasmine's are quite different. Dick is a shape shifter, where Jasmine can levitate objects. Maybe Urien also has some powers, except its more mental" Diana explains. "Remember when he was talking to Jasmine in the garage footage. It sounds exactly like what he did to Clark."
"Don't make excuses for me Diana" Clark mumbles.
"I'm not" Diana says. "Think about it. At the garage Jasmine was almost in a trance just like Clark was at the restaurant. It took a mental or physical slap for both of them to snap out of it and return to normal. The only difference is Jasmine was somehow fighting it."
The conference room's doors bang open. A red blur enters the room and suddenly Flash is standing before us. "I just got your message. You really found him? Robin's back?"
I give Clark and Diana a look, telling them to drop our previous conversation. I need to take Diana's theory under consideration, it does make sense. Looking back to the speedster I answer "Yes. He is in the med bay along with Jasmine."
"Are they okay?"
"No!" I exclaim to the idiotic question. "If they were okay, why would they be in the med bay?"
"Well what happened?"
Glancing at Clark, I see he is still in shock from his actions. "Urien showed up and a fight broke out. We will explain everything at the next League meeting."
Clark gives me a grateful smile, I glare back. Until we figure out what happened to make Clark do what he did, the events of the fight will not be released to the League. It would hurt more than help at the moment.
-6 hours later-
I sit by Dick's bedside. His head is laying on the pillow in a way so his bruised face is looking at me. The med bay released him about an hour ago, having patched up his injuries. They also took him off the anesthesia, so hopefully he will wake soon.
Selina and Alfred arrived not too long after I called saying Dick was back. We waited together in a sitting room for hours, until the med bay said we could visit him. Ever since, all three of us have stayed by Dick's bedside and aren't planning on leaving any time soon. So far Clark, Diana, Barry, Wally, Roy and a few other Leaguers have visited. Some are staying in the residential area until Dick wakes up.
Jasmine hasn't been released yet since she had many more serious injuries. Dick only had a few fighting wounds, a couple fractured bones from falling onto the roof, and cuts from the broken glass he and Jasmine flew through. The med bay said he should recover after much sleep. Apparently the reason Dick collapsed on the roof was because his body is suffering from extreme exhaustion.
Staring at the sleeping small boy, a number of emotions flow through me. Fear for his health, relief to finally have him back, and many more. I am beyond concerned about what will happen once Dick does wake up. Will he be angry? Will he try to run again? Will he even talk to me?
It is now that I finally have to accept the reality of Dick's disappearance. Sure I knew he was gone, but I had never accepted how. I had always blamed the mysterious girl he left with, claiming she kidnapped my son because it was easier to digest than admitting the truth. But now I have to face the fact that Dick left by his own free will. I had always made sure to tell others that Dick left willingly, but nobody, including me accepted the fact. Now when Dick wakes up, I will have to ask him why he ran off. Why he kept running. Why he hid secrets from me before he left. I am terrified to ask those questions, knowing the answers will most likely be hard to hear.
For now though, I am just glad to have my son back. The difficulties coming up soon don't matter right now. All I care about, I the fact that my baby bird is home.
8:56 AM December 30th 2010, Watchtower
Jasmine hasn't awakened since she got out of surgery. Dick has woken up a few times, but only for a couple seconds. He sits up, coughs or gasps for a tiny bit, then immediately falls back asleep. Both of the teens are healing at incredible rates.
Almost all of Dick's cuts and bruises are gone, not even the shadows of them are left. His ribs and arm are still broken, but x-rays show that they have healed a great deal already. The same goes for Jasmine, although she still has a long road to recovery left. The med bay set her bones, which are healing pretty quickly. Like Dick, almost all of her cuts and bruises have disappeared. When we checked on her bullet wound from a couple weeks ago, that has completely healed, leaving not even a small scar. Jasmine has a concussion, which I was only glad of because it could have been much worse. Right now they are both considered to be in comas, but at the rate they are healing that could change soon. All any of us can do is wait for Richard and Jasmine to wake.
The rate of their healing, while a blessing, makes everyone uneasy. Dick was always a quick healer, but not like this. Injuries that would take a normal person days or weeks to recover from, are almost fully healed after a couple days.
I have tried to spend some time in Jasmine's room, but it is hard for me to be away from Dick's side for any period of time. I desperately want to be there when he wakes and remains conscious. Selina and Diana spend enough time in Jasmine's room that I don't feel as if she is alone. After finding out about the girl's past and discovering she may have been trying to protect Dick; Diana, Selina, Clark, Alfred and I have started to develop some kinder feelings towards her. There is still much doubt, but we have seen enough evidence to believe Jasmine is not the horrible kidnapper we have been imagining.
One event that gave me and especially Clark a great deal of comfort, happened yesterday when Young Justice visited. The team met Wally and Roy here, then as a group visited Robin. I mentally slapped myself when Artemis exclaimed "Richard Grayson!?" I had forgotten to put a mask on Dick. It didn't take long for M'gann, Connor, Kaldur and Artemis to figure out who I was after that. The team spent a couple hours sitting around Dick's bedside before deciding to see Jasmine. Most of them were against the idea, holding a grudge against her for taking Dick. Superman, Wonder Woman and I have tried explaining to the League that Jasmine may not be the villain we originally thought she was, but nobody seems to believe us. Connor eventually convinced the group to visit the girl.
To say the least, it was an awkward visit at first. The group filed into the room slowly, then most proceeded to glare at the comatose girl, all except the mentors, Aqualad, and Superboy. Superman had to excuse himself after only a minute, guilt overtaking him. It has been a hard couple days for the man of steel.
Curious, Superboy walked up to Jasmine's bedside to get a better look at her. Her face was mostly covered by breathing tube and hair. Connor tried brushing the girl's hair out of the way. The moment he touched her, Jasmine began to fight the breathing tube. It had been a traumatic experience to watch, but it meant that Jasmine was now breathing on her own. The team was rushed out of the room while the medical personnel helped Jasmine.
Young Justice then asked if they could stay at the Watchtower until Robin and Jasmine wake up. After much debate amongst the League, we decided to allow the teens to stay as long as they remained within certain parts of the tower and didn't cause problems.
A shuffling sounds from the bed. I stand from my chair and walk over to the sleeping boy. Slowly, Dick's eyes begin to open and look around the room.
"Dick?" I say.
He doesn't notice me, not fully awake to be able to comprehend his surroundings. It takes a while before Dick is lucid enough to function. He spots me
"Bruce?"
I smile, relief flooding through me. "Yes Dick. It's me. How are you feeling?"
"Fine" Dick says while attempting to sit up. "Where..." he coughs. "Where is Jasmine? How bad did Clark hurt her?"
"She is in the other room recovering" I explain. "She is pretty beat up but is healing quickly." Dick doesn't seem fazed by this, as if he already knew the answer. "Dick" I continue. "What is going on? How are you and Jasmine healing so quickly?"
Dick shakes his head "I can't tell you."
"I will help you, protect you from whatever this is Dick. You and Jasmine. Just tell me what is going on. Remember our promise all those years ago. You can tell me any problem and I will take care of it" I practically plead.
"You can't do anything about this Bruce" Dick wheezes.
"I can make sure Urien stays away from you" I state.
"No!" Dick hoarsely yells, causing him to cough. "You will get hurt."
"I don't care what happens to me as long as you are okay."
"You don't understand" the boy implores. "As long as I'm here, the entire League is in danger. He'll find us. You need to let me and Jasmine go. Stop looking for us. Please, I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."
Selina's POV
He looks so small in the bed. Dick's always been tiny for his age, but never has he seemed small to me. Bags from exhaustion are sitting under his eyes which watch me walk into the room.
I was visiting the still sleeping Jasmine when Bruce told me Dick had woken up. He also told me that Dick refuses to tell him anything about what is going on. I am the first person to see Dick since.
"Hey kitten" I say gently. "How are you feeling?"
Dick smirks, "Completely aster."
I let out a small laugh and sit in a chair next to the bed. "So what have you been up to lately" I ask, trying to make it sound like a joke.
Dick raises his eyebrow at me and answers with little humor in his voice "Road trip."
Sighing, I beg "Please Dick. Tell me what is going on. How were you able to shape shift?"
"I can't tell you Selina" he says after taking in a deep breath.
Brushing the hair from his face, I joke "You need a haircut."
Dick smiles, "Thought I'd grow it out. Told Jas I wanted to grow a mullet; she called me an idiot."
"Smart girl" I laugh, while trying to tame the boy's unruly hair. "We found some files on her you know. Apparently her brother was part of a mob in England."
The smile on Dick's face drops to a frown, "Yeah, I know about Joey."
I pause, "You also know I still keep in contact with people from my past. Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, the Riddler; I still talk to them." Dick nods his head. "I am used to criminals. Dick, whatever trouble you or Jasmine are in, you can tell me. I won't judge you or think any less of you."
"That isn't what worries me Selina" Dick states.
"If this Jasmine got you in trouble with…"
"She's not like that" he snaps defensively. He frustratedly sighs and stares at the ceiling, "None of this is her fault."
"What isn't her fault?" I ask gently.
Dick doesn't respond. He just keeps staring at the ceiling. I don't know how long I sit by his bedside, waiting for an answer that won't come. Eventually I sigh and get up from my chair.
Leaving the room, I stop in the doorway. Looking back at the bedridden boy I say "I'm glad you're back baby bird."
"Aren't I a bit big to be a baby?"
"You're always going to be my and Bruce's baby bird."
Dick smirks.
Wally's POV
I walk into the recovery room and exclaim "Hey Rob!" excited to see my best friend awake. After what Batman and Selina told me, I figured it would be better to talk to Rob more lightheartedly, then after a long while ease into asking questions.
"Hey Wally" Dick smiles as I walk in.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Roy yells, storming into the room behind me. Oh geez. Well, there goes my plan.
"Around" Dick gulps quietly, knowing Roy isn't really listening.
"WE HAVE BEEN WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU! YOU JUST DISAPPEAR AND NOT TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU'RE GOING! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD EVERYONE HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU!"
"Back off Roy" I snap. "He's hurt, you can yell at him when he's fully recovered."
Roy sends me a glare, "If he stays here that long. You heard what Batman said." Roy turns to Dick, "Apparently you are planning on running again."
Dick ignores the comment, "Have either of you seen Jasmine? How is she doing?"
"Fine" Roy hisses. "Who is she anyway? You are way too young to run off with a girlfriend."
Trying to lighten the mood, I joke "I would. A cute one you got there Dicky."
"She's not my girlfriend" Dick says humorlessly.
"Then do you mind if Roy takes a shot at her?" I joke again.
"What the hell Wally!" Roy exclaims.
"What? You've been grumpy lately. Besides you know you wanna try. But just so you know, Superboy's got a head start and I think Kaldur is coming up with a plan to talk to her when she wakes up."
"That girl kidnapped your best friend!" Roy snarls at me.
Dick interjects "Jasmine didn't kidnap me. I hate how you all say that."
Roy and I pause, digesting what he just said. Everybody knows deep down that Jasmine isn't completely to blame for Dick's leave; but it was easier to think she was.
"Why did you leave?" I ask Dick.
He lets out an irritated breath and says "Like I said to everyone else. I can't tell you."
"Bull!" Roy exclaims.
"How is Jasmine doing?" Dick asks before we can say anything about the previous subject.
"She hasn't woken up from her coma yet" I answer. "But she started breathing on her own yesterday when the team visited. Really freaked Superboy out when she started fighting her breathing tube."
"You were there when it happened?"
"Yeah. Supes went to push hair out of her eyes and suddenly she started choking."
A look of deep thought appears on Dick's face. "Where is he now?"
"Probably checking on the devil" Roy growls.
"Hey! Don't call her that" Dick yells angrily. Roy and I are a bit taken back by his protectiveness of the girl.
"Sorry" Roy mumbles trying to calm the healing boy.
"He just meant that Connor has been checking up on both of you a lot" I explain. "Since the team hasn't been allowed to see you since you've woken up, he is probably in her room."
"Why?" he asks confused.
"Well, he says it's because he's curious about her. But we all think Connor's got a bit of a crush."
"Doesn't that bother M'gann?"
"Yes but you see…well…" I scratch the back of my neck. "They kind of broke up. A lot has changed since you left Dicky."
"Yeah, Walls here got a girlfriend" Roy adds. I send him a glare.
"Artemis?"
I turn to the boy wonder in shock, "How did you know?"
"Was there anyone who didn't see that coming?" Dick rolls his eyes.
"He's got a point Wall" Roy smirks. He and Dick begin chuckling.
"Shut up" I whine at my friends.
After the two are finished laughing, a heavy silence fills the room. For a second it had felt as if things were back to normal and we were just hanging out at one of the manors or my house. Now reality is settling back into focus again, and it sucks. The three of us stare at each other, hating the secrets that have formed between us.
"So if she's not your girlfriend, why did you leave with her?" I ask.
Dick looks at him with a sad expression, "To keep you all safe."
"It's not your job to keep us safe" Roy states. "Sorry to break it to you Dick, but I'm the oldest. It's my job to take care of your two."
"Since when is it only…" Dick begins to protest.
"Since that's how brothers work" I answer.
Bruce's POV
3:11 PM January 2nd 2011, Watchtower
The blood work is back; it is now safe to say that Jasmine is Dick's sister.
I wasn't shocked by the discovery, I don't think anyone was. Over the past few days, everybody including me had at some point accepted the inevitable truth. When we only had pictures of the girl, it was hard to ignore the resemblance. Seeing them in person next to each other, it is impossible.
Dick has been hovering over Jasmine's bed ever since he decided he was fine to walk. The medical personnel had told him not to get out of bed, but of course Dick didn't listen. He has also taken to falling asleep on the couch in her room, not intending on leaving until she wakes up.
I have tried desperately to get Dick to tell me anything. I have sent in Selina, Alfred, Diana, Clark (didn't go too hot), Wally, Roy, Young Justice, anyone who he might talk to. Young Justice has taken residence at the Watchtower in hopes that if they stay close Robin will confide in them. But Dick won't let any information slip, insisting that he can't tell us. When I mentioned that we knew he and Jasmine are siblings, he still refused to leak any information.
I take in a deep breath before slowly opening the door to Jasmine's recovery room. Dick is laying back in a chair next to the girl's bed. He turns to look at me as I enter.
"Hey" Dick greets sleepily.
Not saying a word, I pull a chair up in front of him. As I sit down, I pull out the document I just got from the med lab and hand it to Dick. He takes it and begins reading the paper with a confused expression. Slowly Dick's expression changes to a blank one as he reads.
When he finally finishes, Dick asks unemotionally "Does anyone in the League know yet?"
"Yes, unfortunately Wally got to the results before I did."
"How did he know you were doing this test when you didn't even tell me?" Dick snaps. I expected him to be upset.
"Everyone has been suspicious since the first time we saw Jasmine's face. Your team assumed that we would run the test and have been taking turns waiting in the lab for the results" I explain. "Wally just so happened to be the one there when the test finished."
"Blabbermouth" Dick mumbles under his breath before glaring at me "You shouldn't have ran the test in the first place. It's an invasion of privacy."
"It was a necessary piece of information that you have been unwillingly to tell us."
"Because it's none of your bui…"
"Don't even try" I stop him. "It is definitely my business. You are my business. Why didn't you or anyone from the circus say anything about Joey or Jasmine when I took you in?"
Dick's head drops so he is staring at his hands. "I didn't know I was related to them back then."
"When did you?" Instead of responding, Dick bites his lip, thinking. After a long time passes with still no answer, I say "Dick, when did you find out about having siblings." He doesn't say anything. "Richard, I want to help. But to do that, you need to answer my questions."
Shaking his head, Dick whispers "I can't."
"Why not?" I ask crossly.
"You can't know" Dick pleads. "Don't you see, I'm trying to protect you."
"From what? Urien? Please, tell me what trouble you're in?"
Dick shakes his head dejectedly and sighs, "No. Dad please, let me go. I've already lost my first parents, I can't let you die too."
That conversation is why I am currently in a Justice League meeting right now. After Urien destroyed the restaurant building, the League now considers Jasmine and Dick to be of greater interest and are insisting on being more involved. Wonder Woman, Superman and I still haven't told anyone except Alfred and Selina about the two's powers. But the League does know that Urien is after the two teenagers.
"Batman" Black Canary says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What are your thoughts?"
"On what?"
"Urien's lack of activity lately" she answers annoyed.
"I don't have any."
"Seriously, he tried to capture Robin and the girl" Oliver stresses.
"And they are now safe in the med bay" I state. "Urien can't get to them so he doesn't have a reason to attack anywhere on earth. It is a simple explanation."
"Do we know why Urien is after the two?" Hawkman asks.
Superman, Wonder Woman and share a glance. We are the only three who know about Jasmine's, and now Dick's paternal heritage. The League has seen the DNA results showing Dick and Jasmine's relationship, but they have no reason to suspect the connection to Urien yet. The reason Diana, Clark and I don't want to reveal that, is because it may lead to revealing Jasmine and Dick's powers. When I approached Dick with our suspicions about Urien, he only stared at the wall blankly.
"No" Barry answers. "Robin refuses to give us any information."
"Because you are all being too nice about asking" Captain Atom remarks.
"Excuse me?" I glare at the hero.
"You have all been babying Robin since he has woken. Everyone who has gone in to talk to him have asked him to be cooperative, none putting any actual pressure on him."
"What kind of pressure are you suggesting?" Superman asks, also giving Atom a softer glare.
"It is time for the boy to be interrogated" Captain Atom declares.
"Interrogated! He isn't a criminal!" I snarl.
"He is keeping secrets from the League and his own team" Atom reasons. "Secrets that has caused many people to be injured and numerous buildings destroyed. You all need to look past the fact that this is Robin. If this were some other prisoner being uncooperative, everyone in this room would have taken a turn at interrogation."
"My son is not a prisoner" I growl.
Atom gives me exasperated look. "Not only one, but three members of the League had to go retrieve the boy and bring him to the Watchtower. He is staying here against his will and plans to leave without giving us any information. Put that into perspective."
"Robin is fourteen and is in way over his head with a horrible situation" I defend. "He isn't some villain going around killing people."
"Atom has a point Batman" Red Tornado states. I send him a glare, but he continues. "We can't let anyone else get hurt because Urien is trying to capture the two teenagers."
I inwardly sigh, knowing they are right. We were lucky there were only a couple minor injuries in Las Vegas. If the building hadn't evacuated so quickly, there would have been many more injuries or even some deaths. Clark had also said there were quite a few people injured after the fight at the auto shop.
"Let me talk to Robin" I say.
"Batman, we have all tried…" Black Canary begins.
I cut her off "Let me talk to him one more time. If Robin refuses to tell me anything, you can interrogate him."
She nods. The League watches as I get up and leave the room. I head down the hall towards the medical bay, passing Wally, Kaldur and Artemis.
"Hey Bats, how did the meeting go?" Wally asks. "Is Superman still here, we have something to tell him."
"He is still in the meeting" I answer. "I left early to talk to Robin."
"Oh, we just left from there" Wally says. "Rob's in Jasmine's room; she's awake."
"What!" I question. "How long?"
Kaldur answers, "Well she's not fully awake. A few of us visited her when your meeting started. She has been in and out of consciousness ever since. That is actually what we were going to tell Superman."
"You didn't think to tell me?" I ask gruffly.
The two boys have a quick look of panic while Artemis shrugs and answers "Superman asked us to keep him updated, you didn't. Besides we're telling you now."
I glare at the sarcastic girl, she has obviously been spending a lot of time with Roy. He is usually the one of the only heroes with the guts to smart off to me.
"When was the last time she woke up?" I ask.
"Dick had asked us to leave about half an hour ago. She had just woken up then." Kaldur explains.
The sickening feeling I had on November sixth returns. Something isn't right; Dick has not so far asked anyone to leave the recovery rooms since he woke up. No matter how much someone has pestered him with questions or tried to guilt the truth out of him, Dick hasn't asked anyone to leave. The gut-wrenching feeling that I had the day Dick first left is back.
I run to the med bay, leaving the confused teenagers behind. As I get closer to the recovery rooms, the feeling intensifies. Not again, this can't be happening again. How could Young Justice leave Dick alone when they know he was planning to do this?
I reach Dick's room first. Opening the door, I see there is nobody inside. I wasn't expecting there to be, the teens had told me Dick was last seen in Jasmine's room. Stepping over to the room next door, the feeling is overwhelming. I pause and stare at the door, not wanting to see what I know is true. The door feels as if it weighs a thousand pounds when I push it open. Inside the room is exactly what I expected.
An empty bed, but this time there isn't even a note.