A/N Okay, so I'm not sure why this is in italics, but it is. Now, I'm sorry this chapter is so painfully crappy. There's a thunderstorm where I am, and I tried my best to get this chapter up tonight! I swear to god I will make tomorrow's chapter golden! Now, to answer some questions : Damian's coffin ordeal was induced from the fear toxin, I should have made that clearer and I'm sorry ;-; and next chapter will feature Stephanie! :D Review, Suggestions, and Feedback are more than welcome!
"No! I didn't, I killed him, I killed Grayson, he's dead and it's all my fault!"
The screams echoed in the room, and everyone stopped moving. It was like a shot to the heart. Like someone had reached into Dick's chest and grabbed his heart, squeezing it for all he had.
Is that what he feared? Like he would turn out like his mother intended him to be? That he would turn his backs on everyone?
He was going to have one hell of a talk with Talia after this. He let out a rough sigh, and turned back to Jason, who looked at him with...was it worry?
"I'm fine.", Dick silently reassured.
Jason nodded and looked back at the giant keyboard in front of him. Completely unsure of what to do with the seemingly foreign thing.
"If we could cut Damian's voice out, and try and get an idea off other background noises, we might be able to find out where he is, or where he could be."
Dick mentally kicked himself. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"I'm on it,", Tim chimed.
It only took a second or two before the crying ceased, and everything went quiet. It was weird. Dick's ears seemed to have picked up a heartbeat of their own, and when it went quiet, it was like little ice packs on his ear drums. They listened intently for what seemed like minutes, and when Dick was sure they would get nothing out of it there it was. Like a gem, like the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life; a fog horn. It wasn't very loud, but it was all they needed to get his location.
All at once their voices fell in sync.
"Gotham Bay."
When he didn't say anything, his mothers caring face, and gentle smile turned into an ugly grimace. She had clearly seen he wasn't seeing things her way, and if there was anything Talia Ah Ghul couldn't have, it was things not going her way. With her sobbing, distraught child in front of her, she wound back and delivered a hard smack to his face. His head turned with the impact, and the heat on his face was immediate. He stayed like that for a few seconds, replaying the event, before turning his head.
She was gone. Like she had never been there. He was gone too, as well as Dick's body. The only thing now was a coffin. A spotlight hung from seemingly nowhere, and hovered over the coffin. Like it was on display.
Carefully, with shaking hands, he wandered over to the pine box.
He wasn't sure what brought him to it, all he wanted to do was curl up and watch the world disappear, yet here he stood now, his shadow cast on the coffin, beads of sweat pouring from his face.
Damian fell to his bruised knees, and without so much as a second thought, he pushed the lid off the coffin, sending it to the floor with a loud clatter.
In the box, his suit musty and grey lay Bruce Wayne.
The skin had sunken into the bones in his face, and maggots crawled where his eyes once sat. The bile was quicker than he was, and before he could do anything, he threw up all over himself.
He was heaving when a hand landed gently on his shaking shoulder.
"Look at what you've done, Damian,", his father spoke, his voice deep and steady.
"I'm dead now, and it's all your fault. If you hadn't come along everyone would be happy. Alive. You killed me, Damian, and now you have to live with that."
A/N And there we go! Sorry again that this chapter is short and sucky! Tomorrow I will have Stephanie and sobs and explosions! (literally) Uhm, so I wanted to do this half half where I had Damian captured for half and then the BatFam trying to help Damian the other half, so I'm looking at about 10 more chapters. What do you think? Again, if there is anything you'd like to see, just let me know! ~~