Yaaaay! After forever and forever and FOREVER, here is part two of the three-shot, "ABUSE"
You may hate me for this chapter, just sayin'.
WARNINGS: child abuse (and some of my own opinions upon religion, which you can ignore if you want- but much more so in the next chapter)
disclaimer: me. no. own. yj. or jl. duh.
Roy groaned, turning over in bed and pulling his pillow over his face, as if that would make his cell phone stop ringing.
I like big butts and I cannot lie, you otha' brotha's can't deny- when a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist-
The archer grabbed his cell phone and snapped it open. "Can I help you?"
"R-Roy?"
Roy's eyes grew wide, and he sat up in his dirty bedroom. A stray pizza box fell off of his bed, two or three pieces falling onto the floor. His TV- off permanently, or at least until he paid his bill- was covered in dust and surrounded by random movies from the eighties. His ceiling fan squeaked as it went round and round, although it was still muggy in the bedroom. Several worn, second-hand college textbooks sat around next to dirt-stained socks and ripped jeans.
"Dick? It's almost three in the morning-"
"I- I need you... R-Roy, please come."
With a shock, the red-head realized that Richard had been crying.
"What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay-"
"I- Bruce and- and Jason were fighting... I- I accidentally-"
Roy swore. "Did they hit you?"
There was only silence on the other end.
"Richard John. Did. They. Hit. You?"
"...Yeah..."
The thirteen-year-old's voice sounded so terrified, so hurt- Roy was getting scared. He quickly jumped out of bed and donned the nearest pair of jeans and a random, stained undershirt. "Stay there, Dick. I'm coming to get you and Blaine. Pack your stuff-"
"Roy-"
"Now, Richard."
A slight sob came from over the line, and Roy winced as he slipped on boots and a heavy coat. "I'm coming, Dick. Get Blaine and lock yourself in your room."
"It was an accident-"
"Do it. Now. I'll be there in ten minutes, alright?"
"O-Okay..."
Roy hung up, grabbing his bow and quiver and slinging them across his back before he grabbed the keys to the Cherry, or the small and beat-up red car that Wally had dubbed oh-so-kindly. Slamming his door, earning shouts from many neighbors, Roy slid down the bannister and darted out the door. In moments, he had started his car and was on the road to Gotham.
…
Blaine bolted up the stairs, right after Richard. She threw herself into her own room and shut and locked the door before collapsing onto her bed. She grabbed a zebra pillow and sobbed into it.
In the past several years, Blaine's room had changed much. Instead of princesses and pink, the walls were now dark red and black, the floorboards and ceiling a light gray. Her four-posted bed was decorated with blood-red pillows and black sheets, along with a zebra pillow Richard had gotten her two years before, on her thirteenth birthday.
The blonde lost track of time as she wept, completely exhausted and panicked. She supposed it hadn't been long when a knocking came to her door. It was soft and shy, a light rap in the night.
Barbara and Alfred wouldn't have let Jason or Bruce come to see her, so it was either Terrence or Richard. Probably the prior, since Richard had locked himself away before.
"Terry?" she asked quietly, opening the door slowly to see-
"Dick?"
The ebony-haired teen quickly slunk inside the room, and Blaine saw a napsack on his back. "Wh-What?"
"I called Roy. He's coming to get us."
Tear-tracks were on the younger's face, but he tried to stay strong as Blaine shivered. "R-Right. I-I'll grab my s-stuff, I guess..."
It wasn't a surprise to Blaine that Dick had called Roy. She could still remember way back when, on their first mission as 'heroes', how he had been so overprotective.
Robin bent over, and Sparrow rolled on his back, coming out with a high-kick that knocked out the Brazilian man. The soldiers were all shouting in Brazilian, confusing the two junior-partners.
But they weren't called the Tandem Twins for nothin'!
Actually, they weren't called the Tandem Twins, as much as Robin thought that would be amazingly awesome!
As he stabbed his bow-staff into the damp soil, using it to kick down a guard, Robin turned to Sparrow. "Hey, Spar?"
"Yeah?" she grunted, knocking out two men with her nun-chucks.
"This is fun, isn't it?"
She high-kicked another guard, landing in a crouch. She grinned at Robin, her nose scrunching up like a rabbit. It was actually kind of cute. "Yeah, Rob- BEHIND YOU!"
A heavy fist knocked Robin face-first into the soil.
Sparrow was about to dart over, but the hilt of a knife hit her solar plexus, making the girl gasp.
Suddenly, two neon green arrows hit over both attackers. Speedy darted over, downing the last two guards. He immediately crouched over and pulled both kids up. He ran his hands down Robin's arms, then over his chest, checking for injuries. He turned and did the same for Sparrow. "You guys alright?"
They nodded in unison.
BlackHawk ran over and saw Speedy talking to the kids. Suddenly, the fourteen-year-old stood and rounded on the other vigilante, his face furious. "I thought your were supposed to protect your family?"
BlackHawk snarled fiercely, "They can hold their own!"
"Obviously!"
The two had gone on to arguing before Robin had stopped them. And, really, who could resist an eight-year-old little boy in a cape and boots? Not Roy and Jason..
But... Jason had changed. He was so different, now. He was fiercer with their enemies, almost beating them to death.
He was transforming, and not in a good way.
Blaine snapped her backpack shut, turning to her little brother. He was looking at his cell phone, a sad frown on his face. "Roy's out fron-"
"HARPER! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
"-nt."
"Crap."
The two darted out of Blaine's room and down the steps to see Roy, fuming with steam practically lifting out of his ears, standing behind Alfred, who was looking rather dejected and angry at the same time. "Master Bruce! I insist that you either calm down or leave the Manor this instant!"
Wow. Alfred was kicking Bruce out?
Crap.
Bruce glared at Roy, but the archer wasn't looking at him. His eyes were locked on Blaine and Richard, the latter of which had drying blood all the way down from his blackening eye to his chin. Blaine, too, had a scratch, but Roy was assuming that was from patrol. Barbara stood in the kitchen, pulling a robe around her shoulders as she shivered- but not from the cold. Terrence was sitting on the couch, having transferred himself earlier, and was gritting his teeth as he tried to change back to his chair, pain shooting up his spine.
Roy's eyes flit over to the seventeen-year-old, and he saw the flash of pain in his eyes.
"I'm taking Blaine and Dick. Terry can come, too, if he wants."
Terrence's head snapped up, but a bit too fast as a burning sensation went through his neck. He hissed as the pain went down to his spine, and Alfred was instantly in action. He ran over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out Terrence's pills, giving two to the youth and handing the bottle to Roy. "Of course-"
"Alfred," Bruce growled, about to protest. But, the butler ignored him as he took Blaine and Richard's bags and stalked out to the Cherry. Roy helped Terrence into his wheelchair and then grabbed Blaine and Richard gently, turning to Barbara. She nodded, tears in her eyes, and mouthed, 'Go'.
Roy nodded in return before dragging the three younger teens out to the car. He ordered Richard and Blaine to get in the back and buckle up, while he helped Terrence into the passenger side.
Roy exchanged a few words with Alfred, which the three couldn't hear- or at least chose not to hear.
Then, the archer slipped into the driver's seat and sat there, motionless. Finally, he spoke. "Anyone want ice-cream?"
"It's freezing outside, literally."
Roy glanced at Terrence before saying, "Hot chocolate?"
Blaine shivered and grabbed Richard's hand tightly. Roy mentally slapped himself. Of course, thinking about hot chocolate would make them think about Alfred.
Roy pulled out of the drive, towards the iron gates, his grip on the steering wheel making his knuckles turn white. "Right. How about chili?"
…
There were many things that Oliver Queen had seen in his life. Many sad things, many happy things. There were several things Oliver Queen had experienced in life. Many good things, many bad things. One of the things he hadn't been expecting to see was his son on his penthouse doorstep at three in the morning with two injured children and a teen in a wheelchair.
The billionaire's eyes widened, and he tightened the sash of his green, silken robes, suddenly wishing he wore pants to bed that night. It had been the incessant knocking that woke him up, making him crawl like a zombie to the door.
"Roy? Dick, Blaine, Terry? What's going on?"
Roy was scowling deeply, his hands on either of the youngest teens' shoulders. "Got any leftover chili?"
Oliver paused a moment, one eyebrow cocked to the air. "Uh... yeah... I think I'll go... warm some up?" It was much more of a question, rather than a statement. The underlying question was more intense, but Oliver could see the shock in all four sets of eyes, so he decided to wait until he pried.
"Come in," the man said warmly, smiling invitingly, bringing his hand back. Terrence wheeled in first, his back still stinging from the stress. He made his way through the main hallway, towards the obvious living room. Richard and Blaine followed, the boy shivering and rubbing goosebumps from his arms, the girl biting tears from her eyes, her lower lip quivering. Still in the front doorway, Oliver turned to Roy as he shut the door.
"What is going on?" he hissed, eyes widening further in his confusion.
"Long story short, Bruce hit Dick."
That froze the blonde in his tracks. Bruce would never- No. There must be some kind of a misunderstanding.
"I know what you're thinking, Ollie," Roy said with a sigh, rubbing his temples, eyes closed tight. "But it happened. We need a first aid kit, if you hadn't seen the blood all over Dick's face. Thanks."
Oliver bit back a growl as his son brushed past him. He just needs something to take his anger out on... Me- right.
When he arrived in the living room, Oliver saw Terrence already flipping through the TV stations, desperate for a distraction. Richard was fiddling with his wrist-top computer, most likely reading blogs or hacking into some high-tox facility for fun. Blaine, meanwhile, had forced Roy to sit down in Oliver's favorite recliner. She was nudging her small body into the crook of his side, pulling his arm around her back. Roy planted a small kiss on her head, his eyes on his dad.
"I'll start the chili."
…
By seven that morning, all three were asleep. Blaine took the guest room, and Terrence and Richard shared Roy's old room. The older teen took the couch, set on skipping school the next morning.
Oliver was already up, having already gotten at least six hours of sleep the night before. He was changing into his usual outfit: day-suit pants, a crisp dress shirt and jackets, and leather Gucci shoes. He quickly gelled back his hair, shaving his stubble but avoiding his goatee and mustache. Once that was done, he put in his contacts and grabbed his hide-away bow, hooking it onto his belt loop and shoving it down his pocket. With a heavy sigh, the man grabbed up the keys to his Porsche GT and headed towards the garage.
The sun was peaking, shining happy rays over the city. But, Oliver could only feel melancholy at the moment. He really didn't want to do what he needed to do. Then again, that's life- right? At least I got to see Roy out of it all...
The whole way, Oliver found himself readjusting and readjusting his grip on the steering wheel from too much sweat. Why was he so scared? Actually, he knew why he was scared.
He was about to confront the Bat.
Actually, he was about to confront the Bat about his parenting.
Crap.
…
The night was thick, but not only because of the atmosphere. The February air was sad and aggressive, biting at Jason's neck as he walked. He had grabbed a coat and shoved it on, but forgot a scarf. He wore sandals, certainly not great for the slushy snow. He had gotten far in the past two hours, walking aimlessly past Gotham's high streets and onto the outskirts. It took him a minute to realize he had already walked far past the city outskirts. He didn't know where he was headed.
Looking up at the sky, Jason saw the moon was going down. He wiped snot from his nose with his wrist, hands stuck in his coat pockets. His toes were turning blue, and his cheeks were frozen with the tear-track stains on them. Just beyond the horizon, the young man could see a yellow sun rising gently. He shivered as its warmth barely touched his face and half-frozen toes.
He didn't know where he was headed.
He just knew he wasn't going back to the Manor.
…
Alfred paused at the study doorway, waiting for his master to say something. Bruce had been sitting there since Jason stormed off after Roy left, still in his pajamas, still with blood on his cheek and busted knuckles, bruises from patrol and his fight with his son.
His son.
Silent tears ran down Bruce's cheeks, and his shoulders shook lightly. He could remember so much. So, so much. From when he took in that scrawny thirteen-year-old from Juvenile Hall, to his high-school graduation, to when he showed up on his father's doorstep, engaged. Who knew where the heck Coraline was now- if that was even her name... Who knew where anyone was, anymore? Bruce didn't know where any of his children were- save Barbara. She was up in her room. She was only staying with them for a week more, until she had to get back to college.
Bruce didn't want her to leave on a bad note.
He hadn't wanted Jason to leave at all.
"My son..." he whispered to himself, a rasp on his lips. "What have I... oh, God. Alfred," he spoke a little louder now. "Alfred, what do I do?"
The butler sighed, eyes sad but smiling all the same. "Where would you start, Master Bruce? I do not know. Although I would start with repentance."
Yaaaay! Terrible writing for the WIN!
watching 'COPS' with my mom. lol. these people can be soooo stupid...
JASON- will he be in the next chapter? will he return home?
BARBARA- will Barbara leave on a good note? will she leave at ALL?
RICHARD- will Richard forgive Bruce and Jason?
BLAINE- will Blaine be able to put her fears of her biological dad behind her, and let Bruce in?
OLIVER- will Bruce become a murderer when his parenting skills are questioned?
READ ON!