{the rattled talon}
-No shock is so violent as a loss of equilibrium-
He was awoken to the chilly bite of ice-cold water splashing against his face. He opened his eyes, unsure when he had been knocked out, and he looked between the angry faces before him, his body rejecting to frigid temperature. He blinked rapidly, his mind feeling numb, and he tried to think. Damian had gotten away. That was the good thing. That was the only thing that really mattered at that point. Except now I don't have anyone to kill me, he thought glumly, sinking into himself under the scowls of his two abductors. One was a woman, curvaceous and clad in armor that bared her midriff, hugging her hipbones and crawling up, covering her breasts with a thick plate. Her hair was red as flame, tumbling to her waist in twisted, unruly curls. The other was a man in a bright red suit whose face was masked by a cowl.
"Wakey, wakey, buddy," the man said, his arms folded. "You've got a lot to tell us."
Dick felt handcuffs biting his wrists. He could slip them easily, but he didn't want to run. He was curious. He looked up at the two of them, his eyes wide and inquisitive. He crossed his legs, resting his cuffed hands in his lap, and said nothing. Instead, he merely stared, and watched the man's lips twist in confusion. The woman looked at him, and Dick noted that her eyes were nothing but glowing green light.
"We do not want to hurt you," the woman said, her voice smooth and strange. Accented, almost. She grasped him by the front of his suit and lifted him into the air with one hand, her other hand glowing as green as her eyes, emerald sparks spitting into the air and sailing downwards, sputtering out and wailing as they died. "But if I must make you talk, I will."
Dick stared at her, unfazed, and rather watched the light in her hand sputter and spit, green fire licking at her knuckles and splashing into the air, dying sparks singing as they faded. It was very pretty. He was reminded of fireworks from the circus, and that sent a pang of longing through him. He missed his family, and the more he stayed away from the Court, the more he remembered just how anguished he was over the loss of them.
"Who are you working for?" the man asked.
Dick tore his gaze from the green fire to look at the man. Again, he said nothing.
"Okay, dude," the man grumbled. "You're pissing me off, and you know, I'm a pretty amiable guy."
Dick looked back to the woman, and then the fire. He stared at it for a long moment, and he had to wonder. "Please kill me," he told her, staring into her bright green eyes.
The woman stared at him, her eyes growing wide. And she dropped him, watching as he fell into a puddle of cold water. He was in a warm room, and his dark hair was beginning to dry in wavy tufts at his forehead. He pressed his lips together, sitting up straight. He stared between them, confusion prickling his thoughts. He didn't understand what they wanted.
"You have to kill me," Dick said. "If I live, it'll only bring more despair. I don't want that."
The man in red stared down at him, and he craned his head. "Oracle, this plan isn't goin' so hot!"
"I can hear." That voice struck a familiar chord with Dick, who recalled a very awful party. He stared as the two parted to make way for a woman in a wheelchair, whose eyes were a sharp, wary blue, and her hair was the color of blood, which curled around her features delicately. He straightened up as he stared at her, his stomach twisting in a knot as he realized something awful.
"You recognize me," he said quietly.
"How could I forget a face like yours?" Her words were sweet, but her voice was biting. Cold and sharp, like a knife to his gut. "You remember me too, then. That's good. Maybe you'll answer my questions, then."
"I will if you kill me when you're done," Dick said, cocking his head. "Please."
"We don't kill people." Oracle glowered at him, her body going tense as she studied his features. "If you want to die so badly, why don't you do it yourself?"
"I've tried," Dick said, watching their faces transform, all except for Oracle. "It's impossible."
"Well, legend says the Talon is immortal," Oracle said, watching as Dick's entire body went rigid. "But I've done my research. You're not immortal, Richard Grayson. And you're not dying, so don't get too excited." She tucked a bouncing red curl behind her ear.
He felt desperate as he lurched forward, pleading with her, "They will kill you all if they get me back," Dick said, his voice breaking in despair. "You must understand, please, I'm only trying to help you. If they find out what I've done…"
"You mean saving me?"
Dick flinched at the voice, glancing around. Behind him was a doorway, and leaning against the doorframe, clad in a sweatshirt and tight jeans, was Tim. He still had the cut on his cheek from their past fight, and his face was a bit sickly looking, but otherwise he looked fine. His hair was damp as well, short strands sticking to his forehead. He held his hands up, stepping up beside the man in red.
Dick felt uncomfortable under their stares. "Please—"
"No." Tim watched Dick with a passive stare. "You tried to kill me and my friend. But for a few minutes, I'm just going to forget about that. Tell me where the Ghost went."
Damian. Dick's heart hammered in his chest, and he looked down, feeling their heated stares. "I don't know," he said honestly. "And if I did, I wouldn't say."
"He's after Jason too," Tim said, bending down before Dick, his eyes going wide. "Why is that? And where did you guys get Titus?"
"The dog was with him when we met," Dick said. He felt no qualms about telling them this. "He is very attached to Ghost." If his owner really is Bruce Wayne, well, that's why.
"What about those other kids?" the man in red asked.
Dick shrugged, feeling silly and stupid for giving them so much trouble. It was confusing, standing on a blurred line of morality. "Innocent," he said softly. "But the Court will make me kill them if I return."
"Then don't return, if you hate them so much," the man in red said.
"They'll find me," Dick whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. He hugged his knees, and he shook his head. He felt like he was going to burst from the pressure of not knowing who to trust and who to protect and who to kill and who not to kill. Death would be simpler, but he didn't want death so much as he wanted freedom. Freedom was impossible.
"Then," Oracle said, staring down at him with an impish sort of glint in her eye, "we'll just have to kill the Talon."
"Uh, what?" the man in red said flatly. "Earth to Babs, come in, O. We don't do that."
"Wally, please," Oracle said, staring down at Dick with a strange interest. "Have a little faith in me. Tim, let's talk about your sophomore science fair project."
Dick looked at them, his eyes flashing between Oracle and Tim. Tim was merely frowning a little pensively, looking upward. "Okay, I get what you're saying, but that was all hypothesized by a broke fifteen year old, and even if I had the resources now I'm not sure if it would actually work."
"That's why you have—" Oracle paused as something began to ring again and again, a chatter inside Dick's head. Was that a phone? He didn't know. He watched as Oracle rolled away to a screen, flicking at it. The face of an elderly man appeared, though it was only a picture.
"Alfred, what is it?" Oracle asked, sounding puzzled. "I'm a little bit busy right now, can this—?"
"Miss Gordon, I must apologize, but this is of the utmost importance," the elderly man, Alfred, said. His voice was soft, and it sounded breathless as if he was in disbelief. "I believe… excuse me. You informed me of the assassin after Master Jason, the one you called Ghost. Tell me you are still pursuing him."
"Ghost," Oracle repeated, her head cocking. "I'm in the middle of interrogating his partner, but yes, I'm still interested in catching him."
The man took a deep breath. He sounded shaky and confused, and Dick felt for the man. Damian, what did you do…? Dick didn't want to think about it. Right now Damian was not his concern. No matter what he was feeling, he couldn't let himself be sucked back into the poor boy's life. If Damian was smart, he'd have taken Dick's advice.
"About half an hour ago," Alfred said carefully, "two children appeared at the door with Titus, claiming that the son of Master Bruce had been stolen by Comprachicos."
Dick's stomach twisted, and he leapt to his feet, his mind clouding over in shock and fear. For a moment, all eyes strayed to him, and Oracle's lingered, meeting his and seeing the panic that flooded them. Her own eyes widened, and she turned up to Alfred's picture, rolling closer to the screen.
"Comprachicos," Oracle said, sounding alarmed. "You mean, child buyers? I thought Batman put an end to them when he solved the child prostitution case."
"It appears that is not the case," Alfred said, sounding sad and panicked. Dick was stumbling forward, desperate for him to speak more about Damian, about what he knew. Stolen. Stolen by child buyers. Stolen.
"Jason couldn't have been kidnapped," Oracle said, running her hands through her hair. "Unless I was wrong about Spoiler… but Jason's a grown man, the Comprachicos…"
"Red," Tim said softly. "Jason…" He looked around, his face stricken with horror, and Dick stared at him, begging for answers. "I… I mean, you know… don't you? About Jason…?"
"What about Jason?" Oracle asked, turning to face Tim. Her eyes were glowing with fear and determination, and Tim visibly paled, his eyes flashing down to his hands.
"I… I'm sorry, I thought that Bruce might've said… something, I'm sorry, that was stupid. Of course he wouldn't have." Tim sighed, and he shook his head. "It's not my right to tell you, I'm sorry."
"Do not be sorry, Master Tim," Alfred said. Tim jumped, as if surprised that he was being addressed. "Your assumption to connect Master Jason's ghastly past with these… Comprachicos is sound. And that is where the horror lies. I was not speaking of Master Jason, Miss Barbara, I apologize for not making that clear. The children tell me their names are Nell Little and Colin Wilkes, and that until very recently they were companions to a young assassin called Ghost and a young girl named Artemis Crock." The old man took a deep breath, as if he still could not believe what he was saying. Dick shook his head fast, his mind flooding with images of Damian, and Colin, and Artemis, and Nell. It wasn't fair. "Before Artemis and Ghost were overwhelmed by their kidnappers, Ghost admitted to his reasoning behind targeting Master Jason."
"No," Dick whispered, horrified. "No, no, no…" He closed his eyes, and he was promptly ignored. Everyone in the room was hanging on Alfred's every word.
"Okay, so what is it?" the man in red asked, frowning a little bit. "I mean, that runt was impressive, man. Almost got me once or twice."
Dick saw it coming when Alfred said it, and so he opened his eyes to see how they would react.
"This boy… Ghost. He is the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul."
The silence that followed was not startling. Dick wasn't concerned about it. He wasn't concerned about how they all seemed to jump, as if electrocuted, and he ignored how their mouths dropped. He marched forward, leaning over Barbara's head and staring desperately up at the screen, his body trembling in apprehension and rage. Stolen.
"When was he taken?" Dick asked, his voice sounding clipped and hoarse. "Where?"
"Back up!" Barbara cried, shoving Dick backwards. He was surprised by her strength, and he stumbled backwards, his lips falling open. "Do you have proof, Alfred? I mean, no one has so much as heard from Talia al Ghul in years."
"His blood, which was on a cloak the children brought— as was much of Master Tim's, might I add— is a match. I… took it upon myself to fill in the blanks in the story, I hope you don't mind, but I know Master Bruce's history very well. And Talia al Ghul is the only candidate I can think of who would match the timeframe."
"Wait." Tim stood frozen, and Dick looked at him, his eyes pleading. Someone had to understand that there was no time for talking, that they had to act! Damian was stolen. "Crap. Okay, Comprachicos are linked to that child… prostitution ring that Batman shut down, right?"
"Yes?" Oracle said, staring at Tim with wide eyes. "We established this."
"No, I…" Tim looked the most horrified out of all of them, Dick included, which was saying quite a lot. Dick was scared, and he was angry. Comprachicos, he thought. He'd never truly had a taste for wanting to kill anyone before. "Don't tell Jason. Don't tell Bruce. In fact, let's track them down right now and end this before anyone finds out, okay?"
"I must agree," Alfred said, his softly accented voice fluttering with concern. "I want to meet this child, but if half of what I hear about these Comprachicos is true…"
"I'm on it," Barbara said. "I… I swear, we'll get this sorted out. You're sure the Ghost is…?"
"I ran the test thrice before calling, Miss Barbara," the old man sighed. "I cannot stress how important it is that this boy is returned safely. And soon. As Master Tim said, it's best if Master Jason and Master Bruce are unaware of this until Ghost is safe."
"Artemis too," Dick blurted, thinking of the fiery blonde girl. He'd met her when she had been even smaller than she was now, and even then she'd been braver and kinder than he could give anyone credit for.
"We'll do it, Alfred," Barbara said quietly. "Thank you for calling."
"Thank you for believing me," Alfred said. "Now please. Bring that boy home."
The man's face disappeared, and for a moment they all stood in silence. Then Barbara whirled around, her eyes glowing with some kind of terrifying determination. She wheeled up to Dick, and she shoved him hard, sending him stumbling backwards yet again.
"Tell me everything you know about Ghost," she demanded, her voice low. "Now."
Dick had no qualms with that. They want to save him and return him to his father. This is what I wanted, Dick thought, hugging his arms to his chest and staring at her with wide eyes. He took a deep breath, and he nodded slowly. "His name isn't Ghost," he said. "It's Damian. He was raised by his Grandfather, and was kept locked away for most of his life because… or I assume it's because… of his albinism."
"His grandfather," Barbara breathed, closing her eyes. "Well, that just explains everything, doesn't it?"
"Why Ra's al Ghul wants Ghost," Tim said faintly. "Why it's so important that Steph gets him back."
"Why he was so covered up when he first tried to kill Jason," Barbara said, her entire body seeming to shrink under an invisible weight. And then her eyes snapped up to meet Dick's again. "That leaves a question unanswered," she said, her eyes narrowing. "You're the Talon. You're after Jason too, and I expect it's a mission from your superiors, not the Shadows. So why are you so concerned about what happens to Ghost?"
Dick stared at her, his heart crumbling in his chest. He shook his head, and he took a deep breath. "You…" Speaking was so hard sometimes, and he hated himself for it. "You don't understand I…" He swallowed thickly, feeling tears stinging his eyes. "I haven't had anyone in a very long time. I haven't cared about anyone in so long…" Dick blinked slowly, and he gave her a weak smile. "I just want to protect my only friend."
Info dump. And reveals! And suddenly everyone wants to help Damian!
Victor Hugo totes would have helped Damian, bc Vic Hugo was a bro.
