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Chapt. XXIV: I Let the Devil Out

A few days had passed since the Gotham Academy bombing. Bruce Wayne had talked to Dick about the situation. He apologized for not being there for Dick when he should have been, but claims to have had been busy with some business in Coast City. Dick didn't care. Getting emotional comfort from Bruce wasn't exactly his priority.

Alfred tended to Dick, feeding him soup & other stress relieving remedies. Dick disregarded the efforts and began to work out in the gym & run around the Wayne property. Dick appreciated the thought behind Alfred's nursing, but in Dick's mind, soup & tea wouldn't fix a damn thing. Getting stronger would.

Barbara began to visit more & more after the bombing. She started to have this mindset of life being too short to not take advantage of the good things in it. It was difficult for Dick to consider himself a good thing in someone's life, but...it was a good feeling. A sense of being wanted; it was something Dick had not experienced before.

Dick worked out his plan to get to Nolan Drake again. He would infiltrate the research facility providing Cobblepot & Nolan with their weaponry, & from there, he could stop the weapons operation & in turn, stop the city siege that Nolan was planning. But to get to Cadmus, the research facility, Dick would need to find the one who knew about Cadmus: Enigma.

Dick had already spoken to Jim Gordon about the text messages. He explained that the "Enigma" texter may have useful intel in regards to Nolan Drake's weapons, but he made sure not to mention the name "Cadmus" to Gordon. Alarming the GCPD about a teenage sociopathic terrorist gaining chemical weapons from a military science research facility would raise way too many suspicions. However, Jim Gordon had enough to go with in order to help Dick with the texts.

Jim Gordon had his technical team in the department work on decrypting the source of the text messages. They couldn't pinpoint the exact address, but Gordon managed to send Dick a street name in Coventry, passed the Upper East side of Gotham. Gordon advised Dick to check anywhere in a 5 block radius of the initial address.

Dick spent the morning with Barbara in the backyard of Wayne Manor. The back of the Manor consisted of a vast and open garden with a large field towards the edge of the garden. The garden was decorated with large trees with beautiful & exotic flowers, sculptures designed out of large bushes several feet tall taking the form of animals & people, & bushes of flowers set along the the walkways of the garden.

Dick led Barbara from the Manor towards a small patio with a glass ceiling that stood as a canopy with marble poles holding the glass up. The patio was decorated with a thin cement block which served as a table, & cushioned chairs surrounding 3 sides of the slab table with a long curved couch surrounding the other side. Dick sat Barbara down on the couch, which was incredibly cushioned & layered with throw pillows & a soft blanket with an intricate scenic landscape printed on it with authentic stitching. Barbara swung her legs onto the couch and laid on her side. She slid the blanket over her lower body & rested her head on the couch arm.

Dick sat beside Barbara's legs and lifted them up to reset them over his lap. He began to caress Barbara's calves. Dick took a deep breath and exhaled as he shut his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch.

"Hmm," Barbara moaned to herself. "You should massage my feet."

Dick opened his eyes slowly & rolled them. With a slight smirk on his face, he went ahead & began massaging the feet resting beside his lap.

Barbara began humming to herself. "You're so amazing, Dick. Really, you are."

Dick shook his head softly. "No, not really," he said meekly.

Barbara sat up and shifted her body so that her head was resting on Dick's lab & her feet laid over the arm of the couch. "Dick, look...I did some digging." This one statement made Dick's heart skipped a beat. "I can't believe it took me so long to realize it. But it's you. You're him. You're the last living Flying Grayson. You're the boy who I grew up watching when I was little. My dad always took me out to see you at the Haley Circus. At some point, he started calling you the Boy Wonder."

Dick shook his head in embarrassment. "I've heard that one before."

Barbara smiled. "What was it like? When you were jumping and flying, I mean."

Dick took a moment to think about his answer. "I don't know...I always loved it. I used to see it as a superpower. Whenever someone asked what power I wish I had, flying has always been at the top of my list. But I have to admit, I've learned to love falling too."

"But wasn't it scary when you first started, though? When you were so young?"

Dick shrugged. "Sure, when I first started. My parents trained me rigorously in acrobatics. But they always said, 'You'll never know if you can fly without taking the risk of falling.'"

Barbara nodded. "Wow, that's amazing, Dick." She shut her eyes, then opened them up again to ask another question. "If you were given the opportunity to perform again…"

"Yes," Dick shot out. "Yes, a billion times yes. You can take the boy out of the circus, but you can't take the circus out of the boy."

Barbara laughed out loud. "Oh my god, Dick, that's adorable."

Dick covered his face, hoping Barbara wouldn't notice it blush red. Barbara rose her head up close to Dick's & continued. "You were such an inspiration to me. You showed me that anybody could soar in life. Your age didn't matter, your background didn't matter, nothing did, except the fact that you excelled in your passion. I believed that if you could do what you love & do it so amazingly, so could I. It made me want to get into law enforcement, like my dad, even though he's totally against it. But I always knew if I loved it enough, I could TOTALLY become an officer, or a detective, or even a district attorney. You taught me that, & that was before I met your sexy self."

Dick felt his face flush. "Wow...I didn't know I meant that much to you."

Barbara smiled & raised her hand to Dick's cheek. "You changed my life then, & you changed my life now. You made me not only want to chase my dream, but you're now showing me that I need to chase life. Live it to the fullest."

Dick bit his lip. He reached up to his face and held Barbara's hand in his. He looked down at it & felt his heart tug with a certain pain. Dick was getting the impression that Barbara wanted to live a more reckless life, & apparently HE was influencing this on her. He didn't want that for Barbara. He promised her father he wouldn't do that to her. She was all her father had left. But maybe if she knew the truth...she'd know better.

"Barbara, I've got to tell you something."

Barbara sat upright over Dick's lap to pay attention. Her bright blue eyes were lit wide open and stared right into Dick's eyes. He couldn't help but start to hesitate in telling her the truth. But it was probably better than letting this dangerous life chase her before she chased it.

"After I was orphaned, I met a girl at the orphanage. Cheyenne. She was my first real friend. We grew up together. We grew close. I don't know...I might've loved her. Then she was finally adopted. She left. I didn't have anybody left. I started to get lonely. I might have grown a little resentment towards her for abandoning me. Maybe I grew resentment towards everyone abandoning me. My parents, the circus, Cheyenne. I don't know. But I started to get these ideas. I started to believe I would've been better off if my parents hadn't died. I knew that if they hadn't been killed, then I wouldn't be in that sort of pain anymore.

"So I started to do a little research. I would go to the orphanage's library, & I looked up a lot of stuff on the fire of the Haley Circus that killed my parents. It was the work of a mafia boss, Anthony Zucco. My resentment turned to a yearning for revenge. I wanted to kill Tony Zucco. I was 14 at the time. I was contemplating taking a grown man's life. And I was going to go through it. I had a whole scheme planned. I managed to pinpoint where the mafia would meet every week to discuss business. I stole a kitchen knife from the mess hall. I snuck out one night with a map, a blade, & a whole lot of clouded judgement. I walked to this port, & stayed hidden for a while. I might've been sitting out in the cold humid air for no longer than an hour, but it felt like forever.

"Finally, a few men showed up. They were your typical street thugs you see roaming town. They waited by a few wooden crates for maybe ten minutes. Then a car pulled up. Out comes a few men, along with Zucco. They round up together & start talking. I had kept my distance for a few minutes. Maybe I was planning my strategy to get to them without being noticed. Maybe I was doubting myself."

As Dick spoke, he began noticing the interest that took over Barbara's eyes. The same interest that she held when he told her about his dad in the coffee shop. It comforted him that it wasn't a look that screamed fear. Not yet, anyway. Dick continued. "I snuck around the perimeter of the port, & crawled my way towards the group. I hid behind their car, where no one was standing near. All the men had their backs to the car, & since I was small, I began to stand. No one saw me. I quietly crept to who I thought was Zucco, & stabbed his lower back. The man crumpled to the ground, but it wasn't Tony. Just some other dude. Tony was in the center of the group of men.

"All the thugs pulled out their guns and aimed at me. It was the scariest moment of my life, hand to God. One of them goes 'Boss, he's just a kid.' Another goes 'Yeah, he fucked Leo up though!' The guy I stabbed, who I assume was Leo, was screaming. Tony walked over to Leo & helped him up, but threw him to another guy. He told everyone to scatter. They asked why. He said 'Because you fucking bastards didn't check the ports to see if it was empty, & now we've got a kid out passed his bedtime.'

"So the thugs began to leave slowly. Soon it was just Tony & me. Tony asked my name. I shook my head. He asked how old I was. I shook my head again. He knelt down & asked if he had done something to me. I said 'John & Mary Grayson.' I was shocked to find that the names stuck to him. He knew they were the Flying Graysons. He claimed to have been a big fan of them. He said he knew who I was, & that he was sorry. 'I took your parents & your life away from you. I took away some incredible artists from this world.' It was sick to hear from him. Then he said, 'But it's just business.'

"He asked to see my knife. I shook my head. He held his hand out, thinking I was going to give it to him. He said, 'You can either take it out from behind your back, or I'll stick it farther into your back, kid. Nobody's gonna miss you.'"

Barbara gasped at this. To him, this was just another part of his childhood. He could only imagine what this sounded like to another person. "I took the knife & stabbed it right into his palm. Tony screamed. I yanked it right back out, & blood came squirting out. I stabbed him in his shoulder next. Yanked it right back out, more blood. Stuck it into his neck, yanked it out, even more blood. Then I stuck it in his face. Somewhere near his cheek, maybe his eye. I left the knife there. His body fell over from his knee, & I watched for maybe a few minutes as he bled out. I wanted to leave because it was nasty to watch, but then I considered what his men might do if they saw I actually killed the guy. So I ran away. The only person who knows what I did is the lady who ran the orphanage, Mother Louise, &...well, you."

Barbara blinked as her mouth was slightly open out of pure awe. "Well," she started slowly after a brief moment of silence. "I guess my dad doesn't know about that."

Dick shook his head. "I think he scraped the case on Zucco's death. It's probably best if it stays like that, because it would complicate things more."

Barbara nodded. Dick took another deep breath and spoke. "When I was on the run, though, things got bad. Worse. I ended up being on the streets, & actually started hiding from police. I found my way down an abandoned subway station. There was this...underground society. Full of kids, all boys, all different ages. Some of them were, I don't know, maybe 8 years old. Some were probably 20, & everything in between. There was guys with guns & starving children. Some kids were selling food like a market, but a lot of kids stole the food. Some of us fought in fight clubs to earn money for food."

"What the fuck," Barbara breathed to herself. "This was going on underneath our city?"

Dick nodded. "I was there for two years. I don't know how long it was like that." Dick cleared his throat. "There was one day...I was in this room, like a security guard's office or something. I had made that my permanent home during my time there. I was sleeping. I wasn't even sure whether it was day or night. It was hard to tell what time of the day it was. But I was asleep. Some guy barges into the office & strangles me. I'm kicking & screaming & scratching, but I'm slowly knocking out. I wake up, & I feel chains on my wrists holding me up, & something tight around my ankles. I was too weak to move. I couldn't see, but then someone removes the bag over my head. I'm in a dirty, blood covered room, & I'm chained to the roof. Beside me are four guys to my right, & one to my left. Standing in front of me is Nolan Drake. He sort of 'ran' things in the Underground. He claimed to be a nice guy, but he was a psychopath for running shit the way he did. With fight clubs & mercenaries, & that was just the tip of the iceberg. We were in what he calls his 'Playroom.' There was a curtain behind him. He walked up to the kid on the farthest to my right & asked where 'Carter Kingston' was.

"Now, I knew Carter, & I remember seeing him a few hours earlier walk into this other dark room. But I didn't know where this room exactly was. The kid that Nolan asked had no idea who Carter Kingston was. Nolan removed a knife from the back of his waistband and slit the kid's neck. He threw the knife to the ground and stepped to the next guy hanging. He asked if he knew where Carter was. He said no, but begged for his life. Nolan shook his head, walked back to the curtain, & came back with an axe. He asked the same question. The kid started crying, & before he could even say that he didn't know where Carter was, Nolan swung the axe & chopped his head off. Nolan walked behind the curtain, & even though I couldn't see it, I heard him drop the axe. He came out from behind the curtain with a sword. I mean a real life, long, Japanese ninja looking sword. A katana or something. He began shouting. 'TELL ME WHERE CARTER FUCKING KINGSTON IS!' The third kid yelled back, saying that he ran to the cage matches to hide. Nolan shook his head & said that his men checked there, & he lated liars. He swung the sword across the kid's stomach, & I actually saw his guts pour out. He cried out in anger as he threw the sword against the wall. He went behind the curtain & I didn't know what he'd pull out next. It was a fucking chainsaw. He ended up sawing open the fourth kid who didn't know where Carter was. He went back behind the curtain, & came back with a shotgun."

"But it was YOUR turn!" Barbara cried out in a shaky voice.

Dick nodded. "Yeah. He pointed the shotgun in my face, & said 'If you don't fucking know where that son of a bitch is, I will blow your brains out & feed your remains to the kids buying meat.' I told him that I knew where Carter Kingston was, but that he'd have to unchain me so I could show him exactly where. Nolan went to the door and called out to two of his goons to come in & unchain me. They held me by the arms while Nolan stayed behind me with the shotgun. I walked them through the subway, towards the area that I was familiar with & I showed them the room. Nolan kicked the door down, and began shooting in the dark. After a few moments, Nolan stopped, & he heard the kid breathing. Nolan killed him. Turns out the kid had stolen food."

Barbara's breathing became strong & heavy. Dick could tell he had scared the hell out of her. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry I'm ruining this beautiful day right now with these stories, but you need to know this."

"Why ARE you telling me all of this?" Barbara asked, holding back tears.

"I can't lie to you anymore," Dick said. "I care about you a lot, & as much as I want you in my life, I'm probably more of a danger to you than you realize. Your father told me to be careful with you because of everything that's been going on. Nolan is out of the Underground. He's the one behind these last two bombings, & the attack at the Olympus hotel. He's planning something big against the city, & staying near me isn't safe. He could come after me any second if he wanted to."

"Dick, my father is a cop. If I tell him all of this, he could-"

"Barbara, your dad knows everything. I've been helping him, but the truth is, I don't think the GCPD has the means to contain Drake. I'm doing what I can to stop him on my own. I'm going to do what it takes."

Barbara shook her head. She sat up, off of Dick's lap, & sat beside him. She looked into his eyes with her watery blue eyes. "Dick, you don't HAVE to do anything. This isn't your responsibility. Don't be a vigilante. Let that Batman guy handle Nolan. You don't have to play hero. You can start the life you wanted to start. You can live the normal life, with me by your side."

Dick rubbed his face with both of his hands and sighed. He removed his hands. "This IS my responsibility. I escaped the Underground, & I let the Devil out with me. The Batman isn't doing jack shit about this guy, & everytime I try to live a normal life, something blows up. Everything I touch bursts to flames."

Dick wrapped his arm around Barbara & began to softly cry into her shoulder. "I can't have you by my side, Babs. I can't lose you to him."

Barbara kissed Dick's cheek and hugged him tighter. "It doesn't matter whether or not you stop Nolan, Dick. This city will always have another Nolan."

Dick nodded with his face still buried against Barbara's shoulder. He agreed, the city would always have another crazy menace, whether it's a petty thug, or another crime lord, or a mass terrorist. Gotham was Hell. Hell is home.

"Lately, it just feels like the city is meaner," Dick started, "Wilder. Something is changing. Some nights I don't recognize this city anymore."

Barbara began to stroke the back of Dick's head. "Yeah...I see it. Things always change." Barbara pulled back from Dick to look him in the eyes. "But I don't want US to change."

Dick sighed. He reached for Barbara's hand and squeezed tight. "I'm going to do this. Once Nolan Drake is dead, everything will be okay."

Barbara shook her head. "Dick, you don't need to kill him. You're better than this. You can stop him without stooping down to his level."

Dick let those words sink in. Was he truly better than that? Better than Nolan Drake? The man seemed to always be two steps ahead of Dick. He wasn't sure if he could even beat the psycho. But he had to try. Someone did. Even if it meant taking another man's life. It was easy the first time with nothing to lose. Dick could do it again.

"I need some time, Barbara. Just give me some time, & I'll come home for you. I'll come home & we can go somewhere. Anywhere. I just need you to let me do this."

Barbara stared into Dick's eyes with a sad look. He knew he was hurting her right now, but it was for the right reasons; he was sure of that. Barbara closed her eyes & sighed as a tear dropped down. Barbara looked back up at Dick. "Okay, Dick. I'll be waiting. But please, don't get yourself killed."

Dick nodded. The two spent the remainder of their time sitting on that same couch. Barbara laid on Dick's shoulder as Dick rested on her head. The two sat there & napped, holding each other until the sun set. After an owl began to hoot, Dick awoke. He sat there in silence, contemplating what he was about to do next. When his plan formulated, Barbara broke through his thoughts by shifting her positioning on him. Dick kissed her forehead, slowly waking Barbara up. She looked up at Dick, who looked down at her & smiled. Dick leaned in to kiss Barbara, who kissed passionately back. Barbara wrapped her arms around Dick's neck and pulled his body close to her. He pressed his chest against hers, feeling her heart pound fast & heavy against his heartbeat. Barbara's hands began to run through Dick's hair, then slowly slid down his back, & underneath his shirt. She began to slide his shirt off from over his head, & as Dick threw it across the patio, Barbara removed her shirt too.

Dick's heart pounded as his arms wrapped around Barbara's back pulled her upper body close to his. He kissed her neck and shoulders. He felt her hands move his up towards the strapping of her bra. He slowly unhooked the bra & continued to kiss Barbara's neck. She moaned softly as she removed the bra from between them. Barbara's hands reached down towards the waistband of Dick's jeans & pulled them closer to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moved her hands towards Dick's crotch. She felt his erection and rubbed it softly. Dick pulled back from Barbara's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure?" he breathed softly.

"Yes," Barbara answered. "I want this."

Dick began to unbuckle his pants. He stumbled on the buttoning of his jeans, nervous about what was about to happen. Dick slid the jeans off & threw them onto the ground. Barbara began to slide her skirt off of her legs and onto the floor as well. Barbara sat up & sat close to Dick. The two sat across from each other on their knees for a brief moment. Barbara's hands reached down inside of Dick's briefs & began rubbing up & down Dick's cock. Dick shut his eyes slowly & felt Barbara's other hand push down against Dick's chest. He laid himself down as he felt Barbara's body slowly climb over him. He felt her slide his underwear briefs off from between his legs & his cock erect up. He felt it rub between Barbara's thighs, sliding close towards Barbara's slightly wet underwear. He felt her move back & forth over his cock, riding him slowly. He slid his hands up over his thighs, onto her butt, then her hips. He held her as she leaned down to kiss Dick's lips, then his neck, then back up to his lips. As they kissed intensely, Barbara removed her underwear. Dick felt them as they slid off of Barbara's legs, over his, & were kicked onto the floor. Barbara sat back up & carefully placed herself over Dick. She let out a quiet moan, then threw her upper body onto Dick's. He held her body close to his as he felt her heavy breathing against his neck & her heavy heartbeat against his chest. Barbara began to kiss Dick again as her hips slowly began to ride against Dick again. She started off slow, but slowly began to go faster, moaning softer, but then louder. She began to bounce against Dick, whose hands went from her hips to her chest, then down to her butt, & back to her hips.

Dick held her tight & readjusted himself underneath Barbara's legs and began moving up & down rapidly. He pounded against Barbara, whose body started to shake as he penetrated her. She moaned his name aloud, which made Dick laugh in his head. Her hands were pressed down against his chest, then she reached up and began rubbing her own chest. Barbara's hands began to run through her hair as she bit her lip, & then she screamed loud. She pressed back down on Dick's chest & began gasping. The clapping between the two hips grew louder & louder as Dick continued, & as Barbara let out another, much longer scream, Dick gasped softly to himself & rose up, pressing his face against Barbara's chest. She sat on him and slowly began to thrust her hips back & forth again as her body began to shiver orgasmically.

Finally, she slowly lay down over Dick's body, who had laid back against the pillows. Dick reached over and pulled the blanket over the two incredibly warm, hot, & sweaty bodies to keep them from chilling in the fall night. He wrapped his arms around Barbara, then placed a kiss on her lips, & then her forehead. He then laid his head back and sat wide awake, wishing this very moment would never end.