Chapter 42: One Step at a Time

Dick's POV

Wally falls back down with a grunt. "C'mon Wally, you can do it!" M'gann cheers as Artemis helps him.

Wally's been practicing, trying to gain the feeling back in his legs. From the looks of it, any kind of therapy seems hard and difficult to accomplish. There are two railings opposite to each other stuck to the ground of the room, Wally's only at the start of the railing, trying to get to the end with some help from his girlfriend.

He gets back up and tries again. His determination...it's just...well not that I expect him to give up. But still. It's been half a week since he's been struggling to get the feeling back in his legs, and I can see that each session has been difficult, but he hasn't given up. Yet.

My best friend is sweating and breathing heavily, but he still hasn't given up.

But I think it's mostly because Artemis hasn't given up either.

He struggles in Artemis' grip to get back up, but he slips back down. I hover over towards him and help on the left side to help him back up. Soon, Artemis and I are able to lift him and he takes hold of the railings quickly.

"C'mon Wally!" M'gann cheers.

Bruce's POV

"Pay 200 million within 72 hours..." The man takes out a sharp blade, and pulls the hair of one of the hostages to face him. "...or this knife will be your greatest nightmare." He growls.

"The two men are the first ISIS hostages from Japan. It is also the first time that ISIS has threatened Japan. Previously their focus has been Western societies and hostages, mainly those affiliated with American or United Kingdom interests." The reporter announces.

Tim furrows his eyebrows. "The last time ISIS made a move was in November, when Peter Kassig, a former U.S. Army Ranger, was beheaded."

"Do you think these two have some sort of connection Father?" Damian asks me.

"They might." I say.

"Why does it matter if they have a connection? They need to be saved!" Chris says.

"It could help with the ISIS case." Tim tells her. "So far all we know is their MO. Taking hostages and holding them for ransom."

"Maybe they're not really into the money. It could be the fact that all they want is some chaos. I mean look. There is chaos between Japan and the Islamic state, and now the US is involved too...somehow." Chris shares. "Or...they just want something else."

"Could be…" I mutter.

Creating chaos between two or three countries, it could be what they want. But creating this sort of chaos and earning money could be a win-win. It seems to me that what they want more isn't just the money, but the chaos and making the relationship between countries strained.

"Or they could just want the money…" Damian counters.

Chris shrugs. "Whatever it is they want, why they made this organization, it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that the hostages have to be saved!"

Suddenly on the live feed a woosh of red and blue passes by. I have to actually fight the urge to roll my eyes.

In less than a second, the two hostages are free. The man wearing a black mask is disarmed while Superman holds the back of his shirt up, lifting him from the ground. "That's enough of that." Superman says.

"Yes!" Tim cheers. "I was wondering when he'd come." I switch off the TV.

"Hey! We were watching that!" Chris complains.

I look at her. "Now you're not." She gives me a face and sighs in response.

Tim then holds out his phone and begins texting. "Oh, uh, wow. I have to go."

"Where are you going?"

His eyes dart to the left. "Uh...somewhere."

"What's with the secrecy? You got a date or something?" Chris teases and his face starts to turn pink. "No I-I don't!" He looks back at her. "I'm just going out with my friends."

Chris smirks. "Like you're one to be social.."

But before Tim can reply, Alfred walks in. "Master Bruce. You must get ready or you will miss your meeting at Wayne Enterprises." He scolds and I sigh. "Yes Alfred." I walk upstairs to my room to get ready.

Damian's POV

I enter the cave as I head down the stairs. I pass by the computer and Father's trophies. I am horribly bored right now and I don't seem to be in the mood to check the case files, so I enter the gym inside the batcave.

After wrapping my hands in white bandages, I move over to the punching bag and begin punching it. Left then right. Left then right.

"Damian! You must become the best!"

"Yes mother. So...who's neck shall I snap first?"

"I'm sorry son. But I must leave you for now. But I will be back for you."

Mother never came back for me. She never came back! Instead, she sent my 'brother' to kill me! Mothers are supposed to take care of their sons, not kill them!

But...nothing is wrong with Father, aside from his decision to adopt Drake. But in all honesty, I like it with Father. However...as naive and childish as it sounds...I would like my mother back...

Both my parents are messed up. My mother is a crazy lunatic assassin, and my father is a crazy lunatic Dark Knight. But they have much in common, like their stubbornness.

Gah. Nevermind it doesn't- BAM! The punching bag flies backwards and slams into the wall, exploding into sand. I grunt, shaking my hands to gain the feeling back in them as I walk towards the pile of sand laying on the floor.

I furrow my eyebrows when I see a piece of metal sticking out of the pile of sand. Carefully, I pull it out, already prepared for an explosion to occur.

Almost surprisingly, there is no explosion. I examine it closer. It's a GPS tracking device, and on the back it says:

Damian. Come alone.

Tim's POV

Chris knocks on the door. "Where are you going? It's not nice to keep secrets."

I finally open the door after dressing up, annoyed at her. "I told you! I am heading to the mall with my friends!"

"Which friends?"

"Does it matter?" Sometimes, little sisters can be annoying. Alright, maybe most of the time.

I storm past her, carrying my bag behind me.

"Then why are you carrying a bag?" She asks.

I groan. "Because!" I answer as I run down the stairs.

"Tim! You're going to the tower and you're not letting me come, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to the tower! I'm going to the mall! God, Chris!" She can really get pushy sometimes.

But for some reason she has been getting more and more pushy...I wonder why.

She groans and storms away while I storm towards the door. I swing the door shut after putting on my dark shades. I get on my motorcycle and drive away from the manor.

I keep driving, taking the shortcuts in Gotham, until I reach the alleyway where the phone booth is. I shrug my bag on my shoulder after parking my bike in a safe place and walk towards the red phone booth. I enter and lock myself inside.

The computer announces my arrival as I walk into the Watchtower. "Alright Kon. What's the emergency?"

Chris' POV

"Hey Damian." He just walks past me and out the front door. What the hell? What's up with everyone today?

I walk towards the door and open it. Damian looks like he's heading towards the garage. I don't understand. It's Sunday, which means we have no school, and Dick shouldn't have any work. But Dad's at work, Dick is somewhere (probably because of the fight last night), Jason is...I don't know, Tim is at the tower, and now Damian is off somewhere too!

Why are we all suddenly separating? I don't like being confused!

The roar of an engine pulls me away from my thoughts. I see Damian drive out of the garage. But seriously though, I wonder where he's going. I get on one of the bikes, turn the keys, and drive out. I don't really have anything else to do.

I continue to follow Damian's bike from a distance where he won't notice me. Then suddenly he stops by an alleyway and parks there. I park my bike and jump off, still trailing him from behind. He stops in the shadow of the alley and looks around, as if searching for someone.

Who's he gonna meet here?

I narrow my eyes as I hide behind the wall, watching him intently as he examines the area with curious eyes. Half of the alleyway is covered in a dark shadow because of the position of the sun and the buildings, so I can't really see what's at the end of the alley. But as Damian turns my way, about to walk out of the alley, I notice something lurking in the shadows that can't be seen without a trained eye.

My eyes widen as a hand reaches out of the shadows and grabs his shoulder.

Damian's POV

I suddenly feel pressure on my shoulder, so I swiftly turn around to face a tall woman.

The woman is wearing a tight black suit. She has long brown hair and blue eyes like mine. I don't stop myself from hugging her tightly. "Mother!" I gasp more, relieved than I want to sound.

"Damian." I'm almost surprised to feel arms wrap around me in response, but I don't let go.

Moments pass until we untangle ourselves, and I look up into her all too familiar eyes. She smiles down at me with a motherly face on. "Mother." I take a slight step back and her smile visibly fades. "What are you doing here?" I ask more harshly than I would like to sound.

"I wanted to see you, Son." She says compassionately.

I can't help but raise an eyebrow. "The last time you 'came to see me' was when you tried to kill me."

Her eyes fill with great regret, and she bends down so that our eyes are levelled. Then suddenly she pulls me into a crushing hug. I'm truly caught off guard, because she hasn't showed much affection-ever.

"Mother?" I ask, and she lets go.

"Your grandfather wants you dead."

"Grandfather? Why?"

She shakes her head. "I cannot explain. But I need you to stay safe, alright Damian? Stay close to your father."

"Mother. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Her finger trails the sides of my face. "I know Damian." She says softly. "I came to warn you to keep your guard up." Her eyes land on mine as she holds my face with both hands. "Alright Damian?"

I nod in response.

"Stay close to your father." She orders. "And be careful."

She looks at me, exhales, and pulls me into another embrace. "Mother?" I wince.

"I'm sorry. I just...I just wanted to see you again." She lets go. "I needed to know that you're alive and well."

"So how is school?" She asks.

My eyes fall down. "It's fine." I mumble, as she stands up straight but doesn't take her hands off of my shoulders.

"I brought you something." She smiles sheepishly as I raise an eyebrow. She turns around into the shadows of the alley. "Come out now, boy." She calls.

"Ruff! Ruff!" A bark echoes through the alley and soon a black hound comes out of the shadows and towards me. Soon I'm lying on my back, covered in saliva. I can't help but let out a laugh as the dog licks my face.

"Titus!" I laugh.

A/N: Yeah, we suck for not updating. *Walks away in shame*