A/N: Okay so I know this isn't a week later but to be fair it's a lot less time than the last update. I think I didn't pretty good. This is a pretty crazy chapter and a lot happens. I wont get into details but it will certainly shift the dynamic of the story and bring to crazy chaotic life into it. I hope you enjoy it pls, comment!
-2021-
"What do you want Dick?" Bruce asked trying to not let his internal pain seep through.
"What do I want? I want my daughter to have a good time with her friend. Beyond that…" Dick said her voice slowly lowering into something more vulnerable. "I'm not sure what I want."
Dicks' posture instantly changed. The aggressive and malevolent demeanor he previously sported disappeared. Bruce took notice of this change and believed it to be honest.
"I've had a lot of time to think, about my choices and actions since that day. I started to wonder if I had made the right decisions and if it was even possible for me to redeem myself after all I've done. All the people I've killed. You have to understand I don't regret it. I don't regret anything but that still doesn't stop me from wondering what had happened if I made the right choices." Dick slowly started walking towards Bruce who remained exactly where he stood, " If I had trusted you Bruce, heard your side instead of turning my back so quickly. I want this to end Bruce, and this time I want to do what I should've done so long ago and trust you. Slade won't let this go and I fear for Mari's sake. She has my skills and her mother's powers. No matter what I say Slade won't let us go. I beg of you Bruce, please help us."
Bruce's face was stoic and unmoving as opposed to Alfred who had tears freely flowing down his face without a single sound. Bruce seemed to be sizing Dick up, looking for tells that might show Dick's true intentions.
"Help me." Dick said softly, fear shinning in his eyes. Dick reached his hand out for Bruce to take.
"Okay," Bruce relented taking Dicks hand in accordance. "But under conditions. You will return to Wayne Manor and you will live here from now on. You will have no contact with Slade Wilson without my direct supervision and you will work for me at Wayne Enterprises. You will not leave the Manor without the presence of Alfred or myself. If you break any of these rules I will personally remove you from the premises and take you to Arkham myself."
Dick frowned slightly at the idea of being taken to Arkham. He cared less about being sent to Arkham than the fact that he would be taken far away from Mari. She was his light and he would kill anyone who stood in his way, even if that meant killing Bruce and betraying Slade's orders.
"Deal." Dick said releasing his hand from Bruce's grip.
"Alfred," He jumped alarmed by his name being called after such transaction, "Call to have Dick and Mari's things brought to the manor."
"Yes sir!" Alfred said all jittery and such. He sped off towards the kitchen to use the telephone there but turned back quickly, "Oh and Master Dick it is a pleasure to have you back in the household."
There was a silence between the two men as they were left alone; now unsure of what to do with themselves in each other's company.
"So want to show me all the new tech you have hidden away in the cave after all these years." Dick said attempting to lighten the mood.
"No. That's another thing; you're not allowed to go into the cave. You will restrain yourself to the manor alone. Only myself, Damian, and Alfred are allowed access to the cave."
"Go figure." Dick muttered.
"I guess I'll go up to my room and see if any of my old stuff is still there, unless you threw it all out." Dick said walking towards then past Bruce towards the staircase.
Bruce didn't say a word nor move an inch as Dick marched up the stairs towards his old room. Soon enough Alfred returned, this time approaching Bruce to the side.
"Do you truly believe this sudden change of heart sir?"
"Not one bit." Bruce said, his face stone cold and void of emotion. "But it's the best chance we have to save him."
"One can only hope, sir. One can only hope."
-2015-
BANG.
Two things happened almost simultaneously to each other; at least as Dick saw it happening. Slade pulled the trigger, and Black Mask hit the ground. Dead. A hole permanently drilled through his head and into his skull. Dick stared at the man as blood and other pieces pooled as if any second he would wake up from the nightmare. The jolt of fear flowing through his veins did not wake him and Dick suddenly found himself scrambling to make peace with the world as he looked at Roman Sionis' dead body. Nonetheless come to peace with the fact that he had a hand in his death. Accessory to murder is what the police would say as they hauled him off to Arkham. Dick had a feeling that even if the police wanted to arrest him they would never get the chance because Slade would put bullets in their heads too. That fact is what truly scared Dick; that fact and another…
"Do you know what you just did…" Dick said softly, struggling to find his voice as he dragged himself out of a fog that his mind was desperately clamoring into.
"I killed Sionis." He said blankly, unsure by what the boy meant.
Sure Slade knew the boy would have a violent reaction and it could jeopardize the working relationship he had with the boy but he had to test him. How he reacted and what he did would tell Slade more about Richard Grayson than years of training could. Yet as he stood there he was unsure of where the boy was going with this reaction. He expected an explosion of anger and confusion, right now all he saw in Dick's eyes was fear, and in this moment Slade wasn't entirely sure that the fear was all due to him.
"NO!" The boy burst loudly! "You idiot! You're supposed to be some master mercenary but don't you know anything? Batman has this entire building on surveillance! Any strange commotion is sent for him to come investigate and this is exactly something that would set off his alarms. He is probably on his way right now! If he was already on patrol we have maybe, MAYBE 5 minutes. If not 7 is the standard response time from the Batcave! We have to get out of this building now!"
Slade's eyes widened slightly and he was grateful that the boy could not see his expression. This was something Slade was not aware of and while he was impressed by the boy's mental recovery, he was more concerned about the angry bat on his way to their location. They had little time to erase the surveillance footage and take out Black Mask's remaining men who were probably scrambling at the moment. Some would choose cowardice and flee at the first mention of their boss being dead while others would be brave out of foolish loyalty would confront Slade. It was their choice cowardice versus bravery, though only the cowards would survive.
"Let's get going, the security room is on the 9th floor and we have to get there to erase the security tapes unless you want Wayne to discover our little secret."
Dick's breath increased as he mentally tried to handle what was going on. Slade was right they had to destroy those tapes or Bruce would know what Dick was doing with his nights when he was not sleeping. Working with the enemy was not something Bruce would ever forgive. That fact slammed into Dick like a ton of bricks nearly stopping him. Seeing as Slade had turned and ran towards the elevator, Dick's primal instinct kicked in and ran after him into the elevator.
3 mins.
Dick was wrong of course. Bruce had arrived there earlier than expected, in fact Bruce arrived only moments after Dick ran into the elevator.
Dick tried to hold himself together as they descended in the elevator. He was so focused in doing that very thing that he did not notice that Slade had placed a comforting hand on the boys shoulder. Slade had seen the boys plight and done what any respectable person would do. Of course Slade was more shocked that the boy had allowed it. Dick felt the warmth and moments in his head flashed back to the times Bruce had comforted him in times of loss as a child. These associations only lasted a moment in his mind before the dead face spewing blood of Roman Sionis entered his mind.
"Mask's men will be ready for us, Renegade." Slade said. "Show no mercy."
Dick gave no response, nor did he show that he had even listened to the man. Yet Slade knew that when those doors open Dick's muscle memory and he would do what he does best. Take people down. Eventually the doors did open and about 20 men alarmed and filled with fear turned to look at the two. Slade acted in that moment, acting before they could reach their guns. Dick followed suit, following in Slade's example.
2 min.
The two men worked seamlessly together, almost as if they had worked together for years. The only difference between the two as Slade put his opponents down permanently was that Dick merely left them unconscious. Eventually though it became indeterminable who was dead and who was alive because blood and bile was everywhere. Slade ran for the door that was slightly ajar at the end of the room. Dick had taken out the security guard that had been inside only moments before.
Dick hadn't realized that the mental countdown in his head ended until he saw a stark black figure hurt his way down into Sionis' office, shattering the window. Dick couldn't help but smirk as Bruce was acting in true Batman fashion. What made his smile drop from his face was what followed. Behind him with fiery red hair and a purple uniform was Starfire, who looked down in Sionis' body with the same fear and dread he had exhibited only minutes before. Then the screens went dead.
"The hard drive is completely wiped, let's go Renegade." Slade said as he marched out of the room quickly. Dick still stood in shock staring at the monitors.
"Renegade!" Slade shouted, shaking Dick from his trance.
In a moment of hopelessness, Dick buried everything in the back of his head. Bruce had trained him for years to do this, to shut down his emotions and focus on a task. It was a meditative technique he was only supposed to use in the direst of circumstances. It set him back into a follow the leader mode, and only lasted a few minutes. When he was a kid it was a failsafe so that if Dick witnessed something truly traumatic he would still be able to follow Bruce's instructions. The whole process required that Dick have total trust in Bruce to do what was right in the moment. Dick had only used the skill once before with Bruce, in a single circumstance then never again. Yet in this moment, in his panic to cope and act Dick made a choice to trust in Slade, even though he knew better. With Batman in the building, the only way they would escape unseen was if he followed Slade's instructions to a tee. He didn't need his bursting emotions getting in the way between freedom, and a whole lot of heartache.
Dick burst from his spot and chased after Slade. Slade was almost surprised by the boy's sudden attention and determination. They reached the stairwell and Slade pulled a contraption out of his pocket and tossed it at Dick. It was a grappling hook and Dick knew exactly what to do with it. Slade launched himself over the railing taking the express route down to the bottom floor far away from Batman. Far from Batman but not from Star who could be there in a moment's notice if only she knew they were there. Dick followed without hesitation, free falling above but next to Slade down 9 stories. 3 stories prior to their stop Dick shot the grappling hook to stop his fall. Yet Slade did not. He impacted on the floor causing it to crack and dent underneath his weight. Dick was too out of it to fully acknowledge what he had just seen. He took the grappling hook and chased after Slade as they made their way out of the building. The rest of Sionis' men disappeared, especially when the Bat had showed up.
Dick and Slade ran out into the street then into the darkness of the alley ways that provided them escape. They hopped into the car and they sped off as Dick fell out of his meditative state. His heart rate began to rise and he focused on his breathing but was careful to not make it too obvious. He had no idea how Slade would deal with this weakness. The drive to the docks had been silent, even the walk to the warehouse. Yet as soon as Dick and Slade entered the wide and empty warehouse Dick collapsed to his knees and stared at the floor.
"You killed Sionis…" Dick said in a hushed tone as all the event flooded through his mind.
Slade resisted the temptation to roll his eyes and let out a sigh. He walked away from the boy towards the center or the room and took the metal mask off of his face. He wiped the few specks of sweat off of his face and stared ahead of him also mulling over the events. Finding himself at more peace with the events than Dick did. Of course this was all part of the plan. Batman had not been, but that too had turned to his favor. Of course Slade also saw Batman with Dick's girlfriend, Starfire. Slade knew instantly that Dick would not handle that well. Yet the boy seemed to be shoving that part of the events out of his mind. Slade wanted to see how far Dick would go before he broke, so he kept pilling on.
"Yes, and I must say you handled it very well. It's almost like all of that was natural to you," That was a lie; the boy was completely mental, "I was almost sure you were going to lash out violently against me."
Slade heard a silent whoosh and moved slightly to the side narrowly avoid a solid punch to the face. Dick fell forward since he had no control over his punch. He fell face first into the concrete, full of anger and regret.
"Oh there it is." Slade said condescendingly.
"What the HELL, Slade!" Dick said as he punched the ground. "Why!? Why did you do that? Why did you bring me with you to kill Sionis? Why did you make me an accomplice in this twisted game of yours!?"
Slade remained silent, wondering whether the boy would try to attack him again. It did not seem like it. Perhaps the boy had realized that in this moment Dick stood no chance against Slade and the pounding Dick wanted to give went unfulfilled.
"I told you, this is a part of your training." Slade said.
"Training for what? To become you?" Dick growled as he got to his feet and faced Slade.
"Of course not! I want you to be your own man, but I also expect you to fill my shoes one day, Richard." He could pretty much hear Dick's heart beat rise as he said that.
"That is disgusting! It is cruel and manipulative, I will never be you!" Dick turned and yelled at the man. Slade could tell it took Dick every bit of self control in him to not attack wildly.
"No more ridiculous than what Bruce Wayne did to you." Slade said calmly, "Taking you in at a young and extremely vulnerable age. Training you, and filling your head with all kinds of lies about morals and justice. All so you could take his place one day! How is that more acceptable than this!?"
"Bruce doesn't kill people, and he cares about me!" Dick screamed.
"No the Batman, attacks people. He hurts them, and tortures them. He kills them in so many ways yet keeps them alive so they can relive their agony forever; leaving the same scars that were left on him. He does everything out of a self-possessed hypocritical delusion of some greater good while he is truly only looking out for himself. Say what you will about how I choose to conduct myself but at least I am willing to see myself as what I truly am. A mercenary. A man who kills the bad men that not even the Batman can go after. I may have killed many but I have saved many more lives than Bruce Wayne ever will. As for this so called care, if he cared then why did you run? If you truly thought he cared you would've stayed, he would've understood that you did not know of my intentions to kill Sionis. Instead you ran away from him with me. If he cared, he would have understood. So do not try to prove me wrong with a fact you yourself don't even believe is true."
Dick was in shock by Slade's words, he was in fact stupefied. The words that normally would flow to his head in response never came. Like many times before Slade left him speechless and angry, now more infuriated than ever. Dick's silence let Slade know that his point had been taken and that the argument was over before it really began.
"As for our agreement," Slade pulled out a photo from his pocket and held it out to Dick. "Ask Zucco if he recognizes this woman."
His anger momentarily subsided enough for Dick to look at the photo.
"Lady Shiva?"
"Yes."
"You think she has something to do with my parent's deaths?" Dick's expressions were unreadable.
"I am unsure, but as you are so worried about whether or not I am taking this investigation seriously enough I suggest you go ask him yourself." Slade nodded towards a room on the other end of the building where Zucco said. Dick could not see the man but he knew he was there, he could feel his blood curdle with every breath of air he and that man shared. Dick placed the picture in his pocket and looked back at Slade.
"I'll be back." Dick said softly but angrily as he marched towards the room.
Dick opened the door with a dangerous calm running through his veins and he set eyes on a gagged Zucco sitting in the middle of the room. Zucco set his eyes on Dick, and Dick set his eyes on him. The tension was palpable as Dick slowly walked over. The over head light shone down on Zucco making every nervous tick and breath visible to Dick. He slowly walked behind Zucco and the man continued to sweat profusely. Unraveling the knot in the back of the gag, Dick slipped it off the man's face. Zucco licked the corner of his mouth consciously, finally free to move and breathe easy. Despite the thousand little tells of Zucco's body, the man was putting on a brave face.
"I have some questions for you." Dick said shifting his hand into his pocket brushing past the escrima stick.
"And what makes you think I'll answer your questions again? Last time I did so you put a gun to my head." Zucco spat out.
"Because if you don't answer my questions willingly I will be forced to make you." Dick said shifting his hand from the picture back to the escrima stick. He pulled it out and held it out just enough for Zucco to watch as the stick fluttered to life with dangerous amounts of electricity.
"You wouldn't do that, you're just a kid." Zucco responded attempting bravery.
"A kid whose parent's you killed. And the man, who took me in, taught me this." Dick hit Zucco in the side shocking him hard.
"Do you know who this is?"
"No!"
ZAP!
Zucco let out shrieks of pain as Dick attacked the man again.
"Tell me the truth!"
"I don't know her!"
ZAP!
"Okay okay!" Zucco said looking both scared and furious at the same time. "I know the bitch!"
Dick honestly felt disappointed. He had expected Zucco to last longer, yet the man was scum so he really shouldn't have expected much.
"Her name is Lady Shiva!"
"I know that already!"
"Then why did you ask me!?" Zucco shouted back angrily.
"I want to know why she hired you to kill my parents!" Dick shouted, his blood pressure rising quickly.
"How the hell should I know!? The lady showed up one day, she paid me a shit ton of cash to kill your parents! How could I say no! She didn't tell me to kill you so I didn't bother! Clearly I should've worried since you've become a giant pain in my ass!" Zucco said shouting.
ZAP!
"YOU KNOW WHAT!" Zucco yelled so angry and tired of being electrocuted, "I am so happy I killed your parents! You are a miserable little shit and I am HAPPY to see the pain I caused you! No matter how much pain you cause me I know that this pain can never match the pain you will feel for the rest of your life and that is all I need to know to get through this. You are a circus brat who is trying to play with the big boy but doesn't know how to go to bat for what you want!"
Dick felt his blood drum in his ears as his heartbeat raced radically. Anger and violence were the only thing that came to his mind as he was blinded by his own rage. He wanted to hurt Zucco and hurt him a lot. Dick played the stick at the man's heart and turned it on. He held it there while Zucco shook. He watched the man's eyes roll back and blood slowly start to trickle out of his nose. Dick was surprised by how good his actions felt although he was unsure exactly what he was doing. All he knew was that it felt right. He stopped himself as the man fell unconscious. Dick was at least happy that he had gotten the answers he wanted. He put the escima stick back and put the photo away. Dick was about to leave the room when he looked back at Zucco's limp body. A thought crossed his mind for a moment and Dick walked back and placed two fingers at the man's neck. In that moment Dick felt his heart stop.
Just like Zucco's had.
Dick felt his body go as limp as Zucco's as he stared the dead man before him. Dick whipped the escrima stick back out and surged a quick jolt through the man hoping to revive him, yet it did nothing. The man was dead and gone. And Dick had killed him. Dick stared at the corpse for a moment then fell backwards quickly scrambling away with a loud thud as he hit the wall. He chucked the escrima stick away creating another thud which brought Slade into the room. First he saw Zucco's dead body in the chair, blood flowing from his nose due to gravity. Then he saw Dick pressed up hard against the wall, eyes boring into Zucco with tears streaming down. The boy looked fearful and panicked.
Slade put no other thought to Zucco as he approached Dick who seemed unaware Slade had entered the room. He crouched down towards the boy and placed a hand on the shoulder causing Dick to jump violently. His eyes finally ripped away from Zucco to meet Slade's. Dick felt shame course through him suddenly realizing that he had crossed a line he could not come back from. He had killed someone, and he was happy. It felt like it was the right thing to do; to take that scumbag Zucco off of the Earth where he did not belong. Suddenly, Dick felt no better than Slade and the massive gap Dick had always separated the two men disappeared. Dick's eyes flickered back to Zucco's body then back to Slade's and he felt desperation course through his veins.
"Help me." His voice was raspy, as if he had been in a desert for hours without drink.
Slade did not respond to Dick's plea but simply held his hand out for Dick to take. It was a symbol of trust and submission yet Dick did not know it yet. Dick couldn't know much in this moment. Yet after he committed his first and greatest crime, Dick did not turn to the man who raised him. Yet to the one who was supposed to. He took Slade's hand and Slade felt things suddenly change between them. Slade knew from that moment Dick would be different but not in the ways that counted. The boy would be more willing to cooperate, and engage with Slade. Dick fell from the imaginary pedestal he had imagined for himself and his fellow heroes. All Slade could think was that things were going just as he had planned.
A/N: So wow I just jumped off a bridge without a bungee cord, I do realize. I look forward to any advice or reactions to these events because Im sure you will have some if any. Next chapter will not pick up where you might think. We will not find out what is going on with Dick till Chapter 9. I start college this week so I am unsure when the next update will come but it will come as soon as I can type it. Pls, comment, favorite, or follow! Thanks for reading!