Nightwing; A Series of Doubts – Give and Take –
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Chapter 17: Facing Your Reality
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Bruce Wayne sat at the breakfast table the next day, joined by a forlorn Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Selina Kyle, and…
No. They'd not made it to breakfast.
"Where by chance would be, Masters Todd and Drake, sir?"
"I want to know the answer to that myself, Alfred." Bruce stood and went to his only hunch. The boys had been sticking to one another all those two days from the return to Bludhaven, a note on Tim's door not to go in as Alfred fussed and left Babs to her school work down in the dining area.
"Stay with her, Alfred." Bruce turned to his father figure; a man who'd cared for him after the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne.
"But, sir…I do think it quite strange to have those two finally being thick as thieves while they hold hostility –
"Brothers, but not by blood, yet by their struggles. Like Dick…."Bruce put a hand over the knob and shoved it open.
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Dick was scrunched into his seat of the suv Slade had him take back in, right to his complex. He cage, now.
He knew the kid needed space and didn't bother coming up, yet he did roll down the window, eyes softer and of course his clothing now normal. All of it, just.
Not Slade.
Not the mastermind before the hero.
NOT an enigma from the bowels of some underground source…
No, he wasn't the Slade that Dick had remembered.
He, was sure of that as Slade turned his eye away to the road and drove off.
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Dick faced a dispute that made his wide eyes go dark, dimmer as he walked up the stairs the entire way to his apartment. When he'd gotten there, his wall closed in as he imagined walking into a deep bog, trying to get to his computer –
He gasped, putting a hand to his skull and with a wobble, he found the closest chair and began to strip off his layers of clean fabric.
Shower, no. He wanted it to hurt, so he did what any rather aggressively abused teen might do.
He took it out on his home's newly added punching bag until his knuckles grew redder.
Another uppercut.
And redder.
As yelling and kicking added to him waiting to…
And shouting, as the bag tore from the hook and Dick pounded the mat with his poor fists in worn bandages.
Had Slade been trying to do this? He moaned into his tears and let them fall, howling out as Slade just stroked his own thigh. Getting off from the image he saw from the camera – mirror he'd g –
Dick got up, seeing those eyes like a wild dog as the kid…
"No! Don't you try I –
SMASH !
Littered to the floor was the mirror, now broken in sharp shards around a collapsed, calling dove…
Slade stopped the car and didn't forget what was at stake, a drained boy blunder or an angst – filled teenager.
Both equally, he could not abandon as he marched to the elevator quickly.
"That brat…" Clenched fists to his sides, what met him thankfully would not be a trip to some unlucky hospital emergency room.
No, he'd be sure as Dick's frail state seized the man, while he scooped up the boy.
Before Dick swerved round and hard head to his forehead, Richard rebelled with a but, as he crawled for dear to find the phone. And the only ones who would believe his story…
"Not…"
Dick yipped and rounded back to find his footing, had Slade been easy to keep down.
"This, time…."
Dick scrambled and ran, out of the apartment and to the stairs, his knuckles bleeding and reputation now in tatters.
Slade…not his Slade…. another…wrong, by what he saw.
His other eye, wasn't the same. Not like he'd remembered. Not like Robin would have lied to remember.
But a glowing gyro spherical dot remained, time's law embedded into the orb as Dick didn't look back. He kept running, while Slade viewed this kid's direction from the top floor window.
"Never again, hero…" He put a set of fingers to the glass.
"It's time to shine. For all of your futures…"
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Jason wanted to guess that the noise in his back pocket was a harmless wrong number; a telemarketer trying to win him over with unobtainable riches. Tim didn't and plucked it out of the man's pouch as Jay relented, Timmy having a strange feeling that they couldn't let the call drop.
~ H…hello? An…. zzp…. b…. y… bo…. zzzp…. dy... need…. safe…zzzp…..plac……e…zzp…….hel….hide……~
The two looked at one another, the location was close.
"Are you close by?? Can we help you? Who??"
Todd strained not to ask. Biting his tongue, it didn't word as the words flew outwards. Reaching their target.
"Who is chasing you, Dick? Who??"
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Slade would hunt him down and drag him away, take and torture his ideals – how could he have not known?? There were…a dozen, billion worlds and he'd not been out of this one…he was –
A blast got the streets to wake, as Dick went into the subway and hopped the gate. He kept going. As he stood panting, gripping the bars, Slade wasn't going to stop –
The screeching of a train was one thing, but it had not taken off as a few tens of those ugly robots popped up from everywhere.
Taking people out, to their knees. Throwing them onto the tracks as one made sure to enter through the doors in full regalia as the man who had raped the oh – so innocent boy wonder.
"D-
"If any of you won't wish to die, let my associates and I locate a target; one among you who pretends that he belongs…he's to be returned, or this subway car will go off with its last stop…" The man was insane his world. Taken to a place that had ruined his mind, he'd gone to stop Nightwing from leaving him for good.
Forever, he'd have his little hero. In his bed, as the people scrambled and shook.
At his feet, as the children wept into their parents' clothing.
At his beck and call, as guns and screaming echoed through his city. HIS new hide away from a discarded fallacy.
He wanted Dick's hand, and he would have. Take it, to be owned.
"Let Dick Grayson come out; he's who we are after, and what we only seek…is your cooperation, people of good Haven."
Someone did stand up, a Bludavenite who was not happy with this train carjacking in his town. Without cussing, he tried to bring some gusto to the cold merc's heart.
" Yo, man! You can't do –
The teen was gutted as the robot threw the bloody street child to bleed out his last words in an incomprehensible garble.
Dick used his eyes, he looked for the door closest –
"Is this him?"
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Dick scrunched low in his seat, but he was lucky.
"No, wrong individual." Slade took in a breath through his nose. "Anyone else?? This, teenager has dark hair and blue eyes, about five foot in height or so, and at age…eighteen. Physically fit… Not a very difficult list to picture…So, I suggest everyone… STARTS by LOOKING."
Dick fell and crawled beneath the feet of the people, the people now looking for him. Not trying to save each other.
Just, themselves.
He knew they were afraid. He knew he had to try to deter…
"You could be sitting right beside a common thief, a pick pocket –
"Wasn't that kid from the Gotham –
"What? You didn't hear?" Slade turned his head to the woman in owl glasses as she hugged her bag to her chest.
"Wayne's eldest went missing. Which is why we are a team of elite forces; hired by his father to bring the man back his, son." Lied Deathstroke to all of these faces.
"What we want, is your complete…cooperation, and I know the good people of Blud wouldn't dare to let a child part from his parent…"
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It was longer to get to that signal – before it had become poorer in quality as Jason cussed.
"I'm close to one more place, Jay."
"Huh?" Jason checked in as Tim came upon a spot with infrared tampering. An apartment building that was unmarked, only a few blocks from the local area.
"He's been here." Tim told Todd, who came pounding the dirt atop rooftops to find it.
"He was here…" Tim gasped. "He, was all over this place. I'm heading up, you take the skylight. I wanna grab more clues with the device."
"Copy that." Todd nodded, his blood already pumping to pay back that messy mastermind, big time.
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Bruce traced the heroes to not the wrong building, but one that brought Tim to think he'd been the only one with an eagle eye in the sky.
As soon as Timmy made it up those steps, clicked open the less than secure lock, he saw a figure in the light as it billowed –
Facing a threat with all of its might.
"Bruce!"
"Stay back!" The Batman called to his current youngest.
"The robots were guarding this place… hurr!" The bot intended to drag him, and choke the stamina of the Bat before he'd flipped it into the one by his front. "Go!"
"But, what about –
"Grab…. evidence…. bomb!"
"Ah, crap!" Jason swung down and groaned. "Is this guy into kung fu films?"
"Todd? Timmy gawked. "Get out of here! This place is set to –
" No way, I'm going to tear it up or die trying until I know that this creeper is guilty of violating poor Dickie.
"Well, ya'd better do it soon!" Robin tossed his head to the beeping item in the corner of the room.
"They knew to expect company, and we got here in time for the main course; us!"
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"Though I was told not to harm civilians in my orders given…" Slade pulled out a weapon from his back holster. "If it means getting the job done for Wayne, I won't try to negotiate a price…a life is sacred, I understand…" He told the people, motioning to point the barrel at some of these crowded nobodies.
"D- don't shoot!"
"Mama, I don't like this man…" One little boy clung to his parent's shirt as she clutched him close.
"Cause' that's the city Mr. Batman and Robin are from – he isn't a good man, an' I don't wanna –
"Should I seek a sacrifice? A volunteer? Words need not be exchanged. Unless you'd like to die for an elite's son who cares nothing about your own personal lives…" He peppered on, ushering a bot to bring the scared mother away from her son. The child was like him, like Bruce and his loss as Dick swallowed the guilt as some bitter pill.
But it only grew and grew.
He couldn't let history repeat itself because of him.
Not because of Dick Grayson, or Slade…
"Don't hurt my family!" The mother cried out to the monster holding her to his armored chest. "You can take me, but not anybody else! If that kid's got a shred of dignity left, he'll help us! W-
"Wayne gave me the ok to push Grayson out of hiding." Smirked the mercenary as his gun raised itself to her skull. "Going once… GOING TWICE –
"STOP!"
Dick was a hero as he felt the people move to let him pass, shoulders no longer brushing as the herd had granted the red lion their sacrifice of the hour. The people could have spit on him for being so careless, but they pitied him instead. After all, they had almost sacrificed themselves until he'd decided to listen and heed the call. To give in for the greater good.
These people were afraid, just like he was…
Lady Justice was calling to him, as Dick graciously took her hand and left the pack. Left them with a peace of mind once again.
"Then, we'll be on our way. Come, Grayson." Slade held out a hand, his boy's body limp as the train car jutted, the bots leaving it.
"Come. It's time to take you back home, to where you belong."
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Dick left the car with his mentor and the bots swapped faces to look more human.
The car had left, the subway deserted for a bit –
"You had us worried there for a second." Slade punched the kid square in the jaw as he fell.
"Change of plans, you'll have to move to a new location…. your last was compromised."
Dick groaned up at Slade as he squinted by a flicker of lights….
Dick suddenly gasped as the robots held him down, Slade getting out a high-tech needle gun to have his captive fall into a stupor while he was recaptured.
Reclaimed.
"No – no!"
"You now know too much, boy wonder…and it isn't time yet, but…" Slade positioned himself just before the boy's throat as he leaned into him, Dick squirming back to sit up as the robots gagged him to keep Richard's cries, silenced.
"Maybe we should speed things along…" With a switch, the boy twitched before falling still on the ground. This Slade stood up and ordered the bots to bring the boy along. "I still have much to teach you." Slade whispered as the bots took off with his very way to remain in this time. "And, it looks like I'll have to up your training after all."
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Rubble, but was it really a bomb as Tim imagined the blast.
No, the clock jut went off. No bombs in sight.
"Hoodwinked…." Tim gasped as he took his cape from over himself to see if it was a delay.
"A fake." Batman destroyed the last bot with a cut through it by the batarang, making it look like a murder as the bots instinctively morphed into –
"JUMP!"
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Ablaze, as Slade clicked his tongue and shook his head, Dick seeing the whole thing once they'd made it to his safe house to find a better avenue.
"There, will be some changes…."
"I. Won't. Help. You." Dick seethed as Batman dug through the rubble to locate his family.
"You'll be given a new –
"NO!" Dick shouted, the binds on his wrists and ankles doing a bang-up job of having him on his knees.
Slade licked his lips and turned to his frightened little star.
"They got in the way, when you told them to stay out of this city." Slade reminded. "Those boys are getting what they deserved. You've never been understood, always the lesser leader that the bat can criticize. I wanted for you to see, that in the future…you and I –
"We didn't do ANY of that!" Dick shouted. "I didn't like you then, and still don't…you were always a killer, and you always took what you wanted…you don't care about me or anything but your –
"Insolence…but I want you to know it." Slade stalked over to the boy as he wriggled in his cuffs.
"That Nightwing and I weren't JUST allies and enemies, my child…oh no." Slade dragged Dick up by the chin and lifted it forcefully, cupping the boy's jaw as he pulled back his mask and then let Dick see the face of his-
"He and I, were secretly… Lovers…"
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Dick shook and turned a shade darker in distress; his senses reeling as the idea of such –
"The mass…. the drink…. you…. what did you do to me…?"
"You remembered that? I'm pleased to know that you still hold me in such, high regard as the one left to calm you of your squirming fits that evening…" Slade gazed back as the kid was a sweaty mess, but even if he wanted time to speed up?
He was no god of it, just passing through when he'd seen something that had caught his eye.
"You'll learn to do as I wish, you'll be him and make it to your next –
"SHUT UP –
" Hah!" Slade dragged a hand to grip the kid's scalp as he twisted it to hold still. Steering him along, he turned the kid round to see that a laptop, his was atop a table within the dark room.
"You forgot one thing." Slade hissed and walked Dick towards the device until he was flesh fully against the young man's back, pinning him to the table housing that device.
"Now."
Slade continued to make the boy's lips quake as he read the words.
" Application. You never went over what I sent you. You can't mooch off of me, forever. Nightwing would never be any less than a gentleman…so, go. Complete these forms and we can work on getting you towards the next step. You can be a cop, sure…" Slade changed from the boy's jaw to curling at the side of the boy's sweaty locks with a gloved finger as Dick's hands levitated over the key board. Afraid to do as he was told.
"The idea of an officer does sound tempting, but I think a gym instructor and as someone….dedicated to helping the starved youth of Blud, makes more sense for your public image. College won't wait, but you still have one more semester to go…" He gripped Dick's hands too soon to set them over the keys, his muscular body forcing the boy to lean down as if….
Dick struggled, while Slade only chuckled at the thoughts his little bird must have been having.
"Beating those wings won't do you any good…" He purred into the teen's ear. 'How about this; you do this, become what I want and on your nineteenth birthday, I'll take it for sure…your precious…. insecurity of our vows…have what we made in the future…"
"I don't –
" Hush. Finish the page, boy." Slade pushed the kid down until he was hiccupping, trying not to shed tears onto his laptop to short it out. Knowing Slade would only make him…. he didn't want to think, so he typed away. Slade started to draw his breath closer as a hand wove up to force the boy to bare his sensitive throat to the mastermind.
"Let's hope this mark lasts if I continue to mark it, until that date arrives, my precious hero…"
With a bite and a bit of blood, he felt more than violated as Slade had Dick sign his contract…
In the blood of a soul sucker's decree.
He was not going back home, as the fingers he forced to type by, agreed.
Still shaking.
"You'll taste far better once you've matured into the hero this city wants to see…I can't wait to see it all for myself, and to have you…right where you belong…" Slade kissed the bite spot as Dick shivered under the man's hands. His prickling fear was far worse than the time he'd apparently been drugged against his will. Or when he'd been hurt atop tall rooftops, while he'd still partly been willing to know this man's real face behind the mask.
"Until then, I can wait…and…now, for the application to your youth group. Be sure to teach those kids what hope and fear really means to something so powerless…" He kissed the boy's throat again before jutting once to shock the boy in the rear, making it clear that he could do far worse if the kid refused his promises this time.
"If I find you trying to undo my good work again, I'll nullify the contract. Take you, anyway." He hissed petting the boy's scalp as dead eyes looked into the glass and kept on typing until he'd finally done as he was told.
"Right."
Slade looked down at his time and then to the boy. "You'll have a big start tomorrow and so much did happen that you've now missed. Get dressed and ready for bed, then it's lights out." He commanded to the kid.
His breathing still not there as his tears would not come. He just stared at the screen, nodding as his fingers –
"Did I say you could stop? Keep those digits moving!"
Sharpest in the room, Dick gasped and got –
"You can't be Wayne's kid anymore." Slade came up and took the mouse from the child as Dick's eyes grew wider by what surname Slade had decided to replace with his parent's.
"Wilson…" Slade grinned. "While you were out of it, I took the liberty of addressing some private legal concerns. Grayson is weak here, and Wayne was always hated…" Slade told the shivering teen over his shoulder.
" My name; that one will wash away their doubt…you may also need contacts for those pretty eyes and your hair is growing out rather nicely." He touched it as the length was just going past the boy's ears. "Let it, grow out… Your identity should be something that sets you apart from the past you. And, no more Robin –
"What?" Dick turned to see that cold glare as he hunched his shoulders meekly. "Why? Robin….is who I w-
"WAS." Slade rectified that thought. "He won't be, not for very much longer." The merc pulled away as the boy sat dumbly, until Slade had snapped his fingers to wake the kid up.
"To bed. I'll finish these digital signatures. You, need your beauty rest, my little bird…don't tempt me." He pointed to the hall. "Wash up. Your clothing is on the bed."
"I'm no –
"I've seen you naked before, or did you forget." Slade leered on, as the gasping hero walked for the hallway in reverse, slowly. "I've seen every inch, and trust me kid…" He chuckled. "You have nothing left to hide from me."
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Dark!! So, reveal! Slade is from a time when he tended to try to dominate Nightwing, and we all know how that goes, but? Where is the real Slade? What will Batman do if he can't locate Dick? He'll be off the radar, so soon will be a time jump and at nineteen, Slade literally gets to take Richard's virginity all over again. By gods, we have a lot of ground to cover so stick around- find out!
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