Chapter 30: Downfall
The Wing-Jet's spotlights shone brightly into Dick's former apartment as Batman climbed onto the balcony's parapet.
Damian growled sourly when he saw his father. So their cover had been blown by now.
The boy was already heading toward the balcony to confront his father right away, but Tim held him back and said firmly:
"Let me talk to him first. You'd better go to the bedroom and take care of Dick."
Damian gave him an angry look until, however, an idea quickly occurred to him. Wordlessly, therefore, the boy went into the bedroom. He wouldn't turn Richard in so easily...
Bruce already entered the living room and looked briefly with an expressionless face after his biological son, as he disappeared behind the door, before his gaze wandered to Tim:
"I guess my feeling was right, that they were hiding at your place."
The teen sighed heavily. He didn't like acting as a go-between. Tim tried to approach the whole thing cautiously at first:
"Bruce, I'm asking you not to act hastily, but just to listen for now. You know yourself how dangerous Dick is and that he's not in your good terms with you right now."
Batman eyed him scrutinizingly for a moment before answering calmly:
"I know that quite well. That's why I've come alone this time, to resolve the matter as peacefully as possible. The way Dick is now, there's no point in chasing after him and causing immense damage. Especially since Dick himself is no longer the only problem. You are all in danger Tim."
Tim's eyes snapped open. Had he heard that correctly? Bruce would listen to him!
But then he tilted his head in confusion at the second part of that answer:
"That's good to know, but what do you mean the problem is no longer Dick alone?"
Bruce opened a hologram that showed various photos with different people. Or which at least looked like humans for the most part. Because they all had features that strongly reminded him of Trigon. Be it the four eyes, the red skin or partly also the horns.
Bruce explained himself:
"More of them are showing up. Demons. I'm not aware of the exact connections yet, but Dick's presence seems to have set something in motion and they're probably hunting him. Surely Damian and Jason have informed you of the incident four days ago."
Tim raised a brow in wonder:
"You mean when one of them had a fight with Dick and then suddenly disappeared?"
"He didn't disappear. His remains are with me in the lab and judging by the body, something ate away at him. It's not false to guess that Dick did this."
Surprised, Tim looked at him and Bruce now became more insistent:
"Tim, these demons are feeding on each other and there are more of them on their way here. I know of four more through surveillance cameras and they are all heading in the same direction. This is not something you guys are up to. You should know what Dick is capable of on his own, and from Catwoman's comments, they seem to go into some kind of frenzy when they run into each other. There is no guarantee, that Dick won't attack one of you in his bloodlust the next time he meets one of them. He attacked Clark as well as his son and he had built up a similar relationship with Jon as he had with Damian. Dick may be playing by your rules right now, but it's only a matter of time before he loses control again. And what can you do about it then?"
Thoughtfully, Tim gripped his chin and considered sharply. In fact, the incident with Jonathan had made him wonder, too. While he only had Damian's version of things, he knew that Jonathan had formed a close bond with Dick and then was attacked out of nowhere. But that could even happen to the best animal trainer. Tim decided to ask a much more important question:
"So what are you going to do? Are you going to put him back in a cage?"
The Batman's eyes narrowed and he replied calmly:
"That all depends on Dick. If he doesn't harm anyone, I'm willing to let him roam free in the Manor. But as I said...only if he harms no one and stays in the Manor."
Bruce was becoming more urgently now and Tim could have sworn he saw a spark of sadness in those white eyes:
"You know as well as I do how much Dick hates hurting people close to him. Not to mention killing. His mental status is already critical. He shouldn't be burdened with any more of this."
Buce closed the hologram again and pure seriousness resonated in his voice:
"If you continue to deal with this alone, you are putting your lives in absolute danger. Call it a truce or whatever you want. I just don't want to watch you all kill yourselves, and Alfred is very worried about you, too."
Tinged with melancholy, Tim looked to the ground as he hesitantly replied:
"Well...if it were up to me, I would have contacted you long ago. I know myself that would be the best for Dick, but..."
Tim looked at Bruce, sadness in his eyes:
"...I'm not alone Bruce, and Damian and Jason have made it abundantly clear that they're not too happy with you, and...not hearing from you right away that Dick is still alive...hurts. I've always respected you, you know that. But it's hard for me to keep my trust in you when you don't do it yourself. I know you've always kept secrets from us and that was always okay with me, but this...is different."
Batman stepped closer and put a hand on the hurt teen's shoulder:
"I didn't want to burden you guys with this too. I haven't found a solution to Dick's situation yet and having him on your mind all the time wouldn't have been good for you especially."
Tim's voice now became even more strained:
"I know...and I understand it too, but...it still hurts..."
Silently, the teenager lowered his gaze and let his disappointment show. Batman didn't trust anyone. He knew that all too well and usually had no problem with it, but Dick was family. An especially important part of it at that. It was just wrong to hide the fact that his own brother was still alive.
But Tim put himself in the background for the moment. The others were more important now. Burying his own feelings, he finally said:
"As I said, I have no problem with cooperation, but Damian will certainly refuse. And Jason...is gone anyway..."
Bruce saw how his counterpart's expression was accompanied by annoyance at the last part. Apparently Jason wasn't just causing him problems.
He nodded, "I'd like to talk to him if...?!"
Suddenly, they heard a loud crash of splintering glass from the bedroom where Damian was supposed to be watching Dick.
Both detectives immediately knew what it must mean.
In a flash, the door to the bedroom was yanked open, but it was as expected. Drawers and cupboards were wide open after someone had helped themselves to their contents. Shards of the shattered windows decorated the entire room and the strong wind that blew around the skyscrapers swung the curtains and the cape of the Batman back and forth.
Tim addressed the obvious:
"Damian escaped with Dick!" and additionally growled really pissed, "I'll kill him!"
Tim stepped into the room and lifted one of Dick's feathers off the floor before saying to the bat:
"Honestly Bruce, how much did you actually offend him?"
But Batman paid no attention. Without even wasting time, he hurriedly left the room, and only curtly instructed Tim:
"I'm going to look for them. You get ready and then follow me!" before stomping off in the direction of the wing jet, leaving the teenager behind.
How could he not want to look for them right now. There were more of these demons out there, who were certainly a match for Richard's abilities and were looking for him. It was hard to imagine what would happen if a fight broke out again.
And Damian was in the middle of it. It would only take one accidental blow and his son would be... He didn't even want to think about that.
A few streets away, a black mop of hair with a white streak exited a small Shop and lit a cigarette with relish. Finally, tobacco that belonged to him again!
With a white shopping bag and Tim's backpack loaded, Jason made his way across the streets of Bludhaven, which lined the night's hustle and bustle.
He was glad he made his escape just in time, when Batman had appeared obviously. After all, such a fat wing jet was hard to miss when you exited the building 50m below.
The Outlaw really didn't feel like meeting this asshole with bat ears...Whereas...
Jason just came to a stop at a red pedestrian light, when guilt crept up inside him.
He himself was an asshole after all. Again and again he saw the disappointed face of Tim in front of his eyes, when he had made a run for it. Jason was only glad not to have witnessed Damian's reaction. The little gnome would have tried to break every bone in his body. Or he would just snort contemptuously and say with his arms crossed 'What else would you expect from a street rat anyway?'
He couldn't predict that one accurately.
The light turned green and the Outlaw crossed the street.
No matter how you take it, Jason had definitely hurt Tim a lot, at least. He knew that, but what else could he do? He was so close to doing again what had hurt him so much over and over again. Binding himself to others.
He just couldn't risk it anymore. Jason had been hurt so many times that it was actually too much for a single heart to handle, and yet he still existed.
But he was sure that one more time would be too much, which is why he had drawn the line now. He was too afraid of the possible consequences.
Tim would work it out with Dickie. He was the most talented of them and would also be able to muster enough patience to deal with Damian. Meanwhile, Jason would just disappear in the undergrounds again, looking for information...Just like he always did.
A heavy sigh filled the crisp night air.
Maybe he should just walk in the nearest bar and spend the evening there, drowning his guilt. Then get drunk and start a fight, buy a kebab in the store next door, stroll through town drunk, leave the kebab and alcohol from his stomach in the park and either sleep right there in the bush only to get hit in the head by some playing kids the next morning or make it to a motel to end the day for good.
Yes, that sounded like a good evening.
However...
Jason noticed two figures following him for some time. In fact, ever since he came out of the shop. He had initially dismissed it as a coincidence, but by now he was definitely sure that they were following him.
Unobtrusively, the outlaw peered over his shoulder to see who it was.
The scrawny, sickly-looking figure's shoes dragged heavily over the asphalt, while the other one walked elegantly with a stiff posture.
They were simply two...teenagers?
The skinny one reminded him of a hard rock fan with his long black hair and studded leather jacket, which completed the picture with his torn jeans. He appeared to be of Southern descent, judging by his reddish skin. The other was probably African American with very short hair and dressed in a plain black suit.
The two were as different as night and day, but the Outlaw didn´t know either of them. However, he would find out in a moment.
Jason turned into an undiscerning alley to confront the two. In case they exposed him as a Red Hood, it was better to avoid the public eye and stay under the radar.
When they were deep enough inside the alley, Jason turned and said:
"Alright, who are you and what do you want from me? It's pretty obvious you've been on my heels for quite a while."
Jason cracked his knuckles menacingly, already dropping his gear in case of a fight as he continued:
"If you shitheads still want to be able to go home, you'd better answer quick."
But contrary to what he had expected, he was only smiled at and the guy in the suit snorted derisively:
"Believe me, we don't want anything from you, yet..."
Startled, Jason took a step back as this suit guy simply crossed the 10m between them in the blink of an eye like that, without Jason really being able to tell how he did it. These were no ordinary teenagers!
Greedily, his counterpart leaned over Jason's shoulder and took in the outlaw's scent:
"...you smell like someone we're looking for. His scent is all over your body."
"Don't get so close to me you..."
The Outlaw was about to punch him in the face when his fist was effortlessly intercepted. Jason knew there was a lot of power in his punches. He didn't train for it for nothing.
So it surprised him all the more that this stiff guy stood in front of him so unimpressed, as if a toddler had tried to hit him:
"Don't touch me with your dirty hands."
With sheer force, the dark fingers closed around Jason's fist and then, a moment later, hurled him by his arm like an unloved toy into the nearest brick wall.
The unexpected hard impact drove out the air from Jason's lungs before he fell limply onto some trash bags. Panting, he tried to get his thoughts in order as the other of the two sauntered up to join them:
"If you go at him so hard, he won't be able to tell us anything at all James. You know that people break quickly."
The one whose name seemed to be James pulled out a handkerchief from his suit and cleaned his hand while answering:
"I'm not stupid Jack. However, I still don't have to put up with his insolence."
With the wall for support, Jason groaned as he struggled onto his feet. His back ached from the impact and a bad premonition of who these two teens were spread through his mind. Still, he wanted to hear it from them, which is why he asked, gasping:
"W-who are you? Don't tell me you're demons too?"
"Oho...apparently you know about us. Then you certainly know who we're looking for, don't you?"
Said James with a greedy undertone in his voice before he intimidatingly moved closer to the Outlaw and continued:
"Where is he? Where is the demon you had contact with recently?"
But Jason never even dreamed of telling them where Dick and the others were. He had seen what one of those demons could do. So two was twice the trouble. Therefore, he spat:
"Fuck off!"
James sighed in annoyance for a moment before stepping back again and instructing:
"They always think fighting back will do any good. Jack, take his will away."
With widened eyes, Jason watched as this Jack disfigured himself before him.
His skin seemed to shrink around his bones, like a corpse exposed to the sun for weeks, but at the same time he grew larger and larger. His face split apart and gave way to a long animal skull, which glared at him with 4 glowing eye holes.
In short, he had taken on a shape similar to that of a goat god of some satanic cult. Parched dark skin stretched around the skeleton and a kind of black tar seemed to flow from his body.
Jason was so surprised that he did not react until it was too late. Two of the demon's now four arms grabbed his hand and a final defensive jerk went through his body before something took away his motivation of trying to fight back.
He felt a strange energy crawl up his arm and spread all over him. It left him limp, listless, unable to find any drive to do anything.
"Relax..." the demon's voice came through to him, and Jason's legs gave way. He slid down the brick wall, finding himself more and more trapped by this inertia. He didn't even want to fight back anymore. Just not do anything.
"So again. Where's the demon?"
Jason shook his head woozily as Jack's demand brought him somewhat back to his senses, "N-no..."
They were manipulating him. He couldn't let this affect him!
"He's persistent. Just bribe him. I don't feel like doing this any longer than necessary."
"You're a good for nothing Jack. I'm not surprised you're the weakest of us. But what great things can you expect from Sloth."
Befuddled, Jason could only follow with half open eyes as this James now changed his form as well.
His dark skin turned blood red. Gold seemed to sprout from his body and formed around him, like a dense cloak whose glimmer illuminated the night. It traveled over his eyes, his head, leaving only a grotesquely skeletonized mouth of his face.
A sharp golden fingernail pushed Jason's chin up a bit, forcing him to look into this demon's face.
"Tell me, what is your desire... "the voice rumbled and Jason's eyes rolled back as he was pulled into a dream world.
Jason ran through various memories of his life. Scene after scene played out before him. How he lived on the streets and was overjoyed with every bit of food. How even later he was content with little and gave the money he had to others without expecting anything in return. Material things had never been important to him.
"What is it?"
"This bastard is a minimalist. There's literally no greed in him."
"Then just manipulate his mind."
"What do you think I'm trying to do here!"
Jason was sitting on the floor in the living room, building a tall tower of building blocks with his dog Charlie. He proudly placed the last brick on the top of his construction, which towered over even him, and smiled at his dog, who wagged his tail joyfully:
"See? I told you we'd manage to build it even higher."
Charlie yelped in confirmation and five-year-old Jason happily stroked his fur.
But it wasn't long before the scene was marred by the muffled arguing voices of his parents coming from the adjacent kitchen.
The initial joy on the boy's face turned to a glum expression:
"Mom and Dad are fighting again. I wonder why they are always doing that? We never fight with each other either Charlie."
The mongrel tilted his head and looked expectantly at his master.
Jason heard the front door slam shut. That had almost certainly been his father. It was usually how their arguments ended. Jason did not know where he always disappeared to, but it left an unpleasant heaviness in the house and it was not uncommon for his mother to start crying afterwards. He didn't understand it. He would like to do something together with them, but as it was at the moment, he was already happy if only one day passed without an argument.
Jason looked at the big tower and finally an idea came to him. So he turned again to his beloved dog in anticipation:
"Maybe Mom will build the tower even higher with us when she sees how far we've come. Then maybe she won't be so sad anymore."
Even though Jason had tried this many times in the past, he didn't give up on getting his parents' attention. He wanted so much to share his accomplishments, ideas, and events with them that he kept fighting for it. He wanted it so badly.
The boy entered the kitchen where his mother was pulling out her cigarettes and lighting one of them as she leaned against the stove.
Joyfully, Jason approached her:
"Mom, you have to see what I built! Me and Charlie made..."
"Not now Jason, Mom can't right now. Go back and play in the living room." His mother interrupted him and Jason could clearly see her glazed eyes as she took a shaky drag on her cigarette.
The boy was fuming a little. He had already expected it, but it still made him sad.
The smoke from the cigarette filled the room and spread around, like the heaviness of this tense mood.
Jason didn't like it. It stank and scratched in his throat. He couldn't explain himself how his mother could breathe those things in so naturally without even coughing once.
"Mom, can't you turn them off? They always smell so bad."
Annoyed, his mother walked to the adjacent front door and yanked it open. With a quick:
"There, that'll have to do. Now go back playing in the living room and leave Mommy alone."
The boy winced at first before disappointedly doing as he was asked. Sadly, he sat down in front of his built tower. Charlie was immediately beside him to comfort him and Jason stroked his friend dejectedly:
"Mom's busy right now. Maybe we should just build something else."
The dog licked him across the face encouragingly, which made the deep set corners of his mouth smile again.
"Hehe...listen Charlie...hehe. You know you're not supposed to do that."
Happy children's laughter filled the living room again and the dog, happy that his master was feeling better, wagged his bushy tail excitedly. Jason was glad that at least Charlie didn't turn him away. He was simply his best friend.
"How about we build a circus now. Dad and I went to the Haly's Circus the other day. It was amazing! You should have seen all the animals and acrobats and what they could do! Especially the Flying Graysons. That was so cool how they flew through the air!"
Eyes shining, Jason told Charlie about his experiences at the circus. It was one of the few moments he had with his father, which made it all the more special. For a small moment, the circus transported him to a world of wonder and carefreeness that allowed him to escape his reality.
At one point, as Jason was building the circus tent, his mother suddenly came into the room with the phone to her ear. Annoyed, she talked into the receiver before the woman turned to her son:
"Your father is bringing guests later. So get your things together right away and don't leave anything lying around."
With that, she walked across the room and in the bedroom while talking into the phone again.
Curious, Jason jumped up and walked a few steps after her:
"What kind of guests?"
"What do I know?! Some riffraff your useless father surrounds himself with."
With that she slammed the door in before face and left Jason alone again. Apparently today was another one of those days when they couldn't stand each other at all. He already knew these.
Jason was just turning back to his building blocks to put them away, when his dog was suddenly gone.
"Charlie?"
Puzzled, he looked around for his four-legged friend, but he was nowhere to be seen in the living room. Jason continued through the open kitchen door, from which his mother had just stepped out, and quickly realized that the front door was still wide open.
The images he now followed through the open door literally burned into his soul.
Charlie ran after a squirrel, which quickly escaped across the adjacent street. The rodent crossed the asphalt unharmed, but luck was not with his dog.
Loud yelps echoed in Jason's ears as a car hit his beloved four-legged friend with full force, hurling him through the air.
Charlie landed a few feet away on the adjacent grassy strip and instead of stopping to help him, the car just drove on quickly as if nothing had happened.
Horror literally written all over his face, Jason ran out.
There was no way this was happening. He was okay. Charlie would be okay!
But even from a distance, he saw his dog stop moving.
"Charlie!"
Jason's eyes were watering even before he got to his four-legged friend. He wasn't even paying attention to the traffic, he just wanted to get to his dog.
This just could not happen!
Jason came to a stop next to Charlie and then knelt down in front of him. Carefully, he shook the dog a little:
"Ch-Charlie, hey Charlie! Please get up!"
But the brown dog remained unresponsive. Jason saw some blood dripping from his nose and mouth and now became even more desperate:
"Charlie please! Please get up!"
Tears streamed down his face as the boy realized his dog remained lifeless. The familiar rise and fall of his lungs was gone. The broken body no longer allowed any response.
Jason desperately wrapped his arms around his only friend and collapsed. He pressed his face into the soft fur and whimpered pleadingly:
"Please...please don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone. Please Charlie. I'm sorry...I'll never ask again either, just please...get back up..."
Jason was overcome with emotion. Pain, sadness, despair, guilt over having approached his mother about the cigarette smell in the first place, but most of all fear. Fear of what would happen from now on.
He was alone...his only friend was gone...he was all alone...
"Ah...here we have something after all. Longing for recognition and attention? The poor little boy wants to be seen. Let's change those sad memories a bit..."
"Mom, you have to see what I built! Me and Charlie made the biggest tower ever. Come see it!"
Jason could clearly see his mother's glazed eyes as she was about to shakily light one of her cigarettes. He didn't want her to be unhappy. He wanted to show her so much so she wouldn't be sad anymore.
At the sight of the happy child's face, a smile crept onto the woman's lips as well. She put away her cigarette and answered in a shaky voice:
"Really? Well, let me take a look."
Jason looked at her, puzzled. He hadn't expected her to actually come. She usually never did! His laughter grew wider now and he grabbed her arm overjoyed to lead her into the living room. He was sure that everything would finally change now, the way he always wanted it to.
Jason walked between memories that never happened like that, but seemed very real to him at that moment.
How his mother always lovingly cooked him the most delicious food, how he and Charlie were inseparable, and how he and his parents sat harmoniously at the table every day after they had made up. How his dad always liked to tinker with him in the garage, him being the most popular boy in his school. Jason liked being the center of attention and how people respected him. It was the perfect life.
And then when his parents died, Batman himself approached him and took him in as his son. They were the perfect duo as Batman and Robin and had no secrets from each other. Every time Bruce emphasized how proud he was of him, how Dick titled him as the best Robin. He was so happy.
"Extremely interesting. We have one of this Batman's minions here judging by the memories."
"Now don't tell me we have to deal with this Furry too. I'm so not up for those pesky do-gooders."
"They're just weak humans anyway. Now shut up. I almost have him."
Jason sat in the kitchen, reading today's news while eating one of Alfred's sandwiches. The butler was standing behind the counter, already making the black coffee for the master of the house, like every morning, when he entered the room.
In good spirits, Bruce took his coffee before turning to Jason in high praise:
"You really did a good job yesterday. I've been tracking Joker for weeks, but you catching him all by yourself in that warehouse is an amazing feat. I'm really proud of you Jason."
For Jason, the praise went down like the sweetest honey. He was happy every time Bruce acknowledged his actions. But, he now became more serious:
"However, I would like you to please not act alone in the future. This could have turned out differently. After all, I'm not hiding anything from you.
We are a team and should function as such and as my son I just want you to be safe. You are important to us Jason."
As if in confirmation, Alfred now looked to him and nodded in agreement. Jason looked thoughtfully at his sandwich for a moment before replying:
"I...I understand. I'll let you know in the future."
Satisfied, Bruce nodded and then pivoted on to the next topic:
"That reassures me. By the way, I still need the location of this demon we've been looking for for some time. You said you knew where he was now..."
"...You knew where he is now. So tell me. That would make me so proud..." the demonic voice crooned in front of Jason, who was still a prisoner of illusion. Bliss graced his face and he wanted more. More of this recognition, more of the perfect life, more of this family who really cared that he was doing well and understood him.
And he would do anything for them:
"He...he's..."
"Come on Jason. Tell me. We can throw some balls afterwards then. You like baseball so much."
"He's..."
"Oi, you two!"
Suddenly, the two demons were interrupted in their actions and looked behind them in confusion.
A blond man in his forties and dressed in a long brown coat stood several feet behind them with his hands in his pockets and Jack asked in confusion:
"Was ComicCon today, or why is this Supernatural Castiel knockoff standing in front of us?"
"Don't use those stupid terms Jack! Nobody but you understands them anyway!"
James addressed the intruder:
"If you value your life, you'd better get out of here, human!" and then wanted to continue manipulating Jason. But their visitor was not what they had thought him to be.
Already almost annoyed, he now spoke:
"Greed and Sloth I suppose? By the looks of you two, you didn't inherit Daddy's best qualities, did you?"
The surprised looks of the demons eyed the intruder suspiciously and James' half-skeletonized mouth growled:
"Who are you and how do you know us?"
"John Constantin the name and if you don't mind I'd like to ask you and the chipmunk in Rainbow Land some questions."
Jack and James looked at each other in amazement.
But then Jack snorted:
"Gahahaha...where did you get the idea to make demands of us! You're quite the brave one."
But rather a thoughtful expression graced the face of his golden friend. Snappishly, he interrupted the cackling skull with a smack to the back of the head:
"Hey!"
"You jerk! Doesn't ring any bell when you hear that name?"
Questioning, Jack tilted his head, "Nope, why?"
"God, why did I ever get involved with a complete idiot like you? That guy there is a demon slayer! If not one of the worst!"
Constantin interrupted the two squabblers, annoyed:
"Please girls, could we stick to the point? Besides, I'm more... let's say a detective for special cases."
James growled angrily, because this guy would certainly not let them go just like that.
He let go of Jason, whose head was hanging limply, and took a few steps towards Constantin, who was just standing there, bored.
James stopped in front of him and looked at the mage closely, while the blond only raised a brow and said:
"Well, since you don't answer, how about telling me first where your dear little brothers have gone? I would hate sending you to hell right away."
The red demon's grotesque face remained expressionless at first, but then he replied:
"I hear you're not too fond of our father. Shouldn't our plan to overthrow him actually be in your interest?"
"The only thing in my interest is not to have fighting any more shitheads than necessary. You're after his power, and that doesn't please me. Besides, he's in a good place right now, don't you think? Let him have his extended vacation. So you are welcome to choose whether you want to return to your lives or be send to hell by me. The former would definitely save me more time."
James growled angrily, but then replied matter-of-factly:
"The king's rank is on the line. In your opinion, is my boring life as a trader on the stock exchange more lucrative than all the power that is currently on the table?"
Provocatively, the Golden Demon spread his arms as he continued:
"I am Greed! Grasping for gain is my nature."
He retracted his arms again and formed a golden ball from his gold. He threw it at Constantin listlessly while he continued:
"Therefore, it is probably not surprising that I like to put obstacles in the way of my opponents. The ball shows you where my brothers are right now."
The blond looked at the golden earth, on which three closely spaced dots were slowly but steadily moving closer and closer to Bludhaven, and James explained:
"As you can see, they already know about this little coup and are on their way here. So many of us in one bunch. I wonder what the city would look like after that?"
Annoyed, Constantin grumbled, "Bloody bastard."
"You're welcome to take care of them while we kill Despair. A win win situation don't you think? You keep them off our backs and we'll clean up the extra mess for you."
James didn't even wait for a response, but stepped back a few feet and ordered:
"Jack, we leave!"
With that, the two demons jumped onto one of the townhouses and disappeared across the many rooftops to continue searching for their target.
Left in the alley, Constantin let his neck crack in annoyance as he stared after them, before an annoyed grumble left his mouth:
"That these bastards always have to play unfair."
His gaze continued to wander to Jason, who was still sitting like a drunk on the floor of the alley wall and seemed to be incapable of doing anything.
Without further ado, the blond walked up to him and squatted down in front of him.
Insistently, he placed a hand on the latter's shoulder:
"Oi, mate!"
Constantin shook Jason's shoulder as he finally came somewhat to his senses dazedly.
"Oi, boy, concentrate! You need to tell me more about the demon you met! This is very important!"
But the only response was an uncomfortable grumble. Jason felt as if he had been trapped in an extremely fast merry-go-round for the last eight hours and was forced to eat rotten fish with jam at the same time.
He was nauseous, everything was spinning, and he just wasn't capable of any productive action.
But his company wasn´t lenient with him because of that.
"Actually, I didn't want to do this."
Jason's head was grabbed and strange words left his counterpart's mouth.
Again Jason was pulled back into memories, only this time it was merely a few hours back to the last time he had seen Dick. It was considerably more uncomfortable than it had been with the demon, and when he found himself back in the here and now, he couldn't help but repave the alley with the contents of his stomach. It was just too much.
"He still has strong social skills, despite his abilities. So there's still time." Murmured this strange guy, then addressed Jason directly.
"Don't be surprised. Nausea and confusion is normal when so many have messed with your head. You should at least be able to stand again in half an hour. And your brother will have to manage those two without me."
Jason felt a tug on his head. Had this guy just pulled out one of his hairs?
Again strange words were spoken and his left hand was pulled out. Jason opened his eyes in a daze and saw some kind of glowing ribbon wrap around their little fingers. A moment later, a ring tattoo remained around his finger.
"It'll make it easier for me to find you again. So you better be with your brother next time I come back."
And just as quickly as this strange guy had appeared, he disappeared, leaving the Outlaw behind alone.
Jason didn't bother to comprehend this whole situation now. He was currently more busy not to puke on his clothes too.
But he also had to warn the others. The Outlaw didn't even get to fight back as fast as he was lying on the ground. Who knew what these two demons were capable of?
Jason tried to push himself up, but he couldn't get more than ten centimeters, because the alley immediately started spinning again. Threateningly, his battered stomach made him belch and almost made him expose his stomach contents to the world again.
Maybe it was not a bad idea to sit for 30 minutes. He couldn't move much anyway.
Such a shit...
On a transmission tower of the city a flock of resting pigeons startled when Richard and Damian landed there. The latter dressed in his borrowed Robin costume.
Dick's eyes shone as brightly as the myriad lights around them at the sight of the bustle below. He delighted in every outing. About flying around freely, getting to know this world that was foreign to him and discovering new things together with someone.
And he was too excited to notice the heaviness in the air.
Damian got off Dick's back and together with him looked at Bludhaven from above, accompanied by the gnashing of the boy's teeth.
Where...
Where should they go?...
Damian didn't know what to do. He had no one left to go to with Dick. Even the Teen Titans would surely rat him out to Batman as soon as they saw Richard.
And Jason had...left him behind and just taken off.
One of his gloved hands came to rest on the cracked leather of his mask as Damian stared off into the distance, lost in thoughts.
Jason hadn't even had the decency to tell him about it, but had simply left without a word. And at that, Damian had actually begun to...accept this complete idiot...
He was alone.
The boy couldn't suppress the way disappointment made his eyes glaze over and reminded himself to control himself. After all, it couldn't be true that his body was reacting this way because of that loser Todd. He was a Wayne, an Al Guhl. Feelings didn't exist for him. They were a weakness he was not allowed to have...
And yet...
...
...and yet... he was angry, desperate, disappointed, alone...
...lost.
Damian hissed and rubbed his wet eyes dry.
This wasn't him. This was not what he was supposed to be. Not what he wanted to be.
Damian Wayne was ironclad and could not be ruffled by anything. He remained steadfast when others were already crumbling. That was him and nothing else!
Soft feathers wrapped around the body of the confused boy and snapped him out of his thoughts. Dick had sensed by now that something was wrong, causing him to wrap his two left wings around him, accompanied by the typical cooing from his throat. Surprised at first, Damian eventually allowed Dick to direct him to him until they were sitting side by side, gazing together over the rooftops of the city. Just as they used to do.
Beaming with joy, Dick surveyed the many small cars below them and tried to infect Damian with his joyful mood. When that didn't work right away, the half-bird leaned against his little friend and held his tail feathers in front of them as their structure changed.
In a thousand different colors, they reflected the light of the city. Broke it into new spectral colors and danced back and forth.
Damian was reminded of auroras, only...more vivid and with many more colors.
He couldn't suppress an amused snort:
"You are and always will be a hopeless romantic Richard."
"Da~mi!" came only glee from the crazy bird.
Damian was not alone. He had Richard and Richard was always there for him.
It would just always be up to them. The perfect duo.
He would think of something. But they had to get out of town and hide somewhere before his father found them and put Dick back in a cage. Damian remembered the many times Richard had begged him and Jon for freedom. He didn't want to see that again. He would not abandon Dick!
The boy got back on his companion's back and together they flew further inland.
Along the way, Damian searched on his computer for a suitable place where they could hide for now. Maybe a cave or a very dense forest. Something deserted without too much light and where enough food could be found.
Suddenly, Dick stopped in mid-air.
"Richard what...?!
Confused, Damian watched as Dick look around questioningly and draw the night air into his nose examiningly. He swung back and forth and clacked, not even paying attention to the fact that his passenger had to claw at him to keep from being shaken off.
"Richard get a hold of yourself! Stop fidgeting around! What's even...?!"
Unexpectedly, the boy was interrupted as something hit Dick in the side.
The shock caused the winged one to cry out briefly before he began to trundle toward the ground.
Damian saw a strange black mass gum up Dick's right wings, preventing him from maintaining lift. Richard hissed and shrieked as he desperately tried to pull his limbs free, but the substance remained unyielding.
Damian looked down to determine where they would land. The central city park was rapidly approaching them and the boy now had a real problem. If he had his own cape on, this situation would be easily solved by the built-in glider, but this was Drake's first lobe! This useless thing couldn't do anything else than protect his body!
But fortunately Dick was aware of his flightless friend. As they fell, he grabbed Damian with his tail and, just before they hit the ground, threw him into a large oak tree in a high arc, so that the boy landed braked between the branches.
Dick himself crashed at full fall speed onto the mowed lawn of the city park, leaving only flattened stalks from the former upright green.
Richard briefly shook the dirt from his feathers before trying again with hands, feet and teeth to get rid of this annoying black mass. It stuck like tar, preventing him from moving properly, and even as his feathers turned to smooth knives, the substance remained steadfast.
Damian climbed down the tree to help him, when suddenly more of those black threads shot out like tentacles and wrapped themselves around Richard.
They bound his limbs together, holding him in place and standing firm no matter how much he struggled.
The boy was already pulling a firebomb out of his pocket as he ran, trying to use fire to loosen those stubborn bonds, when something else burst out from under Richard and bit into Dick's throat with its long fangs.
Four leathery clawed arms helped wrestle his surprised friend to the ground in the same second, allowing the long disfigured animal skull to better bite into the feathered neck.
Damian could see the blood running from Dick's vengeance as the teeth pierced his trachea and he desperately tried to free himself from the creature's grip.
The boy did not hesitate and threw the bomb at it, whereupon a sea of flame enveloped the two demons. He knew that back then the napalm could not harm Dick, which is why he now drew these drastic measures. Fortunately, the same did not apply to his opponent.
The four-armed assailant recoiled a few feet with a yelp, allowing Dick the opportunity to right himself. The flames clung to his body like ticks to a dog and the beast-headed demon, accompanied by wild screeching, hastily tried to extinguish them with his four arms.
The black threads gave way under the heat, making Dick's freedom even more tangible.
Damian stood by so they could make their escape as soon as Richard fought his way free. He couldn't believe that another one of those demons had shown up now, of all times. A completely new one at that, which meant that there were several of them.
This was getting out of hand!
Snare after snare was torn apart as Dick fought them with all his might. Blood was pouring out of his nose and mouth as his lungs pumped eagerly for air, and he pressed all his limbs into the grassy ground for more strength. As the last shackles began to loosen, Damian prepared to jump on Richard's back.
They had to move quickly to close Richard's ripped throat. While Damian wasn't exactly aware of how such injuries would affect him, something like this was usually a death sentence!
Dick's wings were already flapping wildly up and down when his struggle suddenly came to an abrupt end and the boy's plan was foiled.
Out of nowhere, a large golden sphere, about 3 meters in diameter, slammed straight into the winged man, accompanied by a sound like a bell, burying him under its heavy, unyielding mass.
Damian's eyes snapped open as nothing but a few crushed bluish feather tips peeked out from under all the scrubbed gold, and no more movement from Dick was audible.
Silence spread around them, which was broken only by the chirping of the surrounding crickets.
"Dick?" came it incredulously from the boy, but silence remained beneath the heavy gold.
A deep echoing voice filled that void:
"Stop fooling around Jack. We're not here for fun!"
The top of the golden sphere opened to reveal another demon, his red skin standing out in hard contrast among all the gold. Bored, he clung with folded arms to his golden cloak, which had changed from the shape of an orb to that of a rigid crescent moon. He looked waitingly at his four-armed partner, who was slapping the last few flames from his body:
"Oh I just hate it when my pitch is set on fire. You don't know how terribly itchy it is!"
Jack stepped up next to the golden demon, who was still hanging serenely at the top of the crescent moon, and pointed one of his four claws at Damian, who was still staring transfixed at the crushed Dick:
"Do we need this, or can I make it into toothpicks for later? I don't fancy this addition setting me on fire again."
But James put a bitter damper on him:
"Not until Despair is finally dead and we can eat him before the others. You know how much I hate to share. The dessert can wait."
"Then get off your golden ass and let's end this. I want to finally get my peace back without having to put up with your constant power nagging." Replied Jack, folding his four arms in boredom.
"You're welcome to leave him to me completely if the power is that annoying."
"And let you eat me right after him, greedy bastard? You really think I'm completely stupid huh? Now move aside so I can fixate him. I expect you to cut him in half fairly!"
"Once I topple Father, you're dead anyway."
"If I had a dollar for every time one of you threatened me with death, I'd be rich by now."
Damian watched as the gold slowly withdrew from Richard, and how the scales of the underside stood up into a single bed of nails. Generous angry red drenched each tip.
Jack's black pitch pulled Dick's limp form upward, whereupon blood snaked down his body from every single hole on his back.
Damian drove a shiver through every pore at this sight. The way Dick just hung there. Bloody, gasping pitifully for breath and about to be eaten by these monsters.
The golden demon changed the shape of its cloak again, forming a huge blade that now hovered directly over Richard.
This drove the boy to action again. Gritting his teeth, his hand was already moving back into the belt of his costume to at least create a distraction with another bomb.
But his intention was noticed, because two of the four eyes of the animal skull always rested on the boy.
Bored, one of Jack's many arms swung up and black shackles shot out of the ground, binding Damian's limbs tightly to his body.
"Leave him alone, monster!"
He shouted at them and could have sworn those pale bones were grinning at him as they spoke now:
"It's a bit of a shame to kill the kid too. He's kinda cute, the way he fights back. Usually brats like that piss all over their diapers just by looking at me."
"Keep him as a toy if you want to when we are finished. I want my meat now!"
His partner replied annoyed and let the golden axe fall down to cut Richard in half, accompanied by Damian's desperate scream.
But luck was on their side.
Dick startled out of his delirium and his tail instinctively sprang up. The hardened feathers deflected the path of the golden axe, causing it to slice loudly deep into the earth beside Richard.
The angry turquoise eyes narrowed to slits and he spat the blood from his lungs to make use of his newest ability.
Damian saw the feathers on Dick's neck press tightly over his wounds as the winged one's breath enveloped everything in a freezing ice mist.
The black threads froze and shattered like glass under Richard's force.
Jack and James jumped back a few feet to gain safe distance before Jack grumbled:
"Obviously, it wasn't going to be that easy. And here I was looking forward to not really having to exert myself. I hate work."
But was the only response from his golden partner:
"Father's blood is not so powerful for nothing. Why do you think I teamed up with you? He has gluttony on his conscience, after all."
Dick was free. And really pissed off now.
He spun around to the two demons and hissed menacingly at them, not even noticing his still-bound friend.
His feathers pressed tightly on the many wounds, not allowing more of his blood to be wasted like that.
Jack relaxed, letting his scrawny limbs crack as he said in response:
"Well, let's get serious…" and rammed his arms into the ground.
The grassy area of the otherwise quiet park turned into a sea of black tentacles that erupted from the damp earth like nails.
They circled Dick on all sides, cutting off his path on the ground.
The snares tried to grab him, prompting Richard to make his way up, but was that just part of the plan.
James jumped over him, leaving Dick with no way out, and slammed his golden cape down on him like a hammer.
The winged one was about to parry the blow again with his tail when the gold split in two, slapping him midair from right and left.
Dick braced his wings and arms against the rigid mass to avoid being crushed by it again. The scaly surface once again turned into a single bed of nails so that he would finally give in under the painful pressure, like in an iron maiden.
But the only thing James accomplished with this was to make Dick even angrier. He had learned from the previous attack and hardened the feathers all over his body into an impenetrable armor that the sharp nails could not harm.
Richard positioned his scrawny spikes on his back and began rubbing all his feathers together. Electricity built up and the sight drove a knowing grin onto the face of Damian, who was still tied to the ground. Gold is one of the purest metals, making it one of the best conductors. This golden bastard was one giant lightning magnet!
Dick gathered the energy all over his body and then released the electricity through his horns to the many gold around him.
Confused at first, the unknowing demon was now shocked by electricity at it´s highest level.
He shrieked and his body twitched uncontrollably, which gave Dick the chance to pull himself free again.
But instead of immediately taking flight, he dashed forward to launch a counterattack. He kept the current flowing to continue weakening his opponent. But before he could reach James, his leg was grabbed by the tentacles and his body whipped into the ground.
"Who was the weaker one of the two of us again? Seems to me his little magic trick isn't sitting too well with you. This guy shuts even you up, eh James?"
Jack sneered and tied Dick up while his partner regained control of his twitching muscles.
"Shut the fuck up or the next thing my mouth will be shut with is your useless bones!"
"Pah! Useless. That's a good one. You literally have no eyes in your head, so I don't even expect you to notice who's saving your ass right now!"
Meanwhile, on the ground, Damian was trying to free himself from the Stubborn Restraints. He tried to pull various Getjets from his belt to somehow cut himself loose. But he just couldn't manage to move his hand enough for this endeavor.
Suddenly more tentacles shot towards him and the boy already thought that they wanted to impale him. But instead of ending his life, they wrapped around him and lifted him from the cold earth.
Confused, Damian stared at the many snares before they began to lunge.
A bad feeling came over the boy and only a moment later he flew in a high arc over the whole park.
Damian desperately tried to fight the restraints to at least break the fall, but they remained as tight as ever.
He was falling straight toward a large stone monument of some well-known person when he was caught just before he hit the ground.
Astonished, Damian looked at another tentacle that now dropped him just over the sandy path in front of the monument, making him kiss the ground with a dull sound.
The black sticky loop formed something that looked a lot like this Jack's beastly head before his demonic voice turned threateningly to the boy:
"If you value your life, you dwarf stay far away. I like you well, which is why you get this chance from me, but if you get in my way again..." one of the demon's tentacles traveled up the stature and tightened around its stone neck. Crashing, the head was severed as the demon continued:
"...I will crush each of your limbs separately."
Damian was about to protest, but the black pitch disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving the befuddled boy free once again.
The night sky kept lighting up blue, showing him that the fight was in full swing.
This dolt didn't even know who he had just told to stay far away. If he thought Damian would be impressed by that, then he had miscalculated!
He jumped to his feet and quickly went through his options. Dick's life was in acute danger, but what could he do against these demons? Damian was not stupid enough not to know that a single counterattack could kill him and his own weapons were useless to say the least. These supernatural beings were a league in which he could only be a spectator.
But Dick had already been badly beaten by the fat demon. And now two more were after him, with abilities that gave Richard a hard time. The risk of them killing him was extremely high. He had to do something!
Suddenly Damian heard the sound of engines approaching. He looked confused along the sandy path of the park, where in the distance a headlight approached at a rapid pace. Annoyed, the boy hissed as he recognized the red motorcycle speeding toward him. The fine grit flew across the lawn as it came to a stop in front of Damian with a controlled drift of the rear wheel and he hissed:
"-tt-, Sure one of you would show up here soon. Such bright flashes in the sky are hard to miss, aren't they Drake?"
Wordlessly, the teen got off his bike and walked towards him, while Damian continued:
"And where did you leave father? You have surely licked his boots agai...?!"
Out of nowhere, Tim's flat hand smashed through the boy's face and took all the wind out of his sails.
