Chapter 13- The Heart Pirates
A/N: So, here it is: the long awaited arrival of The Surgeon of Death. Dun dun dun. I love him in the anime, but he's surprisingly hard to write so I hope he's not too OOC. And though I like Law/Luffy, I'm not writing any pairings. Luffy just likes having friends and has no personal boundaries.
On a side note, I still love the idea of the Bat-glare through a Transponder Snail. Hope you like Dick's reaction to it.
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Jason Todd wasn't sure what he was expecting from these new pirates, probably people as crazy as the Straw Hats, but the first people to jump aboard seemed pretty normal. A relatively tall, thin man carrying a Nodachi and wearing a fluffy black and white hat was immediately tackled by an overly enthusiastic Luffy, so Jason figured he was the captain, Trafalgar Law. The next on board seemed nondescript except for a penguin hat and a bright orange jumpsuit. He hung back watching his captain try to fight off the affectionate rubberman. The last pirate to clear the railing finally satisfied Jason's expectations of the bizarre. The polar bear, dressed in the orange jumpsuit like his crewmate, was warmly welcomed by Nami and Chopper.
"I'm sorry," the bear apologized for no apparent reason as Chopper hugged his leg.
"You apologize too easily, Bepo," the penguin man said, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry," the bear replied.
While Jason was watching the exchange, Law was able to extract himself from his fellow captain. "Tony-ya, where is the patient?" he asked brusquely.
Suddenly all business, Chopper hurried back to Nightwing's side. "Dr. Law, this is Nightwing, and his brothers, Jason and Damien," the little doctor introduced. He wrung his hooves nervously. "He was held by a brutal Marine captain and has several severe injuries."
"Yes, Tony-ya, I can see that," Law said with a grin that even Damien found a little creepy. He held out his hand but seeing the state of Nightwing's fingers, he dropped it. "I'm Trafalgar D. Water Law, captain of the Heart Pirates."
"And ally of the Straw Hat Pirates," Robin added, with her own creepy smile.
Law glared at the archeologist, but didn't argue. "Yes, well, as long as we have common enemies, anyway. But allies don't make me Strawhat-ya's on call doctor. You're lucky your case sounds interesting." He sighed. "Let us retreat to your office, Tony-ya. I need to examine our patient. The rest of you stay out here."
Damien glared at the much taller man. "I'm coming," he challenged. "I don't trust you."
Law seemed amused by the child-hero, and met the challenge with one of his own. "Are you a doctor? No? Then, what use are you in this situation?"
"Don't presume to know what I can do, pirate," Damien threatened. His whole demeanor shifted, and instead of hiding his background, he flaunted it. He reached for his sword, not drawing it, but the threat obvious.
Law's smirk changed, turning dangerous and held out a hand where a power swirled in his palm. "And you shouldn't presume to order a pirate to do anything."
All the pirates froze, and the air grew thick with tension. Chopper stammered, obviously trying to determine how to defuse the situation, but surprisingly, Luffy stepped up to the occasion.
"Traffy, be nice to my friends," the young captain said, stepping between the two. "Damien, you can trust Law. He's our friend and a really good doctor. He saved my life before." His hand strayed to the scar on his chest, the light in his eyes flickering for just a moment before he laughed. "Shishishishi, you have to call the batguy anyway, right. Come on. You too, Hoodie." He put his arm around Damien and started dragging him toward the mess hall.
Jason shook his head in disbelief before following the rubber pirate and little brother. He almost patted Dick on the shoulder as he walked by, before turning it into a hair ruffle at the last second.
Dick brushed off the younger man's hand but smiled after him as he disappeared into the ship. He was amazed at how easily both of his brothers followed Luffy's lead. Neither was known for following orders, not even Batman's all the time. Yet a seemingly idiotic rubber criminal has them listening without arguments. It was a minor miracle.
Sanji sighed and after a final puff on his cigarette, he left to start dinner. Luffy was bound to demand a feast to celebrate Law's visit. The gluttonous captain used any excuse for a party. He wished Dick good luck before leaving him with the two doctors.
"Well, I see Strawhat-ya hasn't changed," Law said with a shake of his head. "Let us retire to your office, Tony-ya."
"Of…of course," Chopper stammered, not really nervous, just excited to work with Law again. "He can't walk, so I'll have to carry him." He smiled up at the bemused Nightwing. "Are you ready?"
The Surgeon of Death scoffed impatiently. "No need to waste our time." Without any explanation or warning, he formed a room with his ability and switched Nightwing with a pillow from the sickbay bed.
"Gahh!?" came from the startled hero, now out of sight.
"After you," Law said with a bow and a grin.
Chopper blinked in surprise for a second before running off in a near panic to check on his patient. He scolded his colleague over his shoulder, "You must be more careful of your patients. You can't just fling him around like that!"
—--
In the galley, Jason watched Sanji cook while Damien watched Ussop prepare the Transponder Snail to call home. Both heros had jumped when Dick had cried out in surprise, but when they didn't hear anything else and Luffy and the other Strawhats didn't react, they agreed to wait.
"Grab the collider for me, please," Sanji asked without a pause in his preparations. Even Alfred would be impressed by his efficiency in the kitchen.
"Tell me more about the doctor," Jason asked as he handed over the strainer.
"He's a creepy bastard. Once, before we were allies, he switched the hearts of a group of us," Sanji mused. His eyes grew dreamy and his cigarette smoke formed hearts. "I switched with Nami-swan. They were glorious, um, I mean it was educational."
Jason shuddered. It hadn't happened to him, but body swaps was one of those things heros talked about. It sounded awful, even if he switched with a hot girl. "Not really improving my impression of him."
"Don't get me wrong, the guy's good. After we teamed up, he saved a bunch of kids that had been poisoned by an evil scientist by literally cutting the poison out of their bodies." Sanji paused his chopping to consider his next words. "And he saved Luffy, of course. Still don't know why he did that, but we're thankful."
"I don't know," Jason sighed. He fingered his cigarette pack in his pocket, but knew better than to light up. Only Sanji could smoke in his kitchen. "But it's not like we have a choice."
"The snail is ready when you are," Ussop broke in, standing up.
"We should wait for Grayson," Damien said. He got up with the intention of going to the infirmary, but Luffy stretched out a hand.
"They're coming," he said with a smile. "Sanji, when's dinner?"
"When I say and not a moment sooner, you gluttonous greedy guts," Sanji called over his shoulder. He nodded at Jason. "Please keep them occupied until I'm done here."
Jason sighed but joined the captain and his brother by the snail. He looked at all the wires linking the poor thing to their phone. "You sure it'll still work?"
Ussop scoffed. "Of course it will. I even insulated the wires better, so you should have more time before it overheats, and I added an alarm so we know when it starts getting too hot."
"That is an impressive set up," Law said as he walked into the room.
Chopper, carrying Dick, followed and got the oldest brother settled in a chair next to the transponder snail. The hero eyed the creature dubiously, but he wasn't tracking real well. Damien immediately bristled at Dick's drugged state.
"Calm down, we merely gave him some stronger painkillers while I examined him," Law explained calmly.
When Jason and Damian turned to Dick for confirmation, the older brother nodded with a grin that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but just looked kinda loopy.
"What did you find out?" Damien demanded. He crossed his arms to glare at the lanky pirate/doctor, who did not flinch.
"I don't want to explain myself more than once. So let's call your home and tell everyone in one go."
"Tch, fine," Damien said and sat down next to Dick with his arms crossed in a snit.
Jason rolled his eyes but entered the number for the Batcave but handed the receiver to Damien.
Pururururu pururururu gatcha
"Report," answered a gruff voice. The snail scowled menacingly.
Dick slapped a hand over his mouth and looked at his brothers with an incredulous expression. He recognized that glare and coming from a snail, it was hilarious.
"Father, the surgeon is here to talk about Grayson's condition," Damien answered quickly.
The snail's eyes moved closer together in an attempt at furrowed eyebrows. "I see. And what is the prognosis?"
Dick flailed wildly at the snail and mouthed "Really?" at Jason who shrugged. Sure the snail was weird, but it's no weirder than some of the alien tech they've dealt with before.
"Is that snail doing the bat-glare?" Dick tried to whisper, but in his drugged state was a lot louder than he intended.
"Nightwing?"
"Oh, hi, B!" Dick said trying to keep it together.
"Are you okay?"
"Better than I was before Hood and Robin saved me. Did you know they made friends with pirates? They're really…different" Dick paused to find an inoffensive term. "My doctors are a reindeer and creepy guy."
"I see." The glare coming from the snail turned practically murderous.
"Wow, the glare is surprisingly effective even from a snail," Dick said, unaffected. Around him, some of the more timid Strawhats took a step back, namely Chopper and Ussop.
Law stepped forward and took the receiver from Damien, who had been holding it up for Dick. "I am Trafalgar Law, the creepy one," he said calmly. "my colleague Tony-ya and I had to give Nightwing some powerful painkillers so I could examine him." A smirk spread across his mouth as he looked over at Dick. " Honestly, I'm surprised he's upright. So back to the business at hand, after a thorough examination of the patient, I agree with Tony-ya in that he needs surgery to repair the damage to his shoulder. Otherwise he will never regain full motion on that side. He could also use some pins in his ankle and reconstruction surgery on the fingers of his left hand."
They waited while Batman processed the information. Dick tried to lean forward to get a better look at the snail as he actually saw emotions seem to pass across its face. It was amazing. "In your professional opinion, how long can he wait for these surgeries? And are you capable of performing them?"
Law visibly tensed at someone questioning his abilities. He glanced at Luffy, who was smiling as widely as usual, and at the two younger brothers who were waiting for his answer. The pirate sighed but decided not to be petty for now. "He could wait for the surgery but the longer he waits, the more difficult his recovery will be. Honestly, the sooner the better in cases like this." He gestured at Chopper to come take the receiver, letting the little doctor, with his much better bedside manner, convince them of his skill.
"Mr. Batman, sir, Dr. Law is a very capable surgeon, much better than myself," the reindeer said, puffing himself up with professional pride to cover his reluctance to get near the still glaring snail. "I agree with his assessment and he has much better facilities to perform the surgery than we do on our ship, the Sunny. Honestly, his operation room is better than most hospitals on the Grand Line."
Mollified by his colleague's praise, Law nodded. "As a favor to the Strawhats,I promise to do my best by Nightwing."
Jason stepped over to speak over Chopper's shoulder, interrupting before Batman could speak. "B, I'll admit that conditions here are unorthodox, but from what I've seen, I think he might get better care here than even back home. Some of these people have abilities which the doctors at Gotham General would not."
"Loathe as I am to agree with Todd, he had a point. This Dr. Law has a reputation of remarkable results," Damien agreed, taking the receiver from Jason. Then he glared at Dick who mouthed the last couple words at him, teasing him for the alliteration.
"I see. Is Nightwing still there?"
"I'm here, B," Dick said, trying to maintain his composure. A part of his brain wondered what was in those painkillers, because it was harder than it should have been.
The snail sighed, which almost set Dick off again. "Of course, it's your choice, but it seems like the best option, even if I don't like it. Regardless, we will be working on getting all of you home as soon as possible. We all miss you," Batman admitted, and the snail's eyes softened.
Dick smiled, and he fought the tears that welled in his own eyes. "Thanks, B. That means a lot. I think I trust these guys, even if my surgeon is a little creepy."
"Dr. Law, what do you need from me," Batman said, all business again.
Law stepped forward again and the two doctors spent several minutes asking questions about Dick's medical history before the alarm next to the snail beeped.
Ussop spoke up timidly. "Um, sorry to interrupt but the wiring is starting to overheat. You need to hang up soon." He squeaked when Law glared at him and ducked behind his captain, who just laughed.
"Very well. Please call with updates when you can. We hope to have a plan to reopen the door by tomorrow," Batman said. "Then we can figure out a signal you can track."
"Bye, B," Dick said softly.
"Take care of each other."
"Yosh, bye, Batguy," Luffy said, taking charge. He hung up the receiver and turned to look at the others.
A heavy silence fell over the group, who were all stuck in their own heads with their own worries and concerns. Luffy knew they were all thinking important things, but everyone looked so serious, he couldn't take it. Everything in the future would take care of itself, and there was nothing they could do about the past. So he took the easy route and focused on the present.
"Yosh, Sanji, FOOD. It's time to party!"