Chapter 16
"Are you clear on your mission, Deathstroke?" Vandal asks.
"Find the Court, find the boy, bring him home. Didn't think you would give me such an easy task for my first mission for the Light." Deathstroke states.
"If it were easy, I'd let Batman try to find the boy." Vandal mentions.
"Fair point. Rest assured the boy will be found in time." Deathstroke states, adjusting his gloves.
"The boy must be brought back, Deathstroke, or we lose our pawn." Vandal reminds.
"Understood. And if I find him dead?" Deathstroke asks.
"If you want a chance to be part of the Light, you will succeed." Vandal more or less threatens. "Now go. The longer we wait, the less of a chance he will be found alive." Deathstroke is gone before Vandal can even finish his sentence.
"Why even care about the twenty-four hour limit?" Klarion asks. "So what if he contacts the bat guy?"
"Mr. Wayne is still tentative about his newly formed connection with the Light. If we succeed at this, far sooner than Batman would, it would further cement to him how much of an asset we can truly be, and he'll be that much more eager to participate in our plans to rid the world of the Justice League." Vandal explains.
"Yea, whatever. I'm taking a catnap." Klarion states, disappearing.
Dick opens his eyes again, staring up at the ceiling. He feels underneath him, the cold marble… He sits up, finding he's on the podium again. He curses under his breath and curls up.
"Why do they keep doing this…? Why can't I just wake up where I fell asleep!?" He thinks, then lifts his head. "But I have to keep going… I can't let that kid go through this…" He turns his head, looking at the owl statues. "I hate you… But I will get out of here. But I won't become a Talon… You can't make me!" He swings his legs off the podium and onto the floor. He starts walking through the maze again. Like before, right or straight. He turns right again, but finds himself at a dead end. "Figures…" He turns back around and heads back, finding a wall there. He sighs through his nose and turns back around, walking back and finding the spike walls. He crawls under them and continues on.
A left turn there, going straight, another left, a right, fountain room. He ignores the water again and heads toward the back right path, finding the spinning spike poles. He gets through that with ease and continues on. He finds the hall with the door again, but rather than run to it, he goes the other way. And ends up at the fountain again… His brows knit, but he huffs, going toward the back left hall this time. It probably doesn't even matter which way he's going at this point, it keeps changing.
He hears a creepy laugh echoing through the halls, and sees a dark shadow bouncing from wall to wall above him. His brows knit in confusion, but he shakes his head, continuing on, not caring. He can't fall for their tricks anymore, he has to get out. He starts singing to himself again to keep him calm and whelmed. He finds a wall, rolls his eyes and turns back around, walking back, only to find another wall. He stops, turns around and find an even closer wall than before. Turning around again, wall, right there. They're basically closing in on him. He thinks a moment, then turns back around, the wall is even closer. He steps to it then turns around, the walls are getting even closer. He smiles…
He jumps up, jumping from one wall to the other, back and forth, until he reaches the top. He grabs the ledge and pulls himself up. Now he's atop the maze. He smiles and starts walking along the top, being careful not to fall. Luckily, he has pretty good balance. His head feels clearer up here, there's something about being down there that just messes with his head. No more dizzy spells so far. This labyrinth seems to go on for miles though. He isn't really sure how long he's been stuck here. Could be hours, days, weeks? He doesn't think it was that long, but he doesn't really know. The voices have stopped too.
He continues singing to himself as he goes along the top of the maze, finding a door towards the very far back of the maze, he jumps down on the other side of it, finding a bunch of screens, and in the darkness, he can barely see silhouettes of cloaked figures. They turn their heads, looking to him, they wear the owl masks, same ones as the two who were at the circus are wearing. He gets into a fighting stance, ready to fight them all.
"Well done, my boy!" He hears William's voice… He looks around for his grandfather. He lands on the ground in front of him, hood off. He pulls him into a hug. "I just knew you could do it! I had no doubt." He lets him go, hands on his shoulders. "Now we can be together, I can finally have my son."
"I'm not your son… You may be my ancestor, but you're not my family. I'm going home, you either let me out of here, or I'll fight my way out." Dick states.
"Oh, we will never let you go. You will be one with us. You and I will be one." William says, kneeling down and brushing the back of his gloves hand on Dick's cheek. "You don't know how long I have been waiting for this moment." Dick growls and shoves him, stepping back to run. In reaction, William smacks his face so hard he staggers, the clawed fingers scratching his cheek. "It would be wise to obey, son, or I won't be so nice." Dick just looks at him, glaring death. He then runs, bolting down a hallway. Several talons come flocking after him like angry wasps… They're able to catch up easily, some jump in front of him. He stops, trying to grab the knife he took, but finds it's gone. Figures they took it… He gets into a fighting stance. The talons bolt forward to attack.
Dick dodges one hit, lands punches, kicks, flips, kick flips, twirls, and twists through them all, knocking down those blocking his path. All without weapons, all with a broken hand. Defending himself front and back as those behind him didn't hesitate to try and capture him either. That hasn't stopped the talons from coming after him though, they're just getting back up. More join and despite all efforts, fighting through the hordes of owl-clad creeps so strongly, fighting for his life, his grandfather manages to grab him from behind, holding his arms tight. Dick struggles, trying to break free.
"That's enough, Richard." He says. He leans in close, next to his ear. "You're mine now…" He squeezes his arms tighter, an electric pulse shoots through Dick's body. His eyes widen and mouth gaps in a silent scream, in too much pain. He faints, falling into his grandfather's arms. "Easy now, my boy… You're home…" He gently stroke's Dick's injured cheek. He lifts him up, carrying him off.
Deathstroke watches from the rafters, waiting… He stalks one of the talons until they're alone, coming down and striking them, he doesn't hold back, fighting strongly and skillfully, and cuts the talon's head off.
"Good luck regenerating that, asshole…" Deathstroke mutters, taking the Talon's uniform and putting it on himself. It's covered in blood, but that shouldn't matter. He walks around the base, going unnoticed by the rest of the talons, finding Dick Grayson. He waits, seeing William with him. William and a couple of those with just the owl masks. They rip his sleeve open and expose his arm, placing a tourniquet on his bicep and tap on the crook of his elbow, seeming to be looking for a vein. William strokes Dick's head, running his fingers through his hair.
"How long will this take?" He asks.
"Impatient as always, Will." One of the members tease, preparing a vial of medicine. It's dark and viscous looking.
"He must be reborn before something else takes him from me again." William states. They inject the medicine into Dick's arm. Dick's eyelids twitch, he starts tensing up, twisting and writhing, whimpering. It looks as though his wrists and ankles have been bound. The Owl removes the tourniquet and that causes a severe reaction. Starts with small screams… heavy breathing.
"This… This is not normal." The owl states. His breathing quickens. He struggles more, the pain growing. He continues to writhe more violently, tugging against the restraints. He yells louder. Black veins slowly creep up his body, up his neck and toward his face.
"You will get through this, Richard." William says, trying to sooth him, trying to run his fingers through his hair. Dick moves his head away, as if knowing William was touching him despite still being unconscious. The veins grow up his chin and through his face, his skin becomes snowy pale. His breath catches in his throat, back arching off the table, mouth gapping in a loud, pain-filled scream. Then he falls limp again. Thinking it's over, the Owl moves to fill another syringe with a different sort of medication, but just before they can inject it, Dick's body starts seizing, body temperature rising to dangerous levels. "What's wrong?!"
"I don't know, this never happened before!" The owl states. They try to pin Dick down, but he thrashes so wildly, it does very little. Dark blood starts coming out of his ears, eyes, and nose, gagging and coughing, making blood spatter out of his mouth, the black veins start disappearing. Finally he falls limp as the last of the black disappears and his skin returns to it's usual, lightly tan color. "I believe his body rejected it… No body has ever rejected the first injection."
"What does that mean for giving him the electrum?" William asks.
"Unless the pre-electrum binds to the host, the electrum will poison him and probably kill him." The owl states. William growls in frustration.
"Why would his body reject it? It's of my blood! I took to it just fine!" William snaps.
"There could be a number of factors at play." The owl surmises.
"We will figure this out… For now, we let his body rest. He is the child of prophecy, the Gray Son of Gotham, this has to work." William states.
"If I am to be so bold, sir." Deathstroke states, stepping out of the shadows. "Perhaps a break is in order. I will guard the child."
"Perhaps he's right, Will. You have been awake for some time. Rest can lead to breakthrough. You are the smartest of us, you may just think of something yourself." The owl suggests. William sighs, standing up. He looks down at Dick's unconscious body. Thankfully the bleeding's stopped.
"Very well…" William states, he looks to the disguised Deathstroke. "He's bound tight, likely won't break free, but take whatever measures necessary to keep him in place. He's crafty."
"Understood, sir. Rest well." Deathstroke states, walking to the table where Dick lays. The owls leave, leaving Deathstroke alone with the fourteen-year-old boy. After he's sure they've all gone, he takes out a knife and cuts the boy's bindings and lifts him up in one arm. "I watched your battle, kid. You don't know how tempting it is to keep you for myself… But a deal's a deal."
With that. He makes his way up and out, sneaking about and avoiding patrols and guards, being a master assassin. He sneaks down halls, up some stairs, and there are two owls about to come down, he heads back down, going around the corner and waits for them to walk by, but they're about to turn the way he's standing. He jumps up and out of the way just as they turn the corner.
"And then he said, dude, that's my car." One of the owls is talking, and they both laugh. Once they're gone, Deathstroke jumps back down, feet hitting the floor silently. He goes back up the stairs, and checks halls before continuing on. Dick whimpers softly, shifting in Deathstroke's arms.
"Shh." Deathstroke shushes, stroking the side of his head. It seems to sooth him, resting his head on Deathstroke's shoulder. Deathstroke actually smiles a bit. "Ok, you're an adorable death machine, got it." He heads up more stairs and finds a door. He steps out of it, checking his surroundings before leaving it, finding himself in the sewers. From there, he finds a manhole cover. He places Dick on his shoulder and climbs the ladder, pushing the lid open and climbs out. He drops Dick onto the ground and shuts the manhole, taking off his disguise and ditching it. He brings Dick to the closest hospital, entering the ER. Most people see Deathstroke and their eyes widen, tensing up, especially when they see a small boy in his arms. They don't know who he is, but there's just an air about him that just screams dangerous and deadly…
"May I help you, sir?" The nurse asks, trying to keep calm.
"Yes. This boy, he has a high fever, something happened to his brain, I'm unaware of what, all I know is he was injected with something, but he needs looked over. His name is Richard Grayson, son of Bruce Wayne." Deathstroke explains. "You will take care of him now… Right?" His voice had lowered, not really asking.
"O-Ok, right away sir." The nurse states, he gets up, whistling. Some members of staff come down to greet them. "We need a bed, IV, Saline, blood. Blood workup, looks like an x-ray too." The nurses nod and one runs off to get a bed. One is brought and Deathstroke sets Dick down. They rush off, getting everything set that they need to. "Hey-" the Head Nurse looks back at Deathstroke, only to find him gone. He blinks a couple of times. "Uh… kay."
Deathstroke watches from above, making sure they're taking care of Dick properly, and making sure they're not Owls in disguise.
"Deathstroke to Savage, I found the boy, he's worse for wear, I brought him to a hospital in Gotham." Deathstroke says into a comm.
"Good work, Slade. We will inform Bruce Wayne." Vandal says.
"Good. I will stick around to keep an eye on things. You said the Court of Owls is an ancient society, they could be integrated anywhere." Deathstroke says.
"Smart thinking. Good. We cannot afford to lose track of the boy again. Perhaps make Bruce an offer, your services for his loyalty to the Light."
"We will have that discussion then." Deathstroke states. "Deathstroke out." He shuts off his communication and continues to watch over Grayson. It isn't long before Bruce and Alfred arrive, with Wally and Artemis. They were called out of school for the day given what happened.
"Bruce Wayne, here for Richard Grayson." Bruce states at the counter.
"Oh of course, sir." The head nurse says. "First can you give me his date of birth, for security reasons."
"December First, nineteen-ninety-six." Bruce states, feeling like a broke record at this point. "Are there any updates? Any news?"
"Yes, Mr. Wayne. Follow me." The Nurse states and stands, leading the group away into a separate room. "Good news or bad news."
"Just tell me he's alright…" Bruce asks.
"He's alive. He's rather stabilized." The Head nurse says. "Bad news though, from what I've been told, I haven't checked his chart, but they did find fluid in his lungs so we're monitoring for other signs of pneumonia. They're doing bloodwork right now, apparently, someone injected something in him. I also put in a request with our neurologists, to see about checking on his brain. Apparently, there's been some damage there according to the guy that brought him in."
"Who brought him in?" Bruce asks.
"We don't know, he had a mask on his face, had a… dangerous feel to him… But he seemed to save that boy from something. We're working on x-rays now. Poor boy was using a tie as a brace for his right hand. Police will likely have some questions. I tried to talk to the masked figure, but he disappeared before I could get a word in." The nurse explains, he sighs, running a hand back through his hair. "Kid's definitely been through the wringer, but he seems stronger than even most adults I've seen come through those doors." Bruce sighs, rubbing his brow.
"He shouldn't have to be…" Bruce mutters. Wally places a hand on Bruce's, looking at him like he's saying it's going to be alright. Bruce glances over, then nods, he looks back at the nurse. "When can we see him?"
"I can bring you to him after his x-rays are done. When I said we're working on them, we are literally just now working on them." The nurse explains.
"Understood." Bruce states, he breathes out through his mouth, leaning back. "This is becoming a broken record… Not even a week has gone by and he's already in the hospital again."
"I saw that in his record… I'm sorry he's going through this, that you're all going through this." The nurse says. "But the fact that despite all of this, he's still going, that's a good sign that he has so much fight left in him."
"I'm proud of him, but still so scared…" Bruce admits, closing his eyes for a moment, holding his breath, then releases through his nose.
"Any father would be in this trying time… But be strong, for him, and yourself. Sometimes that's all you can do." The nurse says. "We will do everything we can for him." Bruce holds his head up and looks at the nurse, nodding. The nurse leaves the room. The four look between each other. Wally looks to the ground, shoulders trembling. Artemis places a hand on his shoulder.
"Dammit…" Wally mutters. "This shit needs to stop… Why won't it stop?!"
"I don't know…" Artemis says softly.
"It will stop… I'll make sure of it…" Bruce mutters. He stands up, leaving the room. Alfred follows, after a moment, Artemis and Wally follow as well. It seems like such a long time, but they're eventually allowed to see Dick. It was quick that they were able to get him an actual room in the hospital. They're brought in, stepping to Dick's bedside. He's lying still, unconscious, bruising around his eyes from the head trauma. They see the scratches on his face, bruising on his arms from where William grabbed him. His right hand has been re-casted, again. More than it had been before as it goes further up his arm. He has tubes in his nose for oxygen. Wally grabs his left hand. Like before, Dick's heartrate rises. Wally smiles a little.
"We're here, Dick… We'll always be here…" Wally says, stroking the top of his hand with his thumb. He leans in and kisses Dick's cheek. A doctor comes in, taking up Dick's chart.
"Hello, I'm Richard's attending physician, Dr. Royce." He introduces. "Now, we've found there to be several broken bones in his right hand, hence the cast." He explains. "We did a full body x-ray, found a tiny chip on the back of his neck which has since been removed, found his previously broken ribs, which we can't do much for unfortunately. There is quite a bit of fluid in his lungs, so we're monitoring for pneumonia, so far, other than troubles breathing and a fever, there's no other symptoms, but still, we'll keep an eye on it. We will be running a few tests on his brain here shortly as we did find fluid in there as well. An MRI and an EEG to start and will do more should the need arise. How he's doing mentally and psychologically, we won't know until he wakes."
"Alright…" Bruce states.
"Now, he does have several lacerations, we did find a large bump on the side of his head, so that's another reason for our tests, he likely has a concussion." The doctor explains. Wally gives Dick's hand a light squeeze hearing all this, closing his eyes, remembering the reverberating sound of one of his Escrima smacking his head… Artemis places a hand on his shoulder again.
"Why does this shit keep happening…" Wally mutters. "Can't he go a day without pain…?"
"It's going to be ok… He'll get through this… If he can survive being stabbed in the heart, he can get through this." Artemis says.
"But it's mostly his brain now… If that's too badly damaged… H-He…" He stutters, unable to finish explaining.
"We'll find out more after the procedures, try to keep calm, sir." The doctor says. Wally trembles, trying to calm down, but the harder he tries, the more he shakes. He looks at Dick's face, tears fall from his eyes, feeling like his body is going numb. If Dick isn't himself… it'll just break Wally's soul…