The bat clan and Slade go on a rescue mission. Slade reacts poorly and Dami is under pressure to save his brothers, and Alf. Will his mother be the reason for this added stress, or will he be double crossed early on? Cass is on the hunt but can she handle the owls' tricks?
Cobb reaches out, and then there is some division on the matter. Find Out!
The Dark Knight Chronicles – My Brother the Renegade; My Father, The Batman –
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Chapter 15: A Bird's Nest – A Rat's Maze
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Into the dank, lit room; the channels of electrical cables dug underground and the one to test themselves upon the rack.
Dick Grayson stepped forth with a broken glow to him. Cobb held no desire to speak while Owl Man doted on the little assassin's apprentice. "Has the stored electrum stayed in your body, boy?" Cobb looked over across the stony lab as Dick didn't understand. "I…was never told. I'm sorry."
"He'll need extra." Cobb seethed under his breath. "Wilson was responsible? Did he inject or remove anything from your mouth? Maybe, a tooth?"
Dick felt his jaw and wondered if this was…
"I…think…. I still have what you are both looking for." Thomas was elated as he beckoned Richard to show the man his chompers. "Very good, no cavities and…. there." He felt the cap and with a grin below the cowl, signed to his scientists to grab a tool for yanking out the tooth.
Or cutting it with a slice to activate. "We'll need him soon. The Bat's little helpers will be expecting the same welcome as my brother." Thomas hummed and patted the kid's face to stay put. "We need to increase the dose. This should inject a bit of a solution to get your body adjusted."
"S… ad – a –
"Don't let yourself remember, now…" Tutted, Owl Man. "You're almost perfect, after all of that running. Cobb will have his right hand in you."
Dick's eyes widened at the size of the hand-held drill on Thomas's hands. He tried to pull out of Thomas's grip, yet Cobb's lone unmasked fave left Dick frozen still. "You'll take this. After missing the initiation because of Bruce Wayne intervening, you owe the court with your new afterlife.
"HH...MNN!!" Dick shook his head as the drill was held above them. The staff coming over to hold him and sedate the boy until he was slack in their arms. "This should counter your mood. Once the electrum is settled in your veins, the court may train you in your heritage, Gray Son."
Gray…. who was that? That was him? What was this? A cult! He had to get out….
"Hush, now...accept your fate, grandson." Chided Cobb. He wasn't alright doing as Thomas did. The man was a sadist at the very least of this ploy.
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Slipping into the shadows quietly, a stray pussycat was out of her kennel room. Selina watched the talon crew look into their plans and at the same time, escaping had been a problem…
No Tim, no Duke or the Wayne's skeptical butler. She bit her tongue and continued to spy, overhearing the Talon's second in command speaking about…a Gray…. Son?
Her eyes leaped out. Damn it all…that wasn't -
So, the bird brat was why they were all here. Now, how to find a better way, up?
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"You must know every damned hatch here in this city, Hood. Pick one and get-
"Ah, but one of them is a decoy. They lead to a tunnel…Of mazes. The Court you said is like that." Jason scratched his head while Slade was never wrong to bring that up earlier. Now, that logic was delaying their rescue plan. "If I should speak up…. Damian?"
Cass pointed to Dami and with a bit of ninja magic, fled the scene to get her family member to talk. "Why me? Well dine. There should be a main hatch to this silly wait you have us in, Todd." Scolded Dami as he went to turn the wheel of iron and let them all –
"Do you hear that…"
Slade put a hand to his weapon at his hip, and Dami had to scowl at himself. "Brace yourselves…."
Water gushed in through the three OTHER areas in this seedy aqueduct. Someone really wanted them gone.
"IN HERE!" Dami had everyone go into the crevice sized entrance of the sewers many gated tunnels as the water lapped as rapids to a raging force.
"IN!"
They all clambered inside while Todd and Deathstroke shut the hatch up to spare the group from such a fate. Drowning in sewage was not a pretty picture fir anyone's minds.
~ Are you idiots ok??~
Todd grunted and got to place a finger to his ear; his helmet had one link built in to speak to Babs back at the cave.
~ There has to be a way in. You are not giving up, and the manor is back in high lock down. ~
"The owls know we are coming…." Cass took in a breath and pulled a stolen lighter from her pocket.
"Where did you acquire that, Cassandra?" Dami was sure he'd never seen Cass smoke. She was fourteen. That was, too old school!
"A homeless man we passed. It was on the ground where he was….dead, I think."
She walked and used the lighter to be their light, until Todd pulled out a flashlight from his belt compartment. Slade made sure to see about the same.
"It's too bright. Choose one to turn off." He told the two bats. Cass let hers flicker out, while the flashlight was enough. "
"Where is Selina? She has cat vision, doesn't she?" Jason wondered aloud. "She went to get more information ahead of us. Not wise, but she can't be captured that easily. She knows these tunnels better than your Bat ever has." Smirked the elderly as Dami just grumbled something profane under his breath.
"That's going into the bilingual swear jar –
"I don't care. Slade here, is patronizing father in front of us." He snipped to the half - Asian, former assassin. "We talk and we die sooner." Huffed the merc grumpy. "Get it together, kid." Slade was sure that going underground to a secret lair and getting inside unharmed was not on the list of things that could happen. He had to ditch these brats and take Dick out of the owls' talons for feet...before Thomas grew bored with waiting on them to find their perfect progeny.
He was Slade's property once, and he'd make that clear that Dick was loyal to no one else; once this all had stopped cold in its tracks, they would be avoiding Gotham for a long time. Dock would have to put his pity behind him.
Slade checked the wall and as he recalled...ah. Not good. He stepped back.
Booby trap. With a knock into the wall and a tap in the dim darkness, the floors began to shift.
Hood turned around briskly, to scold the mad man. "Always a show off! Why now, are you a senior? What's wrong with going in a straight fucking line??"
Slade ignored him, yet Jason was not ok with being cold shouldered off.
"HEY! Planning ahead without a veto, old man? You made a pact on us, remember?"
"You're going to have my apprentice forget who he's currently serving. I'm not about to push for a retrial with the court if we are late to pick him up." The walls started to get smaller, sliding inwards as the team scuttled to see the merc leave through a narrow exit. "He knows this place…. that….is cheating!"
"Photographic memory." Huffed Jason. "Follow me, kiddies. Uncle Jay knows what way we should really be getting the hell after…" Storming on as the walls continued to narrow around them, a new latch and a new doorway. They fell into it as the wall behind them, was set into permanent stone.
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Slade's memory was good, but then he heard Talon approaching from every angle. "Deathstroke." Cobb stood at the center if the fold. "The Grand Owl has been expecting you. Come. Meet our savior, see and judge our actions for yourself…."
"If you so much as –
"He is not exposed, to it." Cobb interrupted with a mile pause. "Not yet. We still have plenty of time to introduce you. And to recruit you, fellow mercenary."
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A little short but….it picks up to get really messed up! Yay! See ya in next chapter. Read on!
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