Chapter 14

"Well now… I must thank you, Mr. West. You have been central in our hunt for the Gray Son of Gotham." The Talon taunts. "You've taken him from the nest twice now." He takes out his throwing knives. "You may as well come out now Richard, before I play target practice with your boy here." Dick does step out, he had been right in front of Wally the whole time, hidden by the shadow of an old, broken phone booth. He stands tall, unafraid, moving in front of Wally.

"Here I am, grandfather." Dick states.

"Grandfather? How delightful. I have waited so long to hear you call me that." The Talon says.

"Never pinged you as the sentimental type." Dick banters.

"I have my moments. Now, how about we make a deal? Come with me and I won't send Mr. West to the hospital again, or perhaps the morgue." The Talon offers.

"How about neither? You can walk away, save yourself the pain and suffering those who love me will cause you once they get their hands on you." Dick warns. An arrow flies through and strikes the Talon in the shoulder. Wally steps back and takes off running.

"Shit…" The Talon mutters. "That hurt." He states, but pulls the arrow out like it was nothing, breaking it in half with one hand. But just as he does that, another comes, striking right next to where the first one hit, this one with so much force it actually staggers him, it digs deep into his skin. He throws one of his knives in the direction the arrows came from, but Artemis has since moved out of the way. Wally then comes down the other end of the alley, hitting into the old man, knocking him down. He then runs up to Dick, giving him a peck on the cheek. Dick's eyes widen a bit in shock, but then he smiles. He then takes out his utility belt and puts it around him while the Talon is down.

"And by the way, this won't be like last time." He mutters, taking out his flying disks and throws them, just as the Talon is getting up, he just barely blocks them with his knives. "I didn't undress from school yet." Dick takes out one of his birdarangs, cuts the cast off his right hand and pulls out Escrima sticks, ready to fight, though he is at a bit of a disadvantage as his right hand is still broken. "You do not get to threaten the love of my life!"

"Good… Show me what you're really made of, kid." The Talon runs forward, slicing at the Boy Wonder, which he blocks the best he can and doing fairly well, getting in a few strikes. As they fight, he does get a cut on his arm, to which he dives down, swiping the Escrima into the Talon's shins harshly to knock him down. He rolls forward and stands beside Wally, guarding him. The Talon laughs, getting back up. "Prouder and prouder with every passing moment. You, a fourteen-year-old boy, holding his own against a master Talon. I bet you even Bruce Wayne wouldn't stand a chance."

"You'd be surprised what my father can do." Dick states, bracing for attack.

"He is not your father!" The Talon snaps. "John Grayson was your father, and to dismiss his love for you, preferring a man who barely even knows who you are, who you truly are, is an insult. Especially when little Bruce Wayne's own ancestor, Alan Wayne, died by my hand, really, how much of a threat can he be?" The Talon states, trying to rile Dick up, wanting him to attack.

"What do you mean?" Dick asks.

"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all, after all, one may have the ability to surpass their ancestors. That's what our prophecy says about you, dear boy." The Talon states.

"I don't believe in prophecies…" Dick states.

"Whether you believe it or not, it's real, my boy. Afterall, here you are, a descendant of one of the greatest Talons, showing such promise. You're calm, levelheaded, perform well under pressure, you are agile, swift, nimble. Everything needed to be the best of the best, as the prophecy says. You were born and bred to be my successor and lead the Court of Owls to greater heights." He aims his knife up, pointing at Dick with it, then throws it, aiming it at Wally's face in the last second, but Dick hits it off course so quick. The Talon chuckles. "I am so proud of how powerful you really are, Richard. But you still have so much more to learn." There's a scream from Artemis, she's been grabbed and pinned by another Talon. There's more than one...?

"Artemis!" Dick shouts. He looks at Wally. "Go!" Wally nods and bolts off to help her. Dick stands ready to attack, but these claw-like hooks come from behind, digging into his clothes, to his skin, he screams out in pain. They go taut and pull Dick down, he's being pulled down the alleyway. He tries to break the lines, but despite the fact they're thin wiring, they're very sturdy.

"Dick!" Wally shouts.

"Interfere Mr. West, and dear sweet Artemis will die." The lead Talon warns. To prove his point, the talon who holds her drives a dagger into her, twisting the blade sharply and making her scream.

"Help Artemis!" Dick shouts. Wally starts crying, if he doesn't help Dick, he'll be taken away and have who knows what done to him, but if he doesn't help Artemis, she'll die… Wally runs to help Artemis. Kicking the talon off of her. She gets up, aiming an arrow just as the talons are grabbing Dick up. She fires it, but it hits Dick in the back of the neck. Thankfully it was one of her trick arrows that basically does nothing. She falls over, holding her shoulder. The Talons disarm the boy and remove the claws from his limbs but aren't too gentle about it.

The Talon that had Artemis has disappeared. Wally gets up and runs to help Dick. The lead Talon comes up, taking up one of the Escrima sticks, looking at it. The other Talons turn Dick around so he's facing his grandfather. He holds up the stick and brings it down on Dick's head, knocking him unconscious. The lead talon takes out a smoke bomb and throws it on the ground, preventing Wally from seeing. He still tries but can't find anyone. The smoke soon clears and there's no head or claw of the Talons. Only Dick's utility belt remains.

Wally sinks to his hands and knees, screaming in rage, hitting the ground with a balled-up fist so hard it nearly breaks his hand, but he's so angry and distraught that he doesn't even react. Like before, he rests his forehead rests on the ground, his eyes closed tight, he brings his hands over his head, gripping the back of it and he cries.

"I failed him…" Wally mutters. Artemis makes it down, kneeling beside Wally.

"No, no it's going to be ok. Look." She holds up a tracker screen. "That arrow I fired, I purposely hit Dick with a micro-tracker." Wally lifts his head and looks at the little screen, eyes wide. "We need to get to the manor, tell Batman and the League, get a plan together and save him." Wally nods and gets up, lifting Artemis up and bolting off with her to the manor.

"By the way, how'd you know to help us?" Wally asks.

"There's a Zeta spot right next to where you guys were which is near my house." Artemis explains. "I heard everything."

"You did…?" Wally asks quietly. Artemis would nod if she could, but they're speeding off so fast.

"It was really sweet. I hope he comes around, you two are too cute together." Artemis says.

"You really think so?" Wally asks.

"I do! You just gotta stop being an idiot!" Artemis states.

"Right…" He says.

In the dark of the sewers, Dick has been taken. To the Labyrinth where they will attempt to break him… Where they have broken countless others…

He's placed on a marble podium and left there to wake on his own. No weapons, nothing to protect himself with. He opens his eyes slowly, seeing he's… somewhere. His brows knit in confusion and he sits up, rubbing his head where he was struck, there's an obvious lump. He looks around, surrounded by marble with black streaks running up and down the walls, like tendrils just waiting to grab at him, Owl Statues guarding the only way out of the room he's in.

"Beware the Court of Owls." An echoey voice says. Dick swings his legs off the podium, trying to find the source of the voice. His legs feel so impossibly heavy… "That watches all the time." He coughs, feeling sick all of a sudden, something is in the air. "Ruling Gotham from a shadowy perch, behind granite and lime."

"He-Hello?!" He calls out, getting off the podium and turning this way and that, trying to find the source of the voices. He stumbles a bit, the room starts spinning.

"They watch you at your hearth… They watch you in your bed…" The voices continue. He starts walking in the only direction he can go, past the owl statues, but the world keeps moving, like he's on a boat. He stumbles again, leaning against the wall to keep himself up.

"Stay whelmed… You'll be fine…" Dick mumbles to himself. "You'll get out of this…"

"Speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send the Talon for your head." The echoing voice finishes the poem, and then there's a deep guttural laugh. A knife comes flying out of foreseeably nowhere and he just barely moves out of the way, but he falls over, landing on his rear, nearly hitting his head on the ground too, but he catches himself by then. He gets up, looking for the knife. Once found, he inspects it. Sure enough, it's one of his grandfather's… It's not much, but it's something he can use to protect himself, finding his utility belt's been taken.

"What's the point of this?!" Dick shouts. "I thought you wanted to make me a Talon! But you nearly killed me!" He receives no answer, just echoing, unnerving giggles. He huffs and starts walking again. He coughs heavily, his chest rattling and burning. He takes deep slow breaths, trying to recover from the coughing fit. He's so dizzy… He clenches his fists and lifts his head. "You got this." He strides forward with confidence, until he comes up to a choice, straight forward or turn right. His eyes widen when he realizes. "Oh, this is a maze… isn't it…" He mumbles.

He steps to one side of the hall and presses his hand against it, walking, letting the wall guide him. He heads straight, following the wall around a left turn, followed by another left turn and to a dead end, but he just started, so he's not discouraged. He follows the wall back the way he came, only for there to be a wall where there wasn't one before. His eyes widen, pressing against the new wall. It's cold, solid… He curses under his breath, realizing that the halls will be changing.

"Ok, because that's fair…" He mutters. "That's not how mazes work!" He shouts. He heads down the intersecting hall, seeing several black dots on either side of the wall, with there being space under it where there's no dots. He waves his hand through, testing it. He's just quick enough that he pulls his hand back when spikes shoot out of the wall. "Ok… They want me to die… Not if I can help it…" He sinks down, crawling underneath the spikes, thankfully he's pretty small.

He gets up when he reaches the end of the spike wall and continues walking, he's still too dizzy to start running. Normal tricks for getting out of here won't work, so he just has to figure out what to do. But he has a theory already. He continues down the hall, taking a left as that's the only way to go, and comes to a left or right turn. He looks down both ways, he sees another wall that has spikes, and a wall that doesn't. He takes the one that has spikes, crawling under it, finding himself at a four way intersection now. He looks down those ways, but doesn't see anything in particular, so he closes his eyes and listens, waiting, trying to pinpoint if there's anything he can turn to that'll lead him out, but all he hears is the voices…

"You will fail…"

"You are unworthy…"

"You will die here…"

He shakes his head, opening his eyes and choosing a random direction, but he doesn't see a spike wall the more he walks down so he turns around, only to find the way he came has become a dead end. He growls and strikes the wall, cursing at himself.

"Don't give up… You got this… You'll get out of here…" He assures himself, walking to the end of the dead end, stops then turns around, sure enough, it opened up. He nods in self-assurance and runs down the hall, getting to the new area, it's a large room with four branching paths, a fountain shaped like an owl in the center with what appears to be clear running water. His brows knit in confusion, stepping up to the fountain, looking into the rippling water. He does feel parched… He cups his hands and scoops out some of the water, bringing it up and smelling it first. It doesn't really smell like anything, it looks like normal water. If he doesn't get a drink now, he might not find the fountain again, so he drinks, taking another sip of the cool, soothing liquid.

He stands up straight and chooses a path to go, seeing spinning spike pillars in the distance. He starts walking toward that, the water having helped to reinvigorate him. He watches the spinning of the spike pillars, and he sees two exits on the other side of the room. So, his theory was wrong, if he kept going towards danger, he'd make it out, but with there being two paths forward… And suddenly a rush of dizziness comes to his head, worse than before. He leans against the wall, closing his eyes. He can still feel the spinning of the stationary room.

"Get a grip on yourself, Grayson…" He mutters, opening his eyes and pushing off the wall.

"He doesn't love you…"

"He could never love you…"

"Why would he love you…?"

Who do the voices mean…? Bruce? Wally…? No… He doesn't care. They're just trying to get into his head. Bruce treats him like his own son, and Wally is his best friend, the love of his life. He will get back to them. He will break free! He will escape!

He runs forward, diving and sliding underneath the spinning spikes and gets back to his feet, staying close to the other wall as he makes his way to one of the paths, choosing the right side. He continues down, seeming to have chosen the correct one as he comes to yet another intersection. He decides to go straight this time and finds himself in another chamber, it's dark.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages!" That's Jack Haly's voice… "The Flying Graysons!" No… The lights come on, it's the circus… His parents, his aunt and uncle, his cousin, they're all up on the podiums.

"No… Don't do it!" Dick shouts. But the images of his family take to the trapezes, flying gracefully through the air. "Mom! Dad!" He screams. Everything seems to slow down. His mom is being held onto by his dad by her legs, she's swinging up to catch his cousin Johnny. His aunt Karla and Uncle Rick are on the other trapeze, letting their son go so he can be caught. Then the ropes snap, nearly at the same time. Dick's eyes widen and he runs, he doesn't know what he can do, but he has to try. He's stronger now! Surely, he can save them! But no matter how fast or hard he runs, it's like they're moving further and further away. They hit the ground, audible cracking and crunching sounds cause silence in the screaming crowd. A little boy with black hair runs up to them.

"Mom! Dad! No!" The little boy screams, his voice echoey. He falls to his knees, resting his hands down on the floor, a steadily growing pool of blood threatens to stain him. "Auntie Karla… Uncle Ricky… J-Johnny…" Dick can finally approach, he kneels down beside the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. The little boy looks up at him, soft stormy blue eyes meeting his. Dick embraces the little boy, both trembling. "It's all my fault… I should have told the police… should have stopped the show… I knew something was gonna happen and I did nothing…"

"It's not your fault… It was Zucco's… You were scared, alone… Who would have believed you? They'd have just written you off and told you to stop wasting police time…" Dick says. "It hurts now… It'll probably hurt forever… but you'll find a way to channel that pain and anger… Be something better… You can help people, so no one else has to go through such a tragedy…"

"Dick…" A weak voice calls. Both look to his uncle Rick who is still alive, still holding on… "K-Keep going… N-Never… give up… W-without a fight… Promise me…"

"I-I promise…" Young Dick says. Dick opens his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. He looks around, the room is empty, no stands, no tent, no trapezes. It's just an empty marble room. And Dick has his arms wrapped around himself. He closes his eyes tight, bowing his head forward and crying, clutching to his arms. He takes a shuttering breath in, opening his eyes again.

"A promise is a promise… I won't give up, uncle…" Dick mumbles, getting to his feet shakily. He stumbles a bit, but manages to catch himself. He looks around, trying to find the next way out, but this chamber seems to be a dead end.

"The Gray Son of Gotham…"

"Broken…"

"Unworthy…"

"Weak…"

"I'm not weak…" He mumbles, turning and walking the other way, but his body feels so heavy, so weak… "Don't give up without a fight… I promised… I'm not done yet…" He forces himself to pick up the pace, but it feels like the harder he fights, the weaker his body becomes. "M-Maybe… I could just rest a moment…" He falls to his knees, placing his left hand on the floor to keep himself up. It feels like he's being pulled to the ground. "No… Don't fall asleep… Y-You'll die…" He tries to get up, but he feels like his body is going numb. "No… Get up…" He falls over, unable to move. "Get up…" The world grows dark.