GSOG Chapter 32
Bruce looks in his rearview mirror, seeing the concerned look Melinda has. He hangs a left, into a U-turn and heads back to the school. He drives by, seeing one of the other exits the school has, the one Barbara said Dick ran out of and starts driving away, following what path he can anticipate Dick might have gone. He tries calling him, but gets no answer. He tries again immediately, no answer. Then activates his watch, tracking Dick with it. He follows that, hands tight around the steering wheel.
Melinda doesn't dare say a word. She doesn't want to risk upsetting him, but tears come to her eyes in worry. Her little brother ran off somewhere, clearly distraught… She worries that he might do the worst… Bruce stops the car when he approaches the spot where Dick's watch is pinging. He parks and climbs out, looking around, following it. He finds it… lying on the curb. He bends down, picking it up. What happened…? Was he kidnapped? Or is he just trying not to be found… Melinda climbs out of the car.
"Bruce…?" She calls out softly. Bruce turns to look at her, she can see the concern in his eyes. He then takes out his cell phone, making several calls, first to Selina, then Alfred, letting them know the situation. Then he calls Clark.
"Clark, code amber, R-G, possible code black. S-L-R." Bruce says.
"Understood."Clark states and hangs up. Bruce then calls one last person.
"Artemis, this is Bruce. Is Dick with you?"
"No, he's not. Is he missing again?"She asks.
"Yes. And he's not answering his phone. I found his watch, seems he discarded it. I don't wish to worry you, but if you hear from him, please call me." Something about this is making him feel like Dick hadn't been kidnapped…
"Of course! I'll let you know if I find out anything. Try contacting Wally. He put in the group chat that he has a snow day today."Artemis suggests.
"Thank you. I'll do so." He states and they hang up. Making yet another call, this time to Wally.
When Wally hears the ringtone he has for Bruce, "Sound of Silence," he immediately starts to worry. He takes up his phone from his side and answers it.
"Wally here." He answers.
"Wally, have you heard from Dick?"Bruce asks.
"No, why? What's going on?" Wally asks.
"He's gone missing, he ran off from school and no one's heard from him, he hasn't answered anyone. I was hoping you could keep an eye out."Bruce requests.
"Yea, of course! I can try looking!" Wally suggests. He shuts off his game and gets off the floor, grabbing his jacket and snow boots. He hangs up and runs downstairs. "Mom, Dick's gone missing, but he might have come to Central, I'm going out to look for him." Mary turns to him, understanding half of what he said.
"Dick's missing?" She asks.
"Yea, Bruce just called me." Wally answers, he grabs a pair of earmuffs and bolts out the house. He takes the most well-known path from his house to the zeta teleporter he often uses. Running, looking around at the same time. He doesn't care about the cold, he has to find his boyfriend!
Bruce hangs up with Wally and looks at Melinda.
"Are you ok to keep looking?" Bruce asks.
"Yes." Melinda answers with confidence. They start walking, side by side, looking around. Dick probably took his watch off when Bruce started tracking him, Bruce tried tracking him about ten minutes ago. On foot, Dick wouldn't have gotten far. But was he on foot? Did he still have his bookbag? He hasn't found that yet. So, perhaps there's still hope he hasn't been kidnapped.
There's a zeta-teleporter not too far from this spot, so he could have gone anywhere, but the chances of him going back home are unlikely. Then there's the possibility of going to the cave, but that's unlikely either, usually if he's dealing with something, he prefers solitude. He's like Bruce in that way…
Bruce pauses. They're being watched…
Melinda looks up at him, confused.
"Stay close, Melinda." Bruce says. Melinda nods and keeps closer to Bruce who continues, but his stride is shorter so she can better keep up. Of course, it's Deathstroke… Did he have something to do with Dick's disappearance…? Deathstroke leaps down, standing before the two. Bruce instinctively, pushes Melinda behind him, shielding her.
"Hello, Brucie." Deathstroke says.
"Where's my son." Bruce asks.
"I'll admit, he gave me the slip earlier. I found him wandering the town and I knew it'd be best if he wasn't, so I was going to bring him to my place for a while until he cooled off and then I'd bring him home, but he stormed out and disappeared on me." Deathstroke explains.
"Not a very good tracker if a 14-year-old can hide from you." Bruce states.
"He's more skilled than I thought." He admits.
"Why're you here? I'm assuming you didn't just come here to tell me you're incompetent." Bruce crosses his arms.
"No, I actually came to return his bag." Deathstroke says, holding up a black schoolbag. "He left it behind in my car." He holds it out to him. Bruce steps forward to grab it. Deathstroke uses that opportunity to grab Bruce's arm and pull him close. Bruce wishes so much that he could deck him. "I don't wish to alarm the girl, but there's talk. Zucco's planning something. I figured you of all people should know." He lets Bruce go, and Bruce takes the bag from him, but glares at him. "I'll be off then." Deathstroke starts to walk away. Bruce watches the man leave, trying to make his glare more subtle
"So… That's Slade…?" Melinda asks softly. Bruce nods solemnly. "I do not like him…"
"Neither do I." Bruce admits. "Let's keep looking." Melinda nods and they continue.
Dick walks through the town, unknowingly walking off in a direction he wasn't supposed to as he's only half paying attention. He wants to get to Wally, Wally makes him feel better… But… What if he thinks he's pathetic…? Letting something as simple as words hurt his feelings… Wally wouldn't… He understands… He knows how words can still hurt…
There's a bridge he's walking across. He stops and turns, looking out toward the river, leaning against the high railing to see it. Which river is this…? He runs his mind through the numerous rivers of America, there's the city of three rivers up in Indiana… But that's way up north from here, so likely not them… they're too far over for it to be the Mississippi river…
Suddenly, he's feeling really warm, wanting to take his coat off as it feels way too warm. He also can feel himself stop shivering in the cold. That's not good… He fights the temptation to remove his layers which are protecting him from the cold, but he can feel himself growing tired.
"What am I doing…?"He thinks. He leans against a light pole, staring up at the sky as white floofs of snow flurry down. He holds a hand out for one of the flakes to land on. It quickly melts in his hand. He smiles a little then rests his head back, sighing."You're so stupid…"He slides down the pole and sits in the cold snow, not really caring."You've probably worried everyone again, idiot…"He breathes out again, running a hand through his hair, messing it up of the hair gel, his head is pretty soaked from the snow anyway. He doesn't even know where in Central that he is… He's never been in this part of town. He coughs a few times, his throat suddenly feeling a little scratchy. Probably from the intake of cold air. He tries to get back up, but his body feels so stiff. He feels dizzy. He fumbles with his pockets, pulling out his cellphone. He sees more missed calls, but he calls only one person who can help him.
"Dick! Where are you?!"Wally answers.
"I dunno… I… I wzz heading to your house… but… I-I got lost…" Dick admits.
"Ok. What are landmarks. What do you see?"Wally asks.
"Zee um… Bridge… big bridge…" Dick says softly, slurring his speech.
"Ok. Ok! I might know where you are! Just hold tight! Stay awake. Stay with me, babe."Wally orders.
"Mm sorry…" he mumbles. He tries again to stand, using the pole as support. He stumbles, leaning onto said pole. He takes a step, but his stride staggers and he sinks to the ground. His phone clattering on the concrete and ice.
"Dick?!"Wally calls."Don't give up, I'm almost there!"He reaches the bridge, but doesn't quite see Dick right away. He runs around the entire bridge, looking. Then sees a small, dark mass slowly being encased by snow. He runs to it, lifting Dick up and turning him over to look at him. "Dick?!" He shakes him. His skin is icy cold… Wally doesn't waste anymore time, taking Dick into his arms and speeding back home, keeping Dick close, shielding him from the cold the best he can. He knocks on the door with his foot. His mom quickly answers it.
"Oh my goodness!" She says softly as Wally brings Dick inside, just setting him on the couch. He grabs the space heater and brings it close, turning it on, but making sure it's not very close so it doesn't put his body in shock. He feels for any wet clothes. His pants are wet, that's for sure.
"I'm taking him up to my room." He says, lifting Dick up again and heading upstairs. Mary watches in concern and decides to call Rudy. Wally sets Dick on his bed and starts stripping his clothes, removing anything that's wet, which is basically everything. He quickly covers him up with lots of blankets and leaves the room, going to the linen closet for a heating pad and places it on top of him, plugging it in and setting it to the lowest setting. Again, can't put his body in shock.
Wally runs back out and grabs a thermometer from his bathroom, coming back and gently opening Dick's mouth, sticking the thermometer under his tongue. He waits impatiently as the temperature gauge rises, then it starts beeping. He takes it out to look at it. 86.8 Fahrenheit, so 30.44 Celsius. Moderate Hypothermia levels…
Wally looks through his drawers for anything that'd fit the smaller teen, he finds one of his old t-shirts, and a pair of sweats, they have an elastic band, so maybe they'll stay in place. He doesn't really think sparing any underwear would be a good idea. So, Wally moves all the blankets for a moment and dresses Dick's unconscious body carefully, being slow and deliberate.
Once he's clothed, he replaces all the blankets and the heating pad back on top of him. Dick is starting to shiver, which hopefully means his body is starting to leave the Moderate Hypothermia stage. He brushes Dick's hair out of his face and stands up, grabbing his cell phone back out, calling Bruce immediately.
"News?"Bruce answers.
"Yes, I found him." Wally says. "He's hypothermic, but I'm working on bringing his temperature up."
"Good… Thank goodness… I'll let everyone know. Thank you, Wally."
"No thanks needed." Wally says. They both hang up. Wally undresses from his outside gear, making sure nothing on him is still cold. Just in case, he changes his pants, but climbs in beside his boyfriend, cuddling him and trying to warm him up with his body heat, vibrating somewhat to generate more, though is trying not to overdo it. The poor kid… Why do such bad things have to happen…?
Hearing that Dick's alright, everyone is relieved, Clark had gotten a small League response together, but thankfully they were able to disband. Flash, Black Canary, and Clark himself were about to go out there after Clark debriefed them, but are relieved that Dick was found in time. Barry's proud his own protégé was the one who found him and is taking care of him.
After probably another hour, Dick opens his eyes, feeling he's warm, his bangs are sticking to his forehead. He turns his head and sees Wally beside him, looks like he's fallen asleep. So, Wally got to him in time. He knew he would…
"Wally…?" Dick calls softly, shaking him a bit. Wally opens his eyes, humming a bit. Then his eyes widen and he hugs Dick tight.
"You're awake!" Wally shouts happily. "God, don't scare me like that… How many times do I have to tell you…?"
"Probably thousands of times more…" Dick admits, smiling softly. "I'm sorry…"
"You're dealing with stuff, I get it… Can you tell me what happened…? What set you off?" Wally asks.
"It's stupid really… I…" Dick shakes his head a little, admonishing himself.
"Babe, talk to me, please…" Wally pleads softly. Dick's gaze lowers.
"Bullies… They wrote on my locker… Calling me a bitch, a whore… f*g, slut… so many other vulgar words and it made me so angry and I just punched my locker in and ran off. I know I should have called Bruce or something, but I just couldn't… I couldn't bring myself to do it because they're just words… Why should they matter?" Dick explains.
"Babe, it matters. Words may be words at the end of the day, but in the moment, when you're already feeling so down on yourself, it hurts." Wally says. He brings a hand up, running it across his cheek. Dick leans into it.
"I knew you'd make me feel better… You always do…" Dick mumbles. He curls in, placing his head into Wally's chest, nuzzling into it. "I'm just sorry I worried you… And everyone…"
"I can probably speak for everyone when I say I'm just glad you're ok." Wally says.
"But… I-I'm not ok…" Dick mumbles. His eyes close tight. "I'm not ok… I'm trying to be, but I just can't…" He grips to Wally's shirt. "It's just one thing after another… What the hell did I do to make the universe so mad at me…? And how do I make it stop…?"
"I wish I had an answer for you… Maybe it'd be good to talk to Canary about all this, she's a therapist, she might be able to help." Wally says.
"Maybe…" He continues to mumble, closing his eyes. "Wally…? You'd… do anything I ask, right…?"
"Within reason." Wally says.
"Would you…" He pauses for a moment. "I don't…" He's trying to find the words. "I want someone I love and trust to take that part of me… I don't want to risk anyone else doing it, so… could… you… take my virginity…?"
"Babe…" Wally says softly.
"I-I know I said I'm not ready just days ago, but… after what happened, I'm terrified someone else will actually do it and if anyone's going to, I want it to be you…" Dick explains.
"D, I can't… I'm not doing that to you. You don't need me to do that to you…" Wally says. "You just need time. You'll be ok."
"What if something like this happens again…? What if she gets out and she finds me and no one can stop her…?" Dick asks. "I don't want her to do that… If anyone's to take my virginity, it should be you…"
"Babe, no… this isn't the solution…" He says, brushing a hand through his hair. "I know you're scared… but you'll get through this, and I'll be right here, by your side. It's going to be ok… I'll only take it when you're really ready, ok?" Dick nods in understanding.
"Ok… I understand…" He mumbles, snuggling into him more. "I still want it to be you though… I trust you with everything…" He closes his eyes.
"And one day I hope it will be, but that's not now… You're not ready… Take your time, don't rush it…" Wally says. He kisses the top of Dick's head before resting his chin there. Dick coughs a little, wincing a bit, but he's drifting off to sleep.
There's a knock on the door at the manor. Alfred hears and heads to answer, while he's still crutch bound, he manages to reach the door. There's still persistent knocking coming from it. Alfred sighs and opens the door, seeing another elderly gentleman before him.
"Good afternoon sir. Might Richard be here?" The old man asks, his accent is rather posh, sounding rather British, but also a hint of Irish as well.
"As the butler of this home, I request to know who you are before I answer such inquiries." Alfred states.
"My apologies. The name is Charles Lloyd, I had a daughter named Marie Lloyd who seems to have a son named Richard Grayson. I am here to see him." Charles states.
"I must apologize, perhaps I misspoke, you understand why I cannot simply allow someone into the manor without proof of who they claim to be?" Alfred states firmly.
"I understand, however, perhaps I can put it in perspective for you." Charles states, growing dangerously close. Alfred doesn't move, completely turbed. "I know that boy is my daughter's son. Now you let me in there, before I make a scene in front of the house of the oh so great Mr. Bruce Wayne."
"Would you mind moving from my person, your breath is abhorrent." Alfred says. He scoffs, backing up, seemingly insulted.
"Why I never!" He snaps.
"Well, that is truly a shame, sir. Now, kindly, leave the premise or I will remove you myself." Alfred warns, he doesn't even have to attempt to square up, he just has to shift a certain way, indicating his military training.
"You, a delicate old man?" The man questions.
"Who is the old one here? Certainly not just me, sir." Alfred states. "Good day, sir." He shuts the door in his face. The man pounds on the door this time. Alfred locks the door and ensures lockdown protocol, just in case. He is in reach of his shotgun and is quite a dead shot, even with a concussion, but he doesn't want it to come to that. He steps to the phone as quickly as his crutches will allow, using one to keep him standing more comfortably but takes up the phone, calling Bruce immediately.
"Yes, Alfred?" Bruce answers, sounds a bit concerned, they just spoke.
"Master Bruce, I recommend that you do not return to the manor at this time. There is a man here claiming to be Master Dick's grandfather and he's being quite persistent. He is not much of a threat from what I've gathered, though I'd rather Mistress Melinda was not placed in any danger." Alfred explains.
"Alright. We may take an alternate way home." Bruce states, Alfred suspects he knows what Bruce is implying…
"Very well, sir." Alfred states. There is a series of loud booms at the door, heavy fists pounding. "Dear lord… I may call Master Jim to remove him from the premise, he is quite irritating."
"That was him?" Bruce asks.
"Indeed sir. I have already taken measures to prevent his entry, though I'd rather he did not bust the outer door, it is original to the house!" Alfred states.
"Go ahead and call Gordon. Have him trespassed."
"As you wish, I will inform you once it is safe to return." They farewell and Alfred presses the receiver button down and resets the phone, calling Jim Gordon's personal number as he doesn't want to get just any police officer involved, Gordon has the chops to actually remove this older gentleman… Is he really Dick's grandfather though? Certainly, there's a reason why he wasn't around… If he was, Dick probably would have mentioned him. Still…