When Wonder Woman and Zatanna arrived in the Watchtower and reached the meeting room, most of the major heroes were already there. The Amazon walked around the table and sat down in her marked seat, noticing that Batman was much stiffer and stiller than usual. She glanced at Superman. "Has he already said what it's about?"
The hero of Metropolis shook his head. "He wants everyone to be there first. Now the only one missing is Flash."
Ironic that most of the time it's the fastest man alive who's late to Justice League meetings.
They didn't have to wait long when suddenly a red and yellow trail appeared in the meeting room, causing the doors to slam loudly due to the rapid movement of air. His superhuman speed chatter was cut short when he realized that everyone was staring at him with impassive gazes and he sank into his seat with a faint blush between his cheeks.
"I hope it's vital, Spooky." Hal broke the silence, glancing at the other man. "I was in the middle of a very beautiful dream that you ruined."
"Yeah. Not all of us are nocturnal like you, man." Barry nodded, barely holding back a yawn.
Diana pursed her lips, refraining from saying that he had interrupted an extremely important moment. The memory of her almost kiss with Renegade sent a slight shiver down her spine and her heart raced minutely at the memory of how their lips were so close but alas never touching even in the slightest.
The moment was ruined right at the most beautiful moment. Damn you, Batman.
The Caped Crusader rose to his feet and glanced briefly at the assembled heroes. "First I wanted to… thank you for all being here on such short notice, especially at this time of night."
A shocked silence filled the hall and the heroes looked at each other, their worry skyrocketing as those who were still half asleep momentarily abandoned any remaining trace of sleep.
Batman had never thanked any of them.
Never.
Diana's irritation and anger at the vigilante, not only for interrupting the near-kiss between her and Renegade but also for the way he treated the young mercenary as if he were scum, was momentarily replaced by worry and a feeling of foreboding.
Whatever the reason for this meeting, it was already understood that it was very important.
They remained silent as they expected Batman to take control of the meeting as he always had but, to their enormous surprise, the vigilante remained more still than a statue and silent, further increasing their worry and the feeling of unease and bad omen.
"You're worrying us, man." Green Arrow stated bluntly, a joking undertone forced into his words.
"Why don't you explain the reason for the meeting, Batman?" Martian Manhunter kindly offered.
It was as if the world's greatest detective was brought out of his thoughts and he nodded curtly. He brought up on the huge television screen the image of a seven-year-old boy who was unfortunately extremely familiar to each of them.
Diana gulped when she met Dick Grayson's smiling face and was forced to look away from the screen, the feeling of failure still burning in her stomach at not having found that poor innocent soul.
"Why are you showing us his photo?" Black Canary asked in a soft, careful voice.
Every hero in that room knew how the Dick Grayson disappearance case affected Bruce in a way that nothing else could, and they all knew that to this day the vigilante hadn't given up at all and was continuing to search for the last Flying Grayson.
The Amazon's chest filled with unease and she twisted nervously, her throat immediately going dry.
There was only one reason Bruce had called a meeting regarding his biggest failure of his entire vigilante career.
And the chances of finding Dick still alive were practically zero.
She cleared her throat. "You found him."
She ignored all the surprised looks directed at her, her eyes not leaving Batman and she noticed the way he stiffened. "Yes." he confirmed after a few tense moments.
The heroes waited patiently for Batman to elaborate further and made no move to rush him, knowing that this was an immense sore point for him.
About a minute later, in complete silence, the billionaire let out a deep sigh, lowering his shoulders slightly. "Dick is still alive."
It took several seconds for the heroes to fully register his words and each of them made noises of shock and surprise.
Diana felt her chest lighten a little and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of deep relief, sending a short prayer to the gods. The feeling of unease eased but didn't disappear completely as it felt as if Batman was about to drop another bomb on them.
"It's a wonderful thing!" Superman happily exclaimed with a sigh of relief. His smile faltered at his best friend's stiffer and more stoic than usual demeanor. "Isn't that so?" he asked uncertainly.
Batman let out a tired and defeated sigh, something none of them had ever heard from the powerful and menacing Dark Knight. That was one of the few moments when Diana remembered that despite his armor, his stoic, cold and menacing - and often bitchy and bastard - demeanor, and his ability to keep up with universal threats, he was just a man.
A tired man, physically, emotionally and mentally worn out from all the horrors he witnessed in the city with the highest crime rate in the world, full of physical and mental scars, very alone and deeply traumatized from the tender age of eight due to a tragedy he was never able to fully overcome.
Her heart ached painfully because, despite all the bullshit this man had done, he was still one of Diana's best friends, and even though he had become very difficult to deal with in recent years, she still cared deeply for him.
After all, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't escape the darkness that had been devouring and consuming him from the inside for many years: he was merely a victim of it.
Her musings were abruptly interrupted when an extremely familiar figure appeared on the screen next to the image of the little Dick Grayson and she couldn't help but gasp in shock.
"What does Renegade have to do with Dick Grayson, Batman?"
Diana barely heard Zatanna's question filled with distrust and suspicion, her hands gripping the arms of her chair with a force that threatened to break them. She ignored Superman's worried gaze trained on her, her mind racing.
It had been about ten years since Dick Grayson disappeared.
Dick Grayson had disappeared under mysterious circumstances at the tender age of seven.
Dick Grayson would now be seventeen.
Seventeen which, coincidentally, was Renegade's age.
The same Renegade whose past was a complete dark mystery of which the only thing known was the hell that he was forced to overcome at a very young age.
They are just fortuitous coincidences. They are just fortuitous coincidences.
This was the mantra chanted by the Amazon's mind as she stared at Renegade's familiar masked face, her blue eyes trained on his smirk that always warmed her chest with an immense warmth and feeling better than she had ever felt.
"As you know, after Renegade's capture I took a sample of his blood to examine his DNA and discover his civilian identity. I got the results a little while ago."
Batman pressed a button and a text immediately appeared on the screen.
Diana's heart sank when she read the words.
Correspondence with Richard John Grayson: 95%
Zeus. I think I don't feel well.
Diana sank into her chair, her heart pounding and her head spinning wildly in light of the new information she discovered.
This was simply too much to handle, even for a fierce demigoddess Amazon warrior like her.
Renegade, the young man towards whom she felt immense respect, admiration but above all a deep sentimental attraction, and Dick Grayson, the seven-year-old boy who disappeared into thin air ten years earlier, were the same person.
The DNA test didn't lie and it was printed in big letters on the screen.
Renegade was Richard John Grayson.
Diana stroked her temple, feeling a sharp headache resulting more from emotional and mental exhaustion than physical tiredness, as Flash asked the next question.
"The match between Renegade and Dick Grayson is 95%. This means that there is some substance that alters the blood of… well, his since they are the same person." Flash pointed out helpfully, stumbling slightly on the last words.
At least I'm not the only person who was completely shocked by this.
"You are right." Batman nodded at the speedster who smiled weakly. "I detected an unknown substance in Renegade's blood. This is a substance that I have never seen before and which does not exist in any database. In any case, whatever it is, I strongly suspect it is the reason that explains Renegade's superhuman abilities: his superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, stamina, his excellent healing factor and his apparent immortality and ability to resurrect from any death."
Diana's throat went dry as she remembered Renegade's words during the twenty questions game in the alien invasion a few weeks ago.
"How did you get your meta-human abilities?"
"I… I'm so sorry, Princess. I don't feel ready to reveal that part of me yet. I am sorry."
Whatever his captors injected into him, it was painfully obvious that it was against his will -the memory of his confirmation that he had been denied free will made her shudder in disgust and horror- and that it was such a traumatic experience that even today, Renegade, one of the strongest and most resilient people she had ever met, was still deeply scarred by it.
Not to mention that Renegade was most likely tortured and killed so many times to the point that he had become numb and indifferent to most of the deaths and that only the most violent and brutal ones could have killed him only momentarily as he was forced to learn to fight with who knows how many lethal and mortal wounds on him.
She imagined the smiling face of Dick Grayson, so pure and innocent, forced to suffer such inhumane actions at the hands of mentally ill people and was forced to swallow the bile she felt rising.
This explained why Renegade was so obsessed with killing the worst scum in existence.
Zatanna's words brought her out of her thoughts, and when she stared at the sorceress, she noticed her pale, shocked face.
Even though Zatanna was seven years old like Dick Grayson when he was kidnapped, she too learned of his case since it was the only one that not even the Justice League had been able to solve.
"H-He must have a false identity, right? I-I mean, he can't walk around with that name!"
Batman nodded and, after pressing a button on the remote control, another image appeared on the screen.
Correspondence with Richard Wilson: 100%
The Amazon absentmindedly noted that Renegade has kept the same name when her full attention was drawn to the image of the face hidden behind the young mercenary's mask.
And what a beautiful face.
Diana felt her stomach tingle as she met the most gorgeous, spectacular, breathtaking blue eyes she had ever seen in her entire long life and for a brief moment she even forgot how to breathe, her entire being completely enraptured and mesmerized by Renegade's eyes and his facial features that were nothing short of perfect. She barely had time to think that now more than ever she wanted Renegade to take off that damned mask the next time they saw each other and see such wonder when Superman's shocked scream brought her abruptly back to reality.
"Dick?"
Everyone stared at the Man of Steel as if he had grown a second head. "I didn't know old age affected Kryptonians too." Hal joked. "We've been talking about Dick Grayson since the meeting started, man."
Clark shook his head furiously. "Not that Dick!" he paused. "No, wait: it's the same Dick."
Diana did a mental facepalm at the same time Hawkgirl growled at him. "Pull yourself together and get straight to the point!"
"I know Richard Wilson: he's Conner's best friend and goes by Dick. His adoptive father is Slade Wilson, a former military with a patch over his right eye." Superman stated after recovering. His face quickly paled. "Oh my God!"
"What?"
"Renegade was at my house." he whispered in complete shock and disbelief, answering Dinah's worried question. He shifted his gaze to the rest of the team, his lips quivering. "I inadvertently put Conner, Lois and my parents' lives at risk! Renegade has been to my house numerous times and I didn't even know it! I shook Deathstroke's hand several times! Renegade-"
"Calm down, Clark." Diana quickly intervened, placing a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder. "You were never in danger. Renegade only kills the worst scum in the world and has never hurt an innocent, remember?"
"But-"
Wonder Woman nipped his protest in the bud. "No buts. If Renegade had wanted you and your family dead, none of you would be alive now." she pointed out with a raised eyebrow, silently daring him to contradict her.
It looked as if Superman was going to protest but he finally sighed in defeat and gave her a shaky, weak smile. "I guess you're right."
The demigoddess just nodded and pulled her hand back from her shoulder the moment Batman spoke. "I think Conner knew." he stated, addressing the hero of Metropolis directly.
The Kryptonian frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Conner's story regarding what happened in Cadmus was missing some key details." the vigilante remembered. "Now that we have more details, I don't rule out that it was Renegade who helped Conner escape, who killed the other clone and Desmond and it is likely that the two became friends and that for this reason Renegade asked Conner not to mention his name."
"I don't like what you're implying, Batman." Superman stated crossing his arms sternly. "You're saying that Conner willingly brought the second most dangerous mercenary in the world into my home, endangering not only me but also Lois and my parents. Why would he do that?"
"Because, if it is true that Renegade helped him escape, Conner developed a bond of friendship with him." Aquaman guessed, easily following the Caped Crusader's train of thought. "It makes sense."
"And this explains how Conner, an objectively distrustful and difficult boy to deal with, especially at the beginning, immediately befriended Renegade to the point of bringing him to the Kent house." Batman continued with a nod.
Superman ran their words over in his mind for a few more seconds before sighing. "After this meeting I will have a long talk with Conner."
"Don't be too hard on the boy." Barry stated softly. "After all, if all this is true, it is only thanks to Renegade that Conner is with you and not inside a containment capsule. Although we don't know why he infiltrated Cadmus."
Clark shuddered at the thought. "This is true." he admitted with a nod.
"We must free Renegade."
All heads simultaneously snapped to look at the Dark Knight, shock filling each hero at his words.
"The hell?" Ollie stuttered, taken aback.
"Before you were so obsessed with catching that boy no matter what, and now you want to help him?" Shayera asked shocked and wary, narrowing her eyes when she saw the vigilante nod. "Why? Is it about the fact that he is actually Dick Grayson?"
Batman stared at her for a few seconds but she fearlessly returned his gaze and he finally nodded slowly.
"You feel like you let him down, don't you?" Diana realized softly. "You felt responsible for Dick Grayson's disappearance because one moment he was in your line of sight and the next he wasn't. Even though ten years have passed and the chances of finding him were practically zero, you continued to search for clues about him every single day since his disappearance. You would have moved the entire universe to find that boy."
With a sigh Batman nodded. "I paid for his parents' funeral since the circus was not in a good financial situation at the time. I promised their graves that I would do everything to find their son and take care of him." he looked away, staring somewhere in the room, clenching his fists. "I failed. I let them and Dick down."
"It's not your fault, Spooky." Hal stated in the sweetest voice any of them had ever heard from him addressing the Gotham vigilante. "It's entirely the fault of those bastards who kidnapped that boy."
"Hal is right." Barry nodded in agreement with his best friend's words. "I think, judging by how fiercely protective Deathstroke was of his son, Dick was lucky to be adopted by him in some way."
"Don't worry, Bruce." the Amazon waited for the man to look at her before continuing. "Renegade is free. He is no longer in danger."
"What?"
"Zatanna and I have allied ourselves with Deathstroke and his other allies. We first neutralized Amanda Waller and then infiltrated the A.R.G.U.S. facility to also neutralize Sasha Bordeaux."
"Renegade was also about to flee at the same time and we ran into him." Zatanna continued, her lips lifting into a small smile before it disappeared, giving way to a worried look. "Of course, there's the problem that Renegade now has a bomb implanted in his head but I'm sure he, Deathstroke and the others will find a way to remove it."
Her words made the heroes tense at the thought of a bomb implanted in the head of a seventeen-year-old.
Especially when said seventeen-year-old was Dick Grayson, the child missing for ten years that not even the Justice League could find.
"Renegade has also permanently deleted any information and evidence that A.R.G.U.S. had gathered on us in recent years." Diana added.
"Are you saying they can no longer threaten us with flaunting our civilian identities to the entire world?" Dinah asked in confirmation, smiling hugely when the other two women nodded. "It's fantastic!"
"We should really thank Renegade that we are no longer at risk." Hal thought idly.
"What happened to Waller and Bordeaux?" Batman asked in an impassive voice.
Diana shrugged. "Deathstroke and his allies took both. They're probably having fun with them since they hurt Renegade." she stated bluntly in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that she didn't care much about the fate of the two women. "Besides, Renegade has a score to settle with both of them."
The heroes waited with bated breath for Batman's reaction, knowing his stance on the matter in general. He stared at her for a few seconds and to everyone's surprise he simply nodded. "All right."
"All right?" Barry repeated surprised, confused and wary. "Is that all you have to say? Most likely two human lives are tortured by the best assassins in the world and you do nothing?"
"I've already failed Dick once. I won't let him down again." the Caped Crusader grunted and fixed his white eyes on each of them. "That boy deserves some peace in his life and if that means eliminating the two most important women from the best agency, then so be it. I want Renegade's name removed from the Justice League's most wanted supervillain list."
"Are you serious?" Ollie asked with shock in his voice while the others exchanged surprised looks, not expecting such a change in behavior from the Gotham vigilante. "All this because you just found out that Renegade is the kid you've been looking for ten years without success?"
"That's right. From now on, the Justice League will no longer hunt Renegade or make any attempt to stop him." the Dark Knight stated coldly and turned, his cape fluttering dramatically behind him. "As long as he only kills the worst scum in the world, we'll let him do it. There will be serious repercussions for anyone who continues to hinder Renegade. The meeting is officially over."
The heroes watched Batman leave the room, so shocked by his words that they weren't even offended that he didn't say goodbye to them. Wonder Woman and Zatanna exchanged a look of joy, happy that Batman was no longer a danger to Renegade, and Hawkgirl, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter also had small smiles on their lips.
"Wow." Green Arrow commented, breaking the shocked silence. "Overprotective of a kid he doesn't even know."
"Wilson has to be careful or Bruce will steal his son from under his nose and adopt him himself."
Hal's words made the entire room erupt in amused laughter.
Diana snorted, her lips quirking up in amusement.
Bruce as adoptive parent. The end of the entire universe is more likely.
Her gaze fell on the image of Dick Grayson/Dick Wilson on the screen.
Dick. It's so strange to say Renegade's real name, especially without him ever telling me.
Her eyes softened and she had a small, sweet smile.
I suppose sooner or later I'll get used to calling the young warrior by his name.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Lois softly asked Conner once he told the truth about Dick Wilson and Renegade the morning after the JL emergency meeting.
"Because I promised Dick I would keep it a secret." Conner stated sincerely. "He was wanted by the Justice League and I couldn't take the risk that they would harm him. He is my best friend and he gave me the freedom and a family I wanted so much. I owed it to him."
Clark ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "I understand your point of view." he reluctantly admitted. "Damn though… having the second best mercenary and assassin in the world in our house and so close to you…" he shuddered.
"Dick wouldn't have hurt any of us." Conner quickly exclaimed.
"He's right." Lois agreed, chuckling at her boyfriend's shocked and betrayed look. "If Renegade were truly evil, which he isn't, we'd all be dead by now."
"Not very reassuring." Clark muttered. "That's the same thing Diana told me hours ago."
"That's because we are both very intelligent women."
"I can't deny it." Clark admitted with an amused snort. Then, becoming serious: "For now we wouldn't say anything to Dick that we know who he is. Not until someone else in the League tells them."
Both Conner and Lois nodded and the Man of Steel smiled.
"Good. Why don't we all take a day off today to spend some time together?"
"Yes!"