Secrets shall be revealed

Part 23

Their next meeting was a few days later when Drake was done analyzing the evidence they had gathered.

"I think we are close to getting a picture here. Ra's has been going around the world looking for scientists to develop some sort of bio-weapon. What it does and how it works are not completely clear since he destroys most of the evidence."

"But from what we can tell, it's in the form of an injection. Something that affects the people individually. It is also something slow-acting. They monitored their test subjects for some time before disposing of them."

"there were areas dedicated to their observation, and since one of the doctors they kidnapped was a psychiatrist, it probably had some psychological effect. With what we have, we cannot tell much more."

"What we can say for certain is that it is not probably meant for mass release but targeting targeted individuals. We also know that it probably has something to do with Lazurus water since its shipments were mentioned in documents from both bases."

"I think our next step should be locating him directly. It won't be easy, but if the experts' pattern of kidnapping holds, there should be a chance. We also have a trail of bank accounts that Babs is trying to follow. It won't be easy, but it should lead us somewhere."

"I think our best bet is to taunt him into taking action. If he moves, it will be easier to locate him. I'm also making some alerts in case we need the Justice League involved, but it isn't necessary for now," Drake said. He was sitting next to the monitors in the cave to show them his findings.

He looked dead on his feet. It was clear he hadn't taken a break in a while.

"I'm not sure about taunting him. There isn't much that can get him personally involved that doesn't include outright attacking the league. Even then, there is a chance he will attack Gotham in retaliation, which is not something we want. He can always send Talia to handle that as well," Grayson said.

He was right in a way. Damian couldn't think of much either. Plus, he didn't want to fight his mother. There was one thing he could think of. But it was risky.

'I have a plan.' Damian signed.

It was a long night of patrol. They had spent the past few days preparing their plan to lure out Ra's, but they still needed time to finalize details. Tonight, Damian was patrolling with Todd. Drake was still recovering, and he was also working on solving a case.

Brown was patrolling alone, and since Damian was the youngest, he was not allowed to patrol alone. Todd let him tag along. They were currently in a slaughterhouse trying to find the trespassers.

The alarm went off a few minutes ago, and since they were in the area, they decided to check it out. Damian felt dissociated. He was having an episode.

Ever since he could remember, he had these episodes. It always started with nightmares. Of the dead haunting him or losing the people he cared about. Then the haze started.

He felt like a passenger in his own body. He didn't feel fully in control, as if something was controlling his actions. He also had a hard time concentrating and focusing on a single thread of thoughts.

It was as if whenever he tried to focus on a thought, it would get away from his grasp and become a jumbled mess of other thoughts. When he tried to focus on the outside world, he felt as if he was underwater.

Everything was hazy, from the sounds to the colors. The haze would last a few days before stopping as if it had never happened. When he was younger, he told his mother about this.

Many doctors examined him, but no one could find the cause. So he just learned to bear with it.

He was having a haze episode now. He knew Todd told him something about separating to cover more ground. Damian heard something coming from his left. He followed the sound.

Being wet from the rain outside did not put him in a better mood. He felt so cold. This was the freezer room. He passed by the hanging meat and shelves, trying to find the source. Suddenly, there was a loud smashing sound from behind, and he ran to the door only to see it was closed.

He was locked in, and there was no handle on his side. He quickly pressed his comm, only to notice it was not working. There was no signal. He tried not to panic. He checked the pockets of his utility belt and found it—a small box.

He opened the box, took the pair of earplugs, and put them in his ears. There was also a tiny noise device that would make a deafening alarm sound. They specially designed this for such situations.

When their comms were not working, and they needed to locate one another in emergencies. Damian pressed the button, and the alarm went off. Even with his earplugs, the noise was too loud.

He knew Todd would get him out soon. He could not take off his earplugs to hear if Todd was nearby, but judging by the freezer door size and material, the room should not be soundproof.

Damian started pacing around. Moving and staying active. The freezer was too cold for his clothing, and he was already shivering. He knew he could not stop moving.