When Night Comes

Chapter Fourteen

I couldn't sit here and do nothing any longer, not when my son seemed to be losing his mind inside his own mind. However that works. I didn't hesitate as I ran down towards Talon but just as I reached him he started to fade.
"What's this?" He asked in a mocking tone as he turned around to face me, "Is someone forgetting to pump the drugs into our system?"
"What do you mean by that?" Artemis asked as she also came down with the rest.
"Someone's forgotten to pump the chloroform, I'm not fully needed here." He explained and then looked down at Dick, "Actually, I don't think I'm needed here at all." And then vanished completely.
"Anyone else getting Cheshire Cat vibes?" Megan asked from behind us and I heard Wally bark something back but I wasn't listening, I was leaning over my son.
"Dick, Dick, are you okay?" I asked but he wasn't responding, instead, he was staring off at nothing, "Dick, we're here to help you."
"Bruce." I turned as Roy called my name in a tone which told me I hadn't heard him a couple times before, "We need to get back to the real world, Talon's about to get up and none of them are really in a fit state to fight."
"We'll split up." I suggested but M'gann cut me off, "We can't do that. I either take all of us out or none of us. I don't have enough training to split my skill like that yet."
I looked down at Dick who wasn't moving on the sandy floor, bleeding from far too many injuries. I had to make a sacrifice, either Dick here or everyone else out there. And as much as I hated this, the mission had to come first.
"Pull us out M'gann." I ordered and she nodded as she focused.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Wally asked, "If we don't help Dick here we might not be able to help him at all."
"He always pulls through." I said, "He'll get through it again this time, we need to help the others."
"It's not working." We all looked over to M'gann who had worry written clear on her face, "I can't get us out of here."
"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" Talon's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, "You're in my world now. And I plan to have a little fun before you can check out."
Instantly the room started to morph, changing from the circus tent to something else. A psychiatric ward, padded cells and all white walls. And the others had disappeared.
"What are you doing?" I asked, "Where are the others?"
"Let's see how you do when left here for a couple days." I could hear the laugh being held back in his voice, "Have fun."
And white noise cut in. I didn't waste any time looking for an exit.

Movement caught my eye and I looked over to Talon's bed. I could have sworn his hand had twitched. How long had bit been since anyone had checked his dosage of Chloroform? I sat up and looked over again. Yes, he definitely moved. I quickly shuffled to the edge of my bed and went to grab my crutches, but they weren't there. I bet it was Jade who moved them. And now her weak will was going to get everyone killed. Why hadn't she just let me kill him earlier?
"Are you okay Dinah?" I heard Jason in the bed next to me, the poor kid couldn't move at all without risking further injury, I wasn't sure if he or Artemis had it worse.
"I'm fine." I said, "How are you?"
"Drugged up." He joked, "But otherwise, probably a little worse for wear."
"Just a tincey bit." I said but then more movement from Talon caught my eye, this time it was an entire leg twitch, "Do you know where anyone else is?"
"They're in the lounge." He replied, "Planning out what we need to do to help Dick."
The lounge. There's no way they'd hear me from here unless I did a Canary scream, this could be a prime time to get revenge for Ollie.
"Where are my crutches?" I asked again, keeping half an eye on Talon as he became more and more agitated.
"No idea." Jason sighed, "Last I saw Jade took them out."
Of course she did. Idiotic girl. Doesn't matter, I could find a way over. I had to find a way over.
"Okay. Thanks anyway." I said out of habit as I looked over the room again, searching for a route to his bed.
And my breath caught as my eyes landed on his bed once more. He wasn't there. Jason hasn't noticed, thank god, but he wasn't there. And that wasn't good. Maybe I should get someone in here.
"Clark, Conner, I hope you can hear me." I said, praying that at least one of them were here, "But Talon has woken up and is no longer in his bed and I can't see him. Jason and I are in here by ourselves-"
"That's enough of that sweet pea." I froze as his voice spoke in my ear, so quiet and soft that it went beyond creepy.
I couldn't move, I didn't dare move from fear of him. I could feel his breath on my neck, his nails lightly tracing a path down and around to my throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." That was Clark's voice, thank the fucking lord.
"Like you can stop me." He breathed a laugh, "Even Barry couldn't move fast enough to stop me from making her smile ear to ear. If she still has ears at that point."
"Talon, please." That was Jason now, still unable to turn his head to see what was happening, "You don't have an issue with her. She's already broken after Ollie. She has no satisfaction left for you."
"And what do you suggest I do, renegade?" He was practically hissing now.
"You want to get rid of everyone who knows your true identity." He said calmly, "I'm the one that told them. If it wasn't for me, no one would know."
"So what?" Talon asked, but it was less vicious then I'd anticipated, whatever Jason was trying to suggest, it was working.
"Get revenge on me. Torture me." He was trying to move to make eye contact with him now, "You know I don't care for these people, you can't hurt me with them."
I wish I could have seen Talon in that moment, seen as he went over the offer. Saw his eyes glow with anticipation, watch as he took his hand from my neck and moved with cat-like grace over to Jason. I watched as he looked over the child, Clark still standing frozen in the doorway, and laughed.
"I'll take your offer." He grinned once he'd calmed down, "I'll take you out of here, no resistance, and leave everyone here alone until you take your final breath."
"No." Clark growled, "We don't trade lives."
"You don't have a choice." Jason but back, "Now get out the way."
No one moved as Jason slowly removed the mask from his mouth and climbed off his bed, trying to hide his small winces of pain. And as he walked towards the door, a defiant look on his face, Clark stepped out of the way without a fight. Talon had a sickening grin on his face as he followed him out of our sight.
"You need to follow him." I said, "Get him back."
"Look, I stand by what I said earlier." He said, "But we need to look at reason, if Bruce was here this is the choice he would make. And he always makes the right choice, whether we see it or not."
"Bruce isn't here." I refrained from screaming, "And that monster needs to pay for what he did. Not wander free." There was a loud crash then, and Clark set a small smile on his mouth.
"Conner?"
"Bruce also says to be prepared or all possible situations." Clark smirked as he turned to look out the door.
And his smile dropped.
"Thanks for the parting gift."
Clark moved faster than I suspect even Barry could, though it is well known Barry is faster, and was out of my sight. I could hear the commotion the other side of the wall, and I would like to say I knew who was winning but Talon was an experienced fighter. And Clark, well, he rather depended on his super abilities then his skill. I looked around the room again, I just needed something to support me enough to get out there and scream. We could take him together, but we weren't going to get that chance.
The sounds suddenly stopped, the fight was over. I did my best to try and see around the door, to know what had happened, but it whatever I tried wasn't enough. I really had to get out of this bed, I had to make sure that monster wasn't running free. I jumped as Supes came back through the wall to land at the foot of my bed, barley holding onto life as a shard of Krypotine protrouded from his chest.
"See you guys later." I looked up from where I was trying to remove the shard from Clark without hurting him further to see Dick throw in a limp Conner, and then he walked off.
I looked at him horror as Clark took hold of the shard in his chest and ripped it out himself and was crawling over to him. I looked at the shard of green in his chest, pulsating as if it had absorbed the life power of his heart. As if it was trying to make-up for the fact that his chest was no longer rising and falling, to make up for the fact that Conner's eye's were unseeing. It was eerily silent, echoing the inside of his head, the inside of our hearts. Clark took his limp body in his arms, tears trailing down his disbelieving face. The boy he had never really been a father to yet had wanted him to so badly. And now he'd never get the chance.
"I don't understand." Clark muttered to himself, "Conner should have been able to take him. Where did he even get the shards from?"
"I don't know Clark." I said, "I'm sorry."
"I never got to be his father." He said as he pulled him closer to his chest, "He never got to know I cared."
Neither of us said anything else then, the solemn silence only interrupted again when Arthur walked in with Kaldur and they saw the scene themselves. They walked back out quickly to gather the others. Together, the eight of us and Lian lay him on a bed and covered him with a sheet, making sure he was respected before we had the chance to burn his body.
"May you rest in peace." Arthur said with a hand over his heart and we all echoed him.
Eventually, we all moved back to our tasks, only Diana staying in the med bay with me.
"How are we going to tell the others when they wake up?" Diana asked, looking over at the group of beds which hosted our still unconscious friends.
"Better question. Why did we keep him alive after what he did?" I said, "We can't stop him. Or is that lesson to hard to learn?"
"We can't kill him." Diana explained, "I know and understand your rage. I've been where you've been. But we cannot kill or we become as bad as those we fight against. Any path we can take that doesn't lead to blood on our hands, must be explored."
"I understand that, but with people like him and Joker." I argued, "We can't keep doing this. We have to stop them."
"Dinah, I hope you understand that this is a passing feeling." She said, "You need to talk, about Ollie, about how you feel. Get it off your chest. It will help, I promise."
I know it would help, I know what she's saying is true, but I can't seem to comprehend it. But I have to let this pass, I have to let Ollie move on from me and have peace. So I opened up to Diana, this time not letting anything stay hidden.