Green Flecks

Puzzle Box -Chapter 5

At the dial tone, Jason pulled the phone away from his ear and grabbed a pot before starting to heat up the water. He tossed the peace of tech haphazardly on the counter. That thing had survived enough at this point that he didn't care if it hit the counter.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the kid flinch at the noise and glance over at him. Jason decided to continue looking at the room-temperature water and not directly at the kid. He didn't want it to seem like Jason was always watching him.

He saw the kid's eyes slowly glance back and forth between Jason and the puzzle box still held in his hands before his eyes settled on the box. It was a gift Jason got from Roy last year. Jason barely used it after he solved it about three times, but it was fun to have around if you were bored. At least the kid was enjoying it.

The kid slid another piece of the wood forward with a light click before turning it over in his hands to look at the other side to see what he wanted to do next. The kid's brow knitted itself together as he tried to figure it out. His tongue sticking out slightly of the corner of his mouth as he tried to concentrate. It reminded Jason of Dick whenever he used to sit down and work on a particularly hard case.

Jason chuckled lightly, a smile at the edge of his lips as he turned his attention back to the water, which was just starting to have bubbles float to the top from the bottom of the saucepan.

When Jason looked back at him he noticed something that he hadn't earlier. Jason was sure the kid's eyes had been glowing green every time he saw him, every time the kid stared at him. When he woke up even. Bright, glowing, pit-green. But now they were as blue as the ocean.

Jason now fully turned his head practically openly staring. They were now a pale blue. Just a little more vivid than Jason's when he was a kid. But that didn't make sense now, did it? Or maybe it did.

Now Jason's eyes were a darker brownish color. Something that changed when he died and was resurrected. But whenever Jason was mad and went into a pit rage his eyes would turn fully green. Much like the kid's did.

Yet, the kid certainly didn't look like he was going into a mad pit rage. It was more like he was scared. Staring at Jason and analyzing him. But it didn't seem to affect the kid at all when the eyes changed. Now that he is slightly calmer, and has something to focus on, his eyes went back to their normal colour?

The similarities between the pit and this kid are starting to nip at Jason. He would almost think Ra's was behind something this kid has gone through. However, what happened to the kid seemed to be more the work of scientists than the demon head — No matter how messed up the man's morals may be.

Though there is a chance that the kid had been exposed to the Lazarus pit before he was experimented on. Or maybe even during? Could he have died and they needed him back so they decided to get their hands on something to resurrect him? Is there more than one Lazarus pit? Jason felt a shiver go down his spine.

All of these roads were not good, and he certainly can't just go and ask the kid. 'Hey, what exactly did the people who very obviously hurt you do? Can you explain in exact detail so I can go and chop all of their heads off and put them in a bag?' Jason sighed.

Would the kid even want Jason to avenge him and destroy all the people that did this to him? Jason picked up the packet of oatmeal and glanced back over at the kid, looking him up and down. He could see the kid's scars up his arms, and most notably, the markings around his wrists where he had obviously been strapped down.

There was barely any muscle or fat on his bones at all. He looked like he hadn't eaten properly in months. Around his neck sat the collar, the green light still blinking strongly. Yeah, he doesn't think the kid will mind if he gets rid of them. It might give him some closure at least. If this happened to Jason he would want someone to avenge him...