The Last Talon

Chapter One

It had been twenty years since Dick Grayson disappeared, kidnapped by the Court of Owls. Eighteen since the police had stopped searching. Fifteen since he was legally declared dead. Twelve years since the virus first started to show in the Talons; the assassins from the Court of Owls. Slowing them down enough to be captured. The tests had concluded the virus was attacking the electrum in the Talon's blood, shutting down their organs faster than the electrum could heal them. It had been ten years since William Cobb, Dick's great-grandfather had died in the hands of the Justice League, overcome by the virus. He took the Court of Owls with him to the grave, along with the truth of Dick's disappearance. It had been seven years since the Justice League had given up any hope of finding the first Robin. Five years since Bruce retired. Three years since Alfred had died. Two years since the mantle of Batman was passed down to Terry McGinnis. It had been one year since anyone had uttered the name, Richard Grayson.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Batman carefully placed his feet through the wreckage. Each foot tenderly lowered to the floor to avoid weak spots in the boards. Parts of the building were still smouldering hours after the fire itself had been put out. Batman slowly spun around, the lenses in his mask looking for heat signals and other forms of life.

'I dunno B.' He said, 'The heat from the fire is messing with my lenses but I don't think there's anyone here.'

'The scan I did of the building suggests there is.' Said Bruce over the cowl, blunt as always.

'Well, I've done three rotations of this place and I can't find anything.' Terry said, putting his foot down. If there had been someone in here with the weak life force Bruce's computer had detected, chances are they were now dead. As much as that thought didn't please Terry, he knew sometimes it couldn't be helped. The firefighters would find the body when they did a full sweep with their machines. There was no need for Batman to be here.

'I'm pulling out.' He said, backing away towards the window before Bruce could answer.

As he neared the window he noticed a gap between two fallen beams, beyond the gap, was an old staircase to a cellar. He carefully made his way over and stared down into the darkness, he looked from side to side but his lenses picked up no sign of life. But how far down did it go? There was cold air coming up from the darkness, the fire hadn't reached this area. Taking a step forward he began to descend. The wooden stairs creaked dangerously under each step.

'I thought you were pulling out?'

'I just want to check something out.' He made his way down a few more steps all the while searching with the lenses for life. He looked down when the floor beneath him creaked dangerously. He managed to cry out as the floor gave way and he fell through the staircase, darkness swallowing him.

Terry felt like he fell forever, though it probably wasn't long. The darkness screwed with his senses. When he landed, it was with a painful thud and he knew without the suit he would have broken something, or worse.

'Terry are you alright?'

'Yeh, I'm fine.' He looked around, 'Looks like some sort of secret cellar. From the temperature, in here I don't think anyone's been down here for years. I can't see a way out either...other than the way I came in.' He looked up and saw it was indeed quite a fall. 'I doubt the owners of the building even knew it was here'

'Can you get out?'

'Piece of cake, thank goodness for your latest upgrades to the s...' Batman cut off, there was something down here.

'Terry?'

Terry pulled himself off the floor and walked over to the shape in the darkness that had caught his eyes. It was long, rectangular like a coffin. But there was a faint blue glow coming from the top. Reaching forward Terry wiped his hand across the side and a thick layer of dust came off on his gloves. Beneath the dust was a nameplate. Terry's heart moved to his mouth. The world seemed to stop.

Grayson.

Terry had heard the story of Bruce's first adopted son. How could you be in the League and not know about the disappearance of the first Robin? Bruce didn't talk about him much, neither did the others apart from Damien. Damien spoke about him sometimes. Generally, to compare Terry to him, at first it had been to show Terry how much he was getting wrong. These days he felt the comparisons were more endearing, as though he truly reminded the older man of his brother. Damien had been eight when Dick had disappeared, yet the way the man described the other was so clear, Terry felt like he could remember him too.

Terry stared at the name. Logically there were two options. Either this had nothing to do with Richard Grayson and the nameplate was a coincidence..or he was going to open this box and find the corpse of Bruce's son.

'Terry, what's going on?'

Terry ignored the voice in his ear and reached out a shaking hand to the lid of the coffin. It was cold to the touch and felt like glass rather than wood. He slid his hand over the top, once again removing a thick layer of dust. As the dust cleared a blue glow emanated from the glass surface, it filled the room with an uncomfortably eery light.

Terry stared down at the glass, the inside was frosted over with little stars of ice. This wasn't a coffin, he realised, it was a hibernation chamber. He'd read about these when he was reading up on the Court of Owls, although long dead they had been interesting to read about in Bruce's old case files. The Talon's used them to hibernate and heal their bodies, the electrum that made them practically immortal kept them alive in the ice for years at a time. Well, it had until the virus wiped them out.

Terry began wiping more dust from the surface until he could see a pair of feet through the iced glass. There was someone in there! Hurriedly he began wiping the other end, all the while Bruce was shouting at him in his ear.

'Oh dear God.' Terry muttered.

'Terrance McGinnis answer me! What is going on?'

'B, I found him.' Terry breathed, looking down at the face of the young boy in the ice. 'I found Dick Grayson.'