Jericho

Tasers and Deals

Dick hit the ground, his arm twisted awkwardly under the weight of his body. His sudden position confused him. He had seen Slade's weapon pointed at him and heard the spark of electricity as it was fired, but his body, although sore from the impact of the floor, was not convulsing. He opened his eyes and saw Slade ripping out the wires from the taser. Following the wires, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of Joey withering on the floor, his mouth open in a silent scream. He had pushed him out of harm's way.

'Joey!' Dick screamed, scrambling to his feet and running to the other man's side. His body was still spasming but Joey raised his hand to his throat and began to claw at it. The flesh of his Adam's apple was beginning to grow red.

'Move!'

Dick was shoved to the side as Rose knelt down by her brother.

'What's happening to him?' Asked Dick.

'The chip in his voice box has short-circuited. The electricity has made it hot, it's burning him from the inside.' She reached onto her belt and brought out a small canister, she proceeded to tip some of the water down her brother's raw throat. Joey coughed and spluttered but he stopped clawing at his flesh as the water cooled the chip down. He opened his eyes and looked at them both.

'You idiot.' Said Dick, running his hand through Joey's hair. 'That taser did you more damage than it would have done me.'

Joey tried to grin but his mouth was still twitching. He opened his mouth to speak, the only sound to leave him was a soft gurgling. He tried again and got the same result. An expression of combined realisation, panic and sadness washed over his face before he closed his eyes and fell into darkness.

Dick understood the problem and his blood began to boil again.

Joey's chip was destroyed, he was mute.

'What have you done?' Rose whispered.

'The chip can be restored. But you will need to come with me.' Said Slade, keeping his voice even, trying to hide the shock of what had just happened from his voice. He needed to remain in control of the situation or they would all slip from his grasp forever. 'All of you need to come with me.'

'Are you fucking kidding me?' Dick shouted. 'You've just muted your own son and you're still out to get me!'

'None of this would have occurred if you had chosen more wisely Richard Grayson. Now come.' He took a step forward causing Rose to flinch and hold her brother tighter. Dick growled and put himself between the man and his lover.

'Don't you dare touch him.'

'You were supposed to keep him away Rosie.' Slade continued, ignoring Dick. Despite the nickname, the words were menacing, Rose's shoulders tensed.

Dick shoved him back.

'I said, stay away from them.'

'Do you really think you can take me alone, boy?'

Dick took a step closer and squared up to him. 'You said you didn't want me to join the Court because I would be a threat to you.' He said, his expression once again hard and determined. 'Well, you were wrong.'

The blue of his eyes began to fade as the golden yellow spread through the iris. Unlike a fully fledged talon, the pupil remained the same size rather than expanding, but the effect of the yellow was enough to make Slade falter.

'I am a threat, even without the court.'

The next thing Slade knew he was on his back, his arms extended to keep a blade from reaching his chest plate. His mind searched for a logical explanation for where the boy had pulled the weapon from. That is until he realised the weapon was his own. Dick had attacked, disarmed and subdued him in seconds. This was the power of someone born with talon blood along with the skill and training of someone raised by the Batman.