Traumatised

Parental Consent

Bruce felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn't believe what he had just watched. Dick, his son, his child, had walked to the edge of the platform and then gone to take a step further, into the path of the oncoming train.

But he had been stopped, someone had dragged him from the edge and Bruce could do nothing but watch as the dark figure held his son face down against the tiled floor, pinning one of his arms behind his back. He could only watch as Dick screamed and fought against the man. His glasses had fallen from his face and there were tears streaming from his eyes. Suddenly, his mouth opened in a gasp. Bruce had seen this expression before, in the midst's of a panic attack, Dick was struggling for air.

Gripping the edges of his seat, Bruce watched as Dick's struggles became weaker until finally, they stopped, and he passed out. The man loosened his grip and rolled the unconscious boy onto his back, checked his pulse and sat back on his heels. There were a few moments, where the man seemed to be considering what to do next. Finally, he shifted to a more secure footing and lifted the boy easily into his arms. Dick's head hung back limply.

Once he had the boy secured in his arms, the man turned to leave. Bruce wasn't prepared for the face that appeared on the camera.

Deathstroke the Terminator carried his son from the subway and out of sight.

When Beast Boy had tracked down Robin's motorcycle, Batman had hoped he would be able to track Robin's location to somewhere in the city. A naive part of him had believed that he would find Dick sat on a rooftop somewhere brooding, just like he used to do in Gotham when he was younger. Whenever Dick had a bad day, Bruce knew he would find him next to his favourite gargoyle in the city. But that had been a childish hope. This was the reality of Dick's current mental state. This was no longer a question of whether Dick was willing to save himself. Now he was actively attempting to destroy himself.

It was a strange position to be in; not knowing whether to thank the man for saving his son's life or track him down and beat Dick's location out of him.

Bruce's eyes flicked down to his phone as it buzzed on the table beside him. The glowing screen showed a picture of Dick smiling at the camera with the caller ID showing "Dick".

He grabbed the phone and held it to his ear.

'Dick, where are you? Are you alright?' He could hear the frantic tone in his voice, but after what he had just seen he couldn't hide his concern.

'Mr Wayne. I think we need to talk.' Said a deep voice that most certainly did not belong to his son.

'Deathstroke.' Bruce growled.

'I take it you have seen the footage from the subway then?' said the man.

'Where is my son?' Bruce demanded.

'He's perfectly safe.'

'Where is he?' Bruce's voice had lowered to a threatening tone.

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. 'I assure you, he is fine. Physically.' There was a pause. 'If you know he is with me then you must also know what he tried to do.'

Bruce didn't know how to answer, so he simply grunted.

'He's not well, Mr Wayne.' The Terminators voice was soft, unthreatening. It threw Bruce off slightly. In all the other times he had encountered this man, generally, to stop him completing a job, the mercenaries voice was hard.

'Bring him home.' Said Bruce, a little softer.

'I've tried. He refuses to go back to Gotham or even back to the Titans. I thought being with me was likely preferable to leaving him alone.'