Off the Deep End

Rock Bottom

A/N this chapter is 7000 words long... I'm sorry.

The ground started to slope underneath him, slowly coming to level.

Dick scattered across the ground, groaning. He didn't feel like he'd broken anything, but his side was hurting again. He'd bandaged himself up after the fight at the Maroni's warehouse, but even still it hurt. And he had a headache coming on.

He sighed, pushed his hands beneath him and forced himself to his feet.

It was still fucking dark.

There was a shriek and Dick jumped, feathers against his face, claws on his arm, the owl was back.

His breath was still shaky and his eyes wide, he was quite sure his jaw was chattering.

"great to see you're back," he hissed to the owl, "thanks so much for pushing me down the massive fucking hole, squawker."

The bird hooted indignantly.

"yeah fuck you, too."

And he was still talking to a bird. Brilliant.

He looked around, trying to discern something in the dark. He shuffled around trying to see if his phone was anywhere around. He found nothing.

He sighed, grumbled.

"great idea Dick, follow the creepy bird into the cave with only a phone light and no sense of direction."

He held out his right hand, his left arm starting to go numb from holding the damn bird for so long. His hand touched nothing so he edged forward, not lifting his feet much in case there was something on the ground.

The bird flew off and Dick almost missed the warmth.

He shot forward after it, hoping it was guiding him. He could hear its wingbeats drifting through the cave, it sounded like it was a huge length of tunnels, plenty for sound to echo on but still big and scary.

He could get lost.

Dick drifted forwards, arms out.

"where the fuck-" he muttered.

The bird grabbed onto his sleeve once more and lead him forwards, Dick stumbled, but followed.

The bird dropped his hand on something, a... table? He wasn't sure. But he ran his hand along the surface, the bird pushed his hand along and he drifted atop some kind of... something.

As he touched it, it heated up, and slowly the thing became an outline of glowing gold around his palm. He pulled away and watched as the lightly glowing silhouette of a hand grew cracks, the glow spread, etching itself along the surface, to the ground, along the walls...

The whole place lit up, a light glow illuminating a small antechamber, with caves dotting the walls.

The bird trilled and Dick looked at it in shock.

"okay, I'll admit," he said, "pretty cool."

The bird hooted, and Dick must have been going insane because it sounded proud.

"Okay Squawker," he said, holding out his arm, the bird settled on his bicep, "show me the way."

He started forwards, Squawker flapped and guided his arm towards a cave in the side of the antechamber. Dick followed, and the gold cracks soon became uniform. Lines and crosses, like the grit of tile. The stone became ceramics, rocks and gravel spilling over shining white tiles.

His steps sped up, a change in architecture seemed like a good sign.

The bird preened on his arm as Dick walked the hallway, till he came to a cross roads.