Richard Grayson
Bruce stared at the name on his terminal for a long moment, a long-buried memory kicking and squirming to the surface as his brain sluggishly attempted to make sense of what it meant. He blinked hard when it all caught up with him and twisted his face away from the screen, something resembling a growl caught somewhere in his throat as his emotions battled with his logic.
He didn't believe in coincidences. Especially not something this enormous. A single child dug up from the depths of the painful moments of Bruce Wayne's past was dug back up in Batman's life. It felt too specific to only be a coincidence, but the longer he considered it, the more he realized how impossible it would be to have been anything but. How could someone on the enemy side know that he had become attached to Richard Grayson, all of those years ago? No one but Alfred even heard that name come from his mouth.
The tight coil in his stomach slowly unraveled as he came to the conclusion that it had to be a coincidence, but it left pain in its place. He could still remember it perfectly, the sight of the young man and woman plunging to their deaths and the heartbroken screams of denial from their devastated son. When the police arrived, the boy fled from the scene, clearly overwhelmed by everything that was happening.
That's when Bruce met him. They spoke for nearly an hour before CPS arrived on the scene and dragged Richard away. It wasn't long, but Bruce quickly came to the decision that it wouldn't be the last time he would talk to Richard Grayson.
The world seemed to disagree with him, though. Richard and several other children went missing only a weeks days later. Bruce searched far and wide for any traces, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman, but was never able to find a trail. It was one of the hardest failures he had to cope with. At a certain point, it became clear that either Richard was dead or trapped in some sort of human trafficking system.
He never thought to check Cadmus.
Renegade said he had been kidnapped out of an orphanage, which added up from where Bruce last heard of Richard Grayson. The only slight error he could find was that the boy had been taken to a Juvenile Detention Center, rather than an actual orphanage. That, however, surely could have been explained by the innocence of a child not knowing the difference.
But the things he had hinted at, the things he went through? Being used to test drugs, and eventually being trained under an assassin?
With a low growl, Batman switched the monitor off. Guilt was weighing heavily on his shoulders and despite his best effort to assure himself the situation wasn't his fault, he still struggled. If he had searched longer, used every scrap of information anyone could give him, he could have found Richard. Hell, if he hadn't hesitated to speak with him sooner while he was still in the Detention Center, this entire situation would have been avoided entirely. He knew there was nothing he could do to change the past, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to fix this.
The question was, should he tell Renegade the truth about their connection? Or would it be safer to only fill him in on his birth name and the details of his past he was aware of, excluding anything that had to do with Bruce Wayne? He couldn't deny that this felt like a second chance. The universe gave him someone he had been mourning for years. The issue wasn't that Bruce didn't want to help him, but could he trust him?
There was a way they could check.
Batman rose to his feet, his arm extended so he could reach his holo-computer. He brought up Martian Manhunter's contact and sent a short message to request his presence, giving him as little detail as possible in case of a security breach. The Martian's response was almost immediate.
It was time to dive into the mind of Richard Grayson.
~
"Is it going to hurt?" Renegade asked as he climbed onto the white bed in the medbay, laying down with his hands folded on his chest. He felt like he was about to wail about his sorrows to a therapist. That would probably be more fun than having someone dig through his mind. "Better question, is it going to tickle? If it tickles, I might pee myself."
"It shouldn't do either of those things," J'onn assured him, a smidge of amusement tinting his voice. "I won't be doing much, just searching the surface of your mind for any thoughts carrying bad intentions. You should barely feel my presence." He smiled. "Close your eyes."
"Mkay." Renegade did as instructed. It felt awkward, laying down with his eyes closed while two people were staring at him. Maybe he should strike a pose to break the ice. Or maybe he shouldn't. Batman seemed angrier than usual. It'd be funny explaining to the Team that the Dark Knight broke his back because he was trying to-
Oh.
That was something.
Something light fluttered around in his head, causing his entire body to tense. It felt all sorts of intrusive, but the presence was clearly doing it's best to be gentle, so Renegade tried to relax and bare with it. His thoughts continued as normal, but he could feel someone touch every single one of them as they circulated.
Curiosity.
That wasn't his.
Relief.
Okay.
Sadness. Grief.
Renegade snapped his eyes open as the presence suddenly withdrew from his head, and blinked up at the two heroes standing at his bedside. "So, uh, did I pass?" He asked awkwardly, slowly sitting up.
"Yes, you're safe," Manhunter replied, slowly. It sounded like there was an unsaid 'but' trailing behind, but the sentence was never finished. Heartrate picking up, Renegade turned his head to Batman, searching his masked face for any sign of permission. To continue his life, to be on the Team, to stay-
"Renegade, are you sure this is what you want to do with your life?" J'onn finally spoke again, voice soft and gentle, the voice someone would use to speak to a child. Renegade found himself bristling, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Where was this coming from? "You went through so much, and you're already launching yourself into this responsibility. You can live here with M'gann and Conner, we wouldn't ask you to leave, but have you considered giving civilian life a try?"
The teen's mind stuttered while his heart worked itself up into a frenzy. "You don't want me on the Team?" He asked, voice small. His face began to grow hot. "Was that what this was actually about? Am I not good enough for the Team?" Manhunter opened his mouth, but Renegade didn't want to know what he was going to say. "You haven't even seen what I can do. I know I'm capable of keeping up with the rest of them, superpowers or not."
"It's not a matter of-" Whatever Manhunter was beginning to say was silenced by a sudden buzz that hummed in Renegade's ears.
They're getting rid of you.
His fingers curled into the bedsheets, and he stared at Manhunter's face, a horrible mix of apprehension and terror rushing through his veins. The Martian's mouth was moving, and he could faintly hear the low drone of his voice, but none of the words registered. All he could hear was the placating tone, the pity dripping from his tongue, the unsaid decision to take away the only thing that mattered to him.
His eyes drifted to Batman's silent presence, and the harsh grip of panic only dug its claws in further as he met that neutral gaze.
He's getting rid of you.
Pain slowly began to creep from his temples to the back of his skull, and soon his entire head was cradled in the cruel grasp of agony. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like every cell of his body was suddenly alight, screaming in protest, his very being so averse to being cast aside that it hurt.
The League couldn't reject him, they couldn't. He needed to be with them, didn't they understand? His place was with them. He would do anything and everything they wanted of him if it guaranteed that he could stay.
"Renegade?"
You can't let them.
You have to stay.
Something snapped.
He buckled under the wave of agony just as the lights inside Medbay went out. A cry of pain escaped his lips before he could clamp it down, and the overhead speakers came to life. Sparks came flying from the wiring as a thundering ringing noise cut through whatever it was that Manhunter was beginning to say. The same ringing bounced around in Renegade's head. The roar of electronical feedback and the whistling in his head grew louder and louder, competing with each other with a ferocity that made him double over. The taste of bile was heavy on his tongue, and all he could do was clap his hands over his ears as an unbidden wail escaped his throat.
Something heavy landed on his shoulder, grounding him to reality. Be calm.
Calm.
"Were my feelings just hacked?" Renegade distantly wondered as the lights flickered back on, J'onn's powers bringing him back to ease. The ringing went back down to a quiet garble, then disappeared altogether. Swallowing, Renegade slowly retracted his hands and looked between Batman and J'onn. The latter's eyes stopped glowing as his presence disappeared from Renegade's mind, his expression an easy read of apprehension and pity.
Batman, however, just stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes. He hadn't moved from his spot at all during Renegade's... tantrum. Renegade's mouth felt dry, wondering what the Dark Knight's verdict would be. His hands were starting to twitch anxiously, his throat closed and-
The lights flickered for a moment, and Renegade snapped back into focus, pushing away the panic and locking it away firmly. His eyes immediately went back to Batman, who was frowning more openly now.
"You're a meta," Batman said plainly, not a hint of emotion in his voice.
Renegade flinched and moved his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry," he whispered, desperately trying not to focus on the pain that seized him once more, screaming at him to fight against what was sure to come: his immediate removal.
"You'll need to learn how to control your powers." That made his head snap back up, and he blinked hard. What?
Either not noticing the reaction or not caring, Batman continued, "You can train with the Team and the League to learn how to control yourself. While you train, you can think about what you want to do with your life." Something in his voice changed, sounding strangely soft. "Whatever you decide, we will help. Manhunter confirmed that we can trust you, so now we need to show that you can trust us." He smiled, which was a strange sight on Batman's face. "Starting with your name."
"Welcome back, Richard Grayson."
~
AN: This was a really short chapter for my standards, which I'm really not too thrilled about, but it happens sometimes.
Thank you for reading, for voting, and for comments! As always, you are extremely appreciated, my dear reader <3 The next update likely won't be as quick as this one, so please take the time in between to read other people's books and leave lots and lots of comments. Spread happiness wherever and whenever you can. The world needs a bit more of that now more than ever.
See you all in the next chapter :)