JordynAdams1 special chapter just for you
The first thing Dick was aware of was his own uneven rasps of breath. He flinched when he heard the noise echoing back at him, and whatever he was lying on crinkled.
He slowly became aware of how uncomfortable he was. A lingering sense of anxiety pressed on his chest and his throat was dry and scratchy.
There was a pounding in his head as well that intensified as his most recent memories filtered back into his mind.
Darkness clawed at the back of his consciousness, the nothingness seeming temptingly peaceful. For a long moment he debated surrendering to it, not knowing what he'd find when he opened his eyes.
The anxiety increased as he mulled it over, compounding until he finally forced himself to open his eyes.
The steril lighting of the Batcave med bay glared down at him harshly, the noise of shuffling nearby alerting him to the fact that he wasn't alone.
Relief washed away the panic when Tim's familiar form entered his field of view, a glass of water in his outstretched hand.
Dick struggled to push himself up into more of a sitting position, gratefully taking the water and sipping on it slowly.
"We need to talk," Bruce's voice came from somewhere out of Dick's field of view.
The tone of voice he'd used told Dick he wasn't in for some simple small talk.
"Why?" Was the only thing Bruce asked once he was standing in front of him.
Dick looked down at his lap, chewing on his bottom lip. "It was the only way I'd ever get my wish," he said, his voice harsh from disuse.
Bruce froze momentarily, surprised when Dick spoke. He watched the younger wince and rub at his throat. "You were always planning on betraying our trust," he stated.
"No!" Dick said, voice cracking painfully. "I-I'd never... I... I didn't want to..."
"When did you change your mind?" A new voice hissed. Jason... "Was it when we took you in? When we made you part of our family?! Or did the guilt hit you only just before you were supposed to hand over our secrets?"
"When you... when I... I-I saw... you had a family... I couldn't... I was never planning on telling her your secret," Dick mumbled, his eyes getting misty. He was a horrible person. How could he have manipulated them like that? And all to get what he wanted. So selfish.
Jason huffed and walked away.
Dick looked back to Bruce, gaze searching for some understanding, some thread of forgiveness.
Seeing the disappointment and lack of trust in the man's gaze felt to Dick as if someone had reached into his chest and ripped his heart out, leaving him to fade away in its absence.
"I can't believe you'd risk all of our lives like that Dick," Bruce finally said, his disappointment clear in his voice. "There are lots more people who depend on me... depend on us... to risk that just so you could live your fantasy of being a superhero..." Bruce shook his head.
"That wasn't-
Bruce cut Dick off with a glare. "If Jason hadn't shot her when he did..." he trailed off, dragging a hand over his face.
"Is she... gone?" Dick asked, his voice small.
"No," Bruce growled. "She disappeared." His gaze shifted back to Dick, softening slightly. "Lay back down and get some rest," he said somewhat gently.
Dick nodded, lying back onto the crinkly paper covering the observation table he'd woken up on.
Bruce's steps receded as he made his way back up to the manor.
As soon as he was sure nobody else was in the cave, Dick sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the table.
Bruce was right... he'd put them all in danger, agreeing to that woman's demands without thought. They'd be better off without him.
—
A week. Dick had officially been locked away who knows where for 7 days.
He shivered, curled up in the corner of his cell, a t-shirt and sweats the only thing keeping the cold at bay.
The clicking of the lock on the cell's heavy door made Dick's heart jump into his throat. Maybe Bruce had come to rescue him...
Any hope he'd had was dashed when he heard the voice of the woman who'd taken him.
Her heeled shoes clacked against the cracked cement Dick's cell was made of. She grabbed one of his arms and hauled him to his feet, her eyes flashing blue.
Dick stumbled as he was dragged into a much bigger room. The woman paused by a throne of sorts made from roughly hewn stone. "Sit down Grayson," she said, her shark-like grin contrasting with the velvety softness of her voice. "You look like you're barely staying on your feet."
Dick set his jaw, refusing to take the offered seat. His eyes flicked to the side, stomach growling when he saw a small table with a simple bowl of soup and some bread... it had been a long time since she'd given him food.
"Hungry are you?" She asked. "Tell me the name of the Batman and I'll let you eat."
"I-I'll never tell you," Dick mumbled.
The woman hummed thoughtfully. "The thing is... I don't really need you to tell me," she said, a glowing blue hand coming to rest on his forehead.
Dick flinched as her hand touched his skin. He could feel her presence trying to pry open his mind, and he knew she'd be searching for Bruce's identity.
The woman's will battled against Dick's, her eyes glowing unnaturally as she tried to tear down the mental walls he'd desperately thrown up.
Frustration burned in the woman's eyes, her blue magic coiling up her arms. "This is taking too long," she hissed, gritting her teeth as she fisted her hand in Dick's tangled curls, slamming it down with all her might against the sharp corner of the stone chair.
She smirked as she watched the bright red blood pool under Dick's head, his eyes flickering closed as he lay limply on the ground. She stooped down and once again pressed her glowing palm to his forehead. "Much better," she mumbled as she began to sift through his memories.
—
"Bruce. How kind of you to come," the woman called, lounging on the blood-stained throne, Dick's still body lying on the floor next to her.
"What did you do?" Bruce growled, his voice shaking with anger when he saw Dick's body crumpled on the ground.
The woman laughed. "He was quite stubborn, wouldn't sit still and let me take the answers I needed. So I was forced to discipline him. You'll find he's much more well behaved now," she said nonchalantly, looking down at her manicured nails.
"How do you know who I am?" Bruce asked, edging forward to try and gage Dick's condition.
"Like I said. He wouldn't tell me... so I took the answers from him," she stated, swinging her legs to dangle over the side of the throne. "All that for such a pathetic wish," the she went on, her lip curling in disgust. "All the poor little boy wanted to do was help people," she mocked, her lips curling into a fake pout.
The lenses of Bruce's mask widened minutely, his mouth falling open slightly.
The woman's pout was replaced with a smirk. "Don't tell me you didn't know detective," she laughed, "you were, after all, the one he helped the most... saving your life, teaching you how to be a better parent."
Bruce's marched forward with a growl, stopping abruptly when his gaze flicked to Dick's ashen face, a pool of blood circling his head like a halo.
"Don't be so sad detective. He was disposable," the woman said.
Bruce screamed, as rushing forward, only to stop again when a gunshot rang out, the woman falling limp in the chair, blood and brain matter spraying onto the floor.
"I didn't miss this time," Jason said gruffly, still holding the gun up in his shaking hand.
Bruce knelt at Dick's side, feeling for a pulse on his clammy skin. "He's alive," he breathed.
—
Dick groaned as he came to. His head was killing him. "This needs to stop happening," he mumbled.
Bruce chuckled softly, dimming the lights when he saw Dick trying to open his eyes. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
Dick winced. "Everything's so loud," he whispered.
"Sorry," Bruce said. A moment of awkward silence passed between the two before he spoke again. "I... I'm sorry for what I said before... and... and everything that happened after."
"You don't have to apologize, it was selfish of me to put you all in danger," Dick mumbled, looking down at his hands.
Bruce rested a hand on Dick's knee. "No, it wasn't selfish of you," he insisted. "I should've seen that from the start."
Dick relaxed slightly on the hospital bed. "So does that mean I'm anti kicked out of the family?" He asked.
Bruce grabbed one of Dick's hands in his own. "You were never kicked out... this family needs you way too much," he said.
Dick gave Bruce a sleepy smile. "So I get to keep my wish after all," he mumbled.
"You of all people deserve to have your wish granted."