Chapter Thirty-One
It was fairly easy for Tim to find out the address for this 'Dyson' guy. Bruce had made them wait until it was dark, which wasn't long, considering it had already been just before dinner when Nico had first left, so they only had to wait a few hours. Even so, they were all anxious- they knew probably better than most that it didn't take much longer than a few minutes for something world-ending to happen. Nico could be dead, or dying, or worse.
When it was finally time for them to go, Bruce made them all pile into the Batcar, since it could get them all there the fastest, which was just a little awkward since it didn't really comfortably fit the five of them. Tim had automatic shotgun rights, since he had the address, so Dick, Jason and Damian all had to pile into the very small backseat, and the whole drive was full of grumbles about whose elbow was in whose ribs, and who was sitting on whose lap. Bruce might have also pushed his Batman-is-allowed-to-speed rule a little bit.
Just the fact that this guy's house was on the edge of Gotham was a red flag, but when they arrived, it was even worse. The house was small, the windows boarded up and the lawn dead. There were no lights on inside. The only thing to suggest anyone actually lived there was the blue pick-up truck in the gravel driveway. It was completely silent, so Bruce signed to the rest of them instead of talking. Dick and Tim were to cover the ground floor, while Bruce and Damian went in through the basement windows. Jason would check the grounds and join Bruce.
The ground floor was clear, entirely dusty, and stocked with things you might see in any normal house- kitchenware, a bedroom and bathroom, small sitting area with a tv and couch. There were no personal items or decor anywhere, and that was just as suspicious as the dust. Still, Tim and Dick meticulously checked over everything, anything that could potentially hide a secret entrance to somewhere, or where someone might keep their personal items they didn't want anyone seeing. They turned up nothing.
Meanwhile, the basement had yielded results. Jason had joined Bruce and Damian after only a few minutes with nothing to report. The basement was empty, and looked like it had never had been finished. The floors were cement, the walls packed dirt. The flooring had marks on it, star-burst shaped scorches, like what might be found from lightning. They were still fresh. Cracks disrupted the smooth(ish) surface, concentrated in two areas, barely two feet apart. And a long scar, about four feet in length, cut through the stone, dragging towards the far wall. A black sword was still stuck in the end, only a few inches of the blade showing.
"That's Nico's" Jason muttered, recognising it from what Nico had told him of it back in his safehouse. "He was here."
"But where is he now?" Bruce asked, skipping over the fact that apparently his newest son had had a whole sword hidden on him somewhere.
"There was a fight," Damian said, kneeling down to study the scuff marks in the dirt. "Two people, one presumably Nico. I'm guessing the other is Dyson." He stood and moved, eyes still fixed on the ground. "Both appear to be adequately trained." He looked up, eyes shifting between Bruce and Jason. "I don't understand where the burns or cracks came from. There's no other evidence of a weapon, aside from the sword."
Bruce huffed, a frustrated/worried sound, and opened his mouth to give a new set of instructions when Nico suddenly stepped out from behind Jason, who jumped about half a foot in the air. He looked worse for the wear- his clothes were burned black in places, and a huge pair of black, feathery wings were once again fixed to his shoulders. He looked paler than death (Nico would find that very ironic if anyone had said it aloud) and stumbled a little.
"Nico?" Bruce asked, realising this must be what Jason meant when he'd said the boy had ways of getting around unseen. Nico responded by collapsing, hitting the ground on his knees and staying there. Bruce rushed forwards, kneeling in front of him. Nico's eyes were unfocused, and he seemed so pale he was translucent. Jason knelt at Bruce's side, calling to his brother softly. Nico looked up, and his eyes drifted around before focusing on Bruce.
"Damian, go get the others," Bruce instructed and the small Robin ran off. Bruce turned back to Nico, who still seemed almost catatonic, the only sign he was aware of what was happening around him was the way his eyes tiredly followed Bruce's movements. "Nico, what happened? Are you alright?" Bruce reached out to touch Nico's arm gently, but his hand passed right through.
All three of them stared at Nico's arm, and Nico let out a soft, almost-silent whimper. He looked up, eyes moving to Jason, who hovered his shaking hands, unsure what he was supposed to do- if he even could do anything. He remembered Nico telling him something about fading when he overuses his powers, but to see it was a whole other thing, and it showed on his face just how scared he was.
Then Nico's eyes moved to the sword, and Jason went to grab it, freezing when Nico shouted at him not to touch it. His voice was weak and rough, and it scared Bruce and Jason even more. "But you said your sword had souls in it, right? And you can draw power from it?" Nico shook his head. "Not like this." God, he sounded like he was dying. "You have to call Will, he-" Nico paused to gasp in a laboured breath, a hand moving up to flutter over his collar. "He knows you, you have to tell what happened, right now!"
"Okay, okay! Uh, do I do the rainbow thing?" Nico nodded, and Jason scrounged around, finally finding a piece of glass, and a quarter. He hoped it would work, and when he threw the coin, he was relieved when it disappeared.
Bruce didn't understand what was happening to Nico, or what Jason was doing, or why the room seemed to grow darker and brighter in swells, like waves on a beach. "What is happening?!" Nico was sucking in laboured breaths, one hand braced on the ground, the other pushing against his chest. He looked terrible, and Bruce couldn't even touch him! One of his sons was hurting, possibly dying, and he felt so helpless. It was Jason all over again, it was Bruce's parents, it was every person he'd ever failed to save in his whole life compacted into this single moment. He had to do something to help.
"Can't explain right now-" Another painful-sounding breath. "You need to get rid of the shadows."
"What?" At that moment, the magic rainbow connected, and a boy with floppy blonde hair, tanned skin and eye bags to rival Tim answered? Appeared? Whatever it was, Bruce listened carefully, and it did not help Bruce's nerves when the boy- who was apparently Nico's 'doctor friend' seemed even more worried than Bruce felt. He didn't know what 'fading' was, but he didn't like how it sounded.
Bruce had found he could touch Nico's back and shoulders, and started rubbing circles in the space between the boy's wings, hoping it helped at least a little. Will said to keep the basement bright, which was hard considering there was only one lightbulb swinging on a chain above them, and try to keep Nico from passing out, which seemed a given.
The moment the magic rainbow message cut out, Damian rushed back in with Dick and Tim close behind. Bruce instructed them to use their flashlights (which were deceptively bright for their small size) to brighten the room. And then Nico passed out, Bruce only just managing to catch him and lay him out on the ground. He began tapping Nico's cheek, trying to revive him.
Jason was explaining what he could to his brothers, who were very much confused about the sudden appearance of their newest brother, and the fact that he now had wings. Jason's explanation was stuttered, and he told them the same thing he told Bruce; that it was all Nico's story to tell, and whether or not he shared it was up to him. He implied that it was also possible Nico couldn't tell them anything yet.
In the middle of his explanation of when he'd found out all this, a 'thud' sounded on the floor above, and all the Bats went quiet. A soft voice echoed down, followed by what sounded like dog whines. Dick disappeared up the stairs and came back with the boy from the magic rainbow following him. Dick looked like he'd seen a ghost, and muttered something about 'that's one huge dog'.
Will rushed over to where Bruce had laid Nico out. "Shit," he muttered. "How long has he been like this?"
"Maybe two minutes since he passed out, about seven since he showed up. What's happening?" Bruce asked, no longer bothering to mask the fear he felt for his newest son.
Will talked fast, working even faster; gauging which parts of Nico he could and couldn't touch. "I can't tell you. We're all bound under oath. Jason knows, but unless the rest of you know-" Jason shook his head at him. "Then I can't say anything. But I need to help him, and fast. I need you all to leave."
"What?" Dick said. "We can't leave, Nico's our brother!"
Will grit his teeth. "I need to concentrate. I can't have you all clamouring to help and getting in the way."
Bruce set his jaw, just as stubborn as all his sons. "We won't get in your way, but we're not leaving."
Will glared at Bruce for a moment, before sighing. "Fine. But if you break my concentration, there's a good chance I'll lose him." Will set his hands on Nico- one on his chest the other on his forehead and began humming. His hands began to glow, and as his humming grew to singing, the light travelled up his hands until he was too bright to look at. None of the Bats recognised the language Will was singing in, but his voice grew louder and louder, and with it the glow grew brighter, until they had to look away.
The song reached its climax, and came back down. The light faded until Bruce could see the two boys again. There didn't look to be much change in Nico's condition, but he didn't seem as pale. Will looked like he was about to collapse now, too. He removed his hands from Nico's body and sighed. "That's all I can do for now," he said, sounding exhausted. "He should be in the clear. I don't know why he hasn't woken up, he usually does right away."
No one liked the sound of that. "What happens now?" Jason asked, looking between Bruce and Will.
"I can't leave him." Will glared at Bruce, daring him to argue. "He might not be dying anymore, but he's far from recovered. As his doctor, I have to stay. He needs me right now."
Bruce only hesitated for a second. Letting Will stay might mean revealing their secret identities to him. But Nico... "All right. You can come back with us. But you have to keep everything you see and learn a secret."
Will nodded. "Deal, since what you said also applies to you. I'm sure Nico will want to explain, he cares a lot about you all, but there's only so much he can say without angering- without violating our oath."
At that moment, Nico sprung up, gasping and choking. He hunched over, grabbing onto Will's arm so hard the boy winced. His feathers were ruffled and he was clutching at his throat as he coughed and gasped. Will jumped into action, despite looking exhausted and scared and confused. When Nico raised his head to look at his friend, Will gasped and flinched back. Nico's eyes were a swirling mess of black, obscuring the sclera. "What..." Will whimpered.
Nico gave a particularly harsh gag and leaned over, coughing as black drooled from his mouth and dripped from his nose. Will scrambled out of the way, placing a hand on Nico's back and humming softly to help. Bruce and his sons watched, all very much confused and stupidly worried over everything that had happened tonight, as Nico kept coughing up the substance, which looked oily but dissolved when it left his mouth.
Finally, Nico sat up, wiping his mouth with a shaky hand. He leaned into Will, who brushed his hair out of his eyes gently and the two shared a look. Dick might very well have been in some form of mild shock, but he filed away that information for later because there was definitely something between the two.
"Are you alright?" Bruce asked. Nico nodded distractedly, his eyes moving between everyone in the room, his sword, the wall, and the ground where the black goo he'd coughing up had seeped away.
"What happened?" Will asked. "I know you were fading, but what in your father's name was that?" His father? Bruce wondered, pushing the question away, to the ever-growing list he had for Nico.
Nico swallowed, looking around at everyone again before fixing his eyes back on Will with a deathly serious look in them. "I think I've just been blessed."
OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!! WhAt? WhO cOuLd HaVe SeEn ThIs CoMiNg??
Round four? I think?
Put a finger down if, the whole time you were in elementary school, your grade never got more than five or six new kids.
Also. You know how everyone says tomatoes are a fruit? THEYRE WRONG. TOMATOES ARE BERRIES?????? AND SO ARE BANANAS??? But strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries arent?????? And broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower are all the same species?????? NONE OF WHICH OCCUR NATURALLY, THEYRE ALL GENETICALLY MUTATED/MODIFIED???????? And banana flavouring is different from bananas because real bananas are extinct?? everything is a lie. nothing is real
**whispers** are we berries too?