"Jason Peter Wayne, you better start talking right this second. What is going on?" Bruce stated taking a seat at the end of the table. Jason exchanged looks with the others, Dick shook his head no with wide eyes, like he was begging even. Jason sighed.
"We all had nightmares last night, that's all. I swear." Jason lied casually.
"What were they about?" Bruce shot back. Before Jason had the time to answer, Bruce turned to Tim and glared. Tim was a smart kid, and probably the best detective out of rest of them. But he didn't handle the bat glare all that well. Whenever the boys did something, and Bruce found out, Tim was always the one to crack first. "Timothy." Bruce glared at him. Tim held his breath, his face turning red. He let out one long breath.
"Weallhadnightmaresaboutourtimeon theislandwhenmothertorturedusand experimentedonustomakeusintothe perfectheirforourgrandfather,theirwasalwaysasideeffecttotheexperiments soshewouldhavetobeforcetotryon anotherone." Tim say there panting trying to catch his breath, Bruce was already confused.
"God dammit Tim." Jason threw his arms up in the air.
"Tim, how about you say that a little slower?" Bruce nudged him ignoring Jason.
"The nightmares. They were all about our time on the island, growing up. When mother when torture us and experiment on us, to make us the perfect weapon and heir for the thrown of the League. Although there were- side effects. She kept trying until she got it right." Tim repeated quietly.
"Experiments? What the hell are you talking about?" Bruce asked trying to hide the furiousness in his voice.
"Ra's wanted the perfect heir, she mother intended on giving him one. With your DNA, she had us. We trained with the league, until the trials began. Once we passed the trials, we moved on to the procedure. It always worked, but it was never good enough." Jason huffed crossing his arms.
"What procedure? What did they do to you?" At that Dick got up from the table and rushed out of the room, ignoring their voices telling him to come back. Bruce sighed turning back to Jason. "Go check on him." He spoke softly, he nodded to the door. Jason sprinted out. Bruce turned to Tim, who was still nervous. "Tim, tell me everything."
"Jason wouldn't want me to-"
"Tim."
"Fine." Tim sighed. "Ra's wanted the perfect heir, one that could withstand in any battle, lead for years to come. He wanted one without flaws, and he got one." He glared across the table at Damian who shifted uncomfortably. "Jason went through the procedure first, leaving him without his hearing. Talia was furious, so she made them perfect the formula, but it only made it worse. Dick was next and he- he was given a stronger dose, that melted his vocal cords, he hasn't been able to talk since. Then it was me, and it left me blind. But then Damian here was the exception, he's absolutely perfect." He said with an attitude. "And mother never lets us forget." He growled, "That's the story. I hope you're happy." Tim stomped out of the room. Bruce looked down at Damian who looked just as distressed.
"You always wondered why they all hated me, there is your answer. Mother made them." Damian quietly got up, and left the room. Bruce sat back, his hand on his face as he was left with his thoughts.
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"Dick! Wait come back-" Jason chased after him. Dick was stumbling through the hallway, the room was spinning, and he couldn't breath. He felt like he was suffocating. He grabbed at his head, reaching out to the dresser he had ran into. Jason grabbed him before he fell. He started to brush through his hair trying to calm him down. "Hey, hey, hey, shhhhh, Dick it's alright." Jason softly hummed as Dick was starting to hyperventilate.
"Dick, breath, you are safe, you're fine. You're not on the island anymore." He repeatedly whispered, Dick couldn't stop the flashes of memories playing in his mind. He winced in pain, gritting his teeth together grabbing at his head. He rocked back k and forth, Jason held on to his shoulders trying to get him out of it. It wasn't the first time he had had this severe of an attack, and Jason has always been there to get him out of it. But he hadn't had to in a while. Once they moved to the manor things got extremely better. The feeling of pain, neglect, hatred, anger, they seemed to lessen. And eventually they didn't feel them at all. Jason hoped the memories would do the same. He finally calmed Dick down enough where he was taking full slow breaths. He helped him back to his feet, dragging him back to his room. Jason gently laid him down in his bed, he was pale, and sweaty, he looked ill. Like a sick little child, not a trained assassin.
Jason had left once Dick had fallen asleep, leaving his body laying there peacefully. Until the nightmares began to take over. He tossed and turned, flinched, kicked. He was mumbling, and sometimes even screaming, but not a sound left his mouth.
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Dick laid on the floor, Jason's head in his lap. He brushed through his hair, it had been a few days since the procedure, and Jason was still shaken up about it. Dick didn't know what exactly they did to him, Jason could never get the words out. Dick felt the cold wooden floors beneath him, the lights from the high window shinning down into the dark room. They hadn't left in days, they haven't been to training, they haven't ate. Dick thought it was extremely odd, he knew better than to think other wise. His mother would be back, it was only a matter of time. The loud sound of their metal door sliding open, made Dick jump, and Dick jumping made Jason jump. Jason looked at him first, only seeing fear on his face. A couple of assassins were standing at the door, they stomped towards them, Dick covered Jason as he held on to him. They yanked on Dick's arm pulling him to his feet. Jason cried out for him, but the other man dressed in all black hit him in the face sending him to the ground.
Dick was dragged down the halls, his head jerking in every direction. He knew where he was going, he knew it was his turn. They entered the cold lab, their strong hands pinning him to the metal table, restraining him down. Dick struggled and wiggled to break free, but their grasps were too tight. He gritted his teeth as they pushed his head back, strapping it down as well. Nurses and a strange looking man in a lab coat entered. The doctor looked nervous, which wasn't a good sign. He looked down at his file, sweat dripping from his worried face. Dick tugged at the restraints, the doctor was giving him everything but a reassuring feeling.
"Ah, Mr. Richard, I'm so glad you joined us today." He smiled trying to hide his fear. The lab doors swung open, hitting the stone wall behind them. It caught their attention, Talia came through with a determined look. She ignored Dick laying on the table, not even sparing him a glance. She took the file from the Doctors hands.
"What is different?" The doctor shifted nervously, fidgeting with his hands.
"Well uh- um" he coughed clearing his throat, "The formula used on Jason, worked for the most part. All the healing factors were correct, and agility. But the heightened senses, is where it went wrong. Instead of balancing, the cells rejected the formula in the hearing and it spread to his other senses. While he can't hear, he has extremely excellent eye sight. So, we have decided that if we raised the dosage of the certain chemical responsible for heightening the senses, then we should get better results." He explained nervously. Talia shoved the file into his chest, "Begin. This better work doctor." He dabbed his cloth on his forehead whipping the sweat away.
The nurses all gathered around Dick, he became very claustrophobic. His breathing accelerated, the nurses held down his body as he struggled. "Now, Mr. Richard, you will feel a bit of a pinch." He inserted the new formula into Dick's arm. Getting a reaction a little different from the previous one from Jason. Dick gasped, his lungs filling with painful air. His eyes were wide, the doctor watched in confusion and curiosity as the kids dark brown eyes were being eaten away by the chemicals. They were the brightest color of blue he had ever seen. Dick could feel the substance flowing through his veins, his cells reacting to the chemicals. He could feel it attaching to his bones, sinking in. The burning feeling building up in his head, like it was going to explode. He gritted his teeth on the road they had placed in his mouth for protection. His pupils dilated, he could see the small cracks in the ceiling above him, the dust particals being collected. His hearing became sensitive, he could hear the assasians marching down the hall across the building, he could hear the sound of his own blood flow. But the feeling that came next, was the worst of all. The serum latched on to his vocal cords, the intensity of them started to burn through the flesh on his neck. He released a powerful scream, so powerful it cracked the lenses of the doctors glasses.
"What is happening?!" Talia questioned uncrossing her arms, taking a step closer towards the table.
"I uh- uh- d- don't know. N- nurse! Cover the wound!" He ordered, turning to the machines trying to find the error. Talia watched in horror as the flesh on his neck looked like it had caught on fire, she could see the inside of his throat. She covered her mouth, she knew her father needed at heir. And she knew she could be heartless at times, but she had to be. But that doesn't mean she liked to be. The screams quickly died out, as the nurse injected him with a sedative. She bandaged the wound, wrapping his neck with white cloth that blood was seeping through already.
"What. Happened?" Talia growled, her eyes staying on her unconscious son.
The doctor cleared his throat. "There was an unexpected reaction in the childs vocal cords, he- might- recover."
"Might?!" Talia exclaimed, "Fix the formula! And if you fail again I swear I will have your head." She turned, flipping her long brown hair as she marched out of the lab. The doctor shifted nervously, swiping his thin hat off his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He looked at the poor boy on the table, he was pale, unconscious, and unknowing to the pain he was about to endure.
Jason sat impatiently on the edge of his bed. It had been hours since they dragged Dick away. He knew what they were doing, he just hoped Dick made it through, at least as well as he had. Jason didn't hear the door slide open, the movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He stood instantly, as they dragged Dick into the room, laying him on the floor. Jason waited for the men to leave, as soon as the door closed Jason was by his side. Cradling his body in his arms. Dick had tears silently streaming down his face. Jason watched in horror, the blood seeping through the bandages.
"Wh- what d- did they do t- to you?" Jason mumbled out. Dick choked, whimpering, trying to speak. Dick reached for Jason's cheek, his vision blurry from the amount of tears building up in his eyes. Jason saw how hard he was trying and how painful it seemed to be. "Shhh, shhhh, it's alright. It's gonna be alright." Jason pulled him closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around his head. Jason ran his hand through Dick's hair repeatedly, he told his brother it was going to be okay, they both knew he was lying.
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Dick gasped awake, he sat up in his sweat drenched bed. He noticed his room was strangely dark. The sun had gone, the night was taking its place. Had he been asleep all day? He touched his forehead with his hand, his hair soaking wet sticking to his sweat glistening forehead. He threw his covers off, swinging his legs to the ground. He stood, his body still shaking, he wrapped his arms around himself, as he started to shuffle his feet. He was at the foot of his bed, he turned, the wind coming in through the windows pushing the curtains back. Dick sighed, as he swiped his jacket from his bed post, sliding on his sneakers, and jumping out the window. He glanced back at the closed door. Then released from the window ceil as he dropped to the ground.
Jason sat at the kitchen table, he had been worried about Dick all day. He knew those memories were hard for him. He sighed as Alfred placed a plate of food in front of him. Jason hadn't noticed it, he was too deep in his own thoughts. Bruce noticed, as everyone else had started to eat and he was still sitting there staring off into space.
"Jason.... Jason." He jumped at the sound of his name. He stared back at them, "Hmm?" Bruce looked at him concerned. "How about you go check on Dick, see if he's hungry." Jason nodded, he rubbed his eyes as he walked. He knocked on his brothers door, he mentally cursed himself when he realized he was standing there waiting for a response. He let himself in, his eyes immediately darting to the empty bed. Then to the open window, the moon light shining through. Jason sprinted to the ceil, looking over with panic in his eyes. The sound that made a shiver go down his spine caught his attention, he turned to see the small device sitting on his bed side, Dick's phone. His breathing started to get faster, he sprinted out of the room back down stairs, almost tripping into the kitchen.
"Jason? What's wrong?" Bruce asked.
"Dick- he's gone."