A/N: Drug use as well as alcohol abuse is mentioned in this chapter. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy! Have an amazing weekend! Also I totally thought the missing letter was going to be a M instead of a K for this episode lol. So I thought it was Elmo. I don't know why I thought that but it's literally the only letter I thought could go there before I watched the episode.
-Brittany
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Chapter 31
Dick's POV
I was now in solitary confinement since I helped the other two escape. I had been here for a day and had already caught some sort of flu. I laid in my bed sweating as I tossed and turned trying to fall asleep. I felt the chills go over my body and pulled up the single scratchy blanket I had over my shoulders. Suddenly there was a bright light, I opened my eyes and saw.....Bruce? I sighed, I'm imagining him again.
He started talking "Somebody's caught a bug. Bad news." I shook my head "Fuck. I'm alone. I'm alone." He nodded "Yeah. I see that. Blessed isolation. You have arrived. The penance palace. But you brought a virus with you, or perhaps the rat did. Prisons are harbors of pestilence. It's no surprise you fell prey." I turned to the other side of my bed trying to ignore him "I just need to sleep-" He continued "Sleeping is all you've been doing. It's time to wake up." I sighed "And to stop talking to myself."
He got louder "You've done a lot of talking lately. To Jericho's mother and then Slade." I shook my head and started counting "One sheep, two sheep." Bruce scoffed at me "Yeah, that always works. So, you go to Adeline's house and she tells you to fuck off and then she does a very curious thing. She says, if it's forgiveness you want, you should try in there." I sighed and looked at him "What do you want?" He sat at the end of my bed "Well I get hung up on this Adeline shit. She sent you in to talk to a man who wants to kill you." I shook my head "They have their own arrangement. I'm not a marriage counselor."
He continued "Seemed like she wanted your help. They might feel differently. When she sent you in there that's what she said." I shrugged it off "She wasn't thinking straight. I reminded her of what she lost." I kept tossing and turning till I finally laid on my back. Bruce came and loomed over me "Jericho." I thought about him "Jericho." Bruce nodded "You're missing something, son."
I closed my eyes and fell asleep for a few hours until something startled me awake. I sat up and looked and saw Bruce standing there, he sighed "Special kid that Jericho. He had special abilities. Those kind of kids need special attention." I nodded "I gave him plenty. It's what got him killed." I sighed as he continued "So you've said, ad nauseam. But maybe you're wrong. Maybe you haven't given him enough. You know, when I have a fever I like to lay on the cold floor. It drops the body temp and clarifies the mind."
I glanced to Bruce "That's why I used to lock the door when I got a cold." He nodded "Oh, is that what that was about? I always thought you were smoking." I got up and went to the tiny sink in the corner so I could splash some water on my face. I smiled to myself as I thought over the one and only time Alithea and I both decided to try Marijuana. Of course Ali was skeptical, being the good and innocent one out of us two. Once she tried it though, she loved it. She was a laughing mess while I was stuffing my face. That night was one of the only nights we were truly ever carefree in Wayne Manor. We weren't worried about training, patrol, or even what Bruce would think. Of course we never did it again after that because it kept us from functioning properly which would end badly if something were to happen and people needed us.
I shrugged away the memory as Bruce sighed "We don't have much time." I turned to look at him confused "What?" He nodded "lives in the balance, Dick. Lives in the balance." I scowled at him "I'm sorry, can you please be more clear?" He sighed "I'm trying. Remember, you're in charge. So Jericho.....he spoke to you." I turned away from him "You just like fucking with me." Bruce shrugged "A little bit. Yes. But honestly, it's time to get out of here." I shook my head "I'm not going anywhere. I'm booked for an extended stay. This is where I belong."
Bruce raised his hands up and gestured to me "Look at yourself. Moping in this hole like a coward. So you made a few mistakes, you got knocked down. Guess what? Nobody cares. All we care about is who gets up. The pity party is officially over." I got closer to him as I felt anger run through me "They we're not just mistakes, somebody died!" He glared at me "Oh, cry me a fucking river. The kids father killed him, not you! But here you stand hair-shirted. I think you just wanted a reason to give up. Not just on Jericho, but everybody. Rachel, Gar, Jason, Donna, Dawn and Hank. Am I leaving anybody out? Oh right" he paused "Alithea."
I snapped once I heard her name. I threw my bed and it slammed against the wall as the bedding went everywhere. I looked to Bruce "Quitter." he spit it at me with such disdain. I grabbed a part of the bed frame that had broken off and tried throwing it at him. He dodged and then my cell door opened and a guard came in. I immediately grabbed him and slammed him into the wall before throwing him into the metal sink. He hit it hard and then slumped to the floor. Bruce leaned against the wall looking at his watch "We're waisting time."
I yelled "Fuck off!" Right as two more guards with batons ran in and started hitting me. I slumped to the floor and gave up as they hit me over and over again. My vision went blurry until finally I was just out cold.
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Ali's POV
We were standing in the living room looking at everything when Donna's phone started vibrating. She pulled it out and looked at me "It's Rachel." I nodded and she quickly answered it and put it on speaker "Rachel. I've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?" The line was staticky and we could barely make anything out "Donna.." I shook my head "Rach?" I heard a "Ali.....I need you" there was a pause "...Elko Diner..." Donna yelled "Rachel!" The line went dead and me and her both looked at each other. What the hell?
Donna tried calling Dick again but it went to voicemail. I sighed as she looked at me with a scowl on her face "I can't believe he just left you here to deal with everything alone." I shook my head "It's fine. We both know he's better at running than staying." She gave me a sympathetic look as I continued "Let's just find this place." She nodded, and I went and changed out of my bloody and torn up clothes. We walked out of the tower and got in a car. We started making our way to Elko Diner in Nevada. The place Rachel said.
We had been driving for a little while when Donna started glancing over at me nervously. I just continued to keep to myself. She eventually let out a deep sigh and then glanced at me "You know you can talk to me right?" I nodded and sighed "Yeah, I know." I paused and glanced out the window at the passing buildings before I continued "I just didn't think he'd leave me on my own, again." My shoulders slumped as Donna glanced to me and analyzed me before nodding and looking back at the road "Honestly Ali, I didn't either. I thought that he was finally done running." I felt tears threatening to prick my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. I was done crying over him leaving. I'd been through this before and it was nothing new. I can handle this just like I did last time.
Donna shook her head "Are you guys even still together?" She glanced to me briefly as I shrugged "I don't even know anymore. He told Gar that he'd be back, which is a first, but who knows where he's at or what he's doing." I paused and sighed as a frown took over my face and I continued "Who he's doing." Donna scowled "He wouldn't. He loves you Ali and it's obvious. That's why him leaving was such a surprise. I think he just couldn't handle all of us rejecting him after he told us about Jericho." I looked to her "Yeah I know, but it's not an excuse." She nodded "Yeah you're right and when he comes back I'll kick his ass, just like I told him I would." She smirked at me and I laughed as I shook my head "Maybe it'll knock some sense into him." She started laughing with me.
After our laughter died down she glanced to me "Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself this time." I sighed as memories of last time Dick broke my heart surfaced. I ended up at Donna's place a little over a month after he left. I had been a mess. At first I refused to leave my room in Wayne Manor and barely ate or drank anything. I just wallowed in my heart break and sadness. After a week or two of that I decided I wanted to be numb, so instead of never leaving my room I was suddenly never home and when I was I would be absolutely trashed.
It didn't matter where I went or what I was doing, I was drinking constantly. My dad got tired of it quickly and told me not to come back till I stopped drinking my life away. That was how I ended up on Donna's door step, mascara tears running down my pale face with a half empty bottle of tequila in hand. She took me in and even though we hadn't been close for a while I spilled my guts to her about everything. She let me cry with her and be upset for a few days but after some time she made me go out and forget about it all. She even gave me a taste of what it would be like to be a normal person. Donna helped me heal and without her I know I would still be stuck in that same hole.
I pushed those memories back and locked them away. I knew that things needed to be different this time. It's not just the Titan's or my dad depending on me anymore, I have the teens I've been charged with watching to worry about now too. Donna glanced at me and I realized I had been silent too long. I nodded "I promise." She nodded and then glanced to me again "You're stronger now, Ali. You don't need him." I nodded "Yeah I know." She scowled "Do you though?" I glared at her "Yes Donna, but I love him." She sighed "I know you do, but Ali you can't keep putting yourself through this." I looked back out the window, she's right.
"I know." She took a deep breath "Are you sure you'll be okay?" I looked to her and she glanced at me before looking back to the road "Yeah I'm sure. I just need something to keep me busy for now." She nodded and I quickly turned the radio on hoping she would get the message and stop talking about all of this. I didn't want to think about it anymore. I just wanted to go get Rachel.
Little did we know the three other power house women, Kori, Dawn, and Rachel, were on their way to that same diner having heard some sort of message about it while they were off having their own life crisis's after leaving the tower.
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We finally made it to the Diner and parked. There was only two other cars here. We quickly got out of the car and walked into the old greasy looking diner. We stopped dead in our tracks when we saw three familiar figures standing there as well. My eyes went wide "Kori? Dawn? and Rachel?" The three looked to us "Ali?" Dawn furrowed her brows in confusion "And Donna." Kori shook her head "Is this real, or am I going crazy?" I shook my head "This is definitely real." Rachel looked at all of us "Why are you following me?" Me and Donna exchanged confused glances.
Donna shook her head "Following? What....You called me and told us to come here." She shook her head "No, I didn't." Then I nodded "Yes, you did. I was there." Dawn then spoke up "My engine light went out. Kori?" Dawn looked to Kori as she shook her head "I'm just here for the donuts."
I laughed and that's when the door chimed signaling another person walking in. We all turned to see who it was and my jaw dropped. "Dad?!" Everyone looked from me to my dad, Bruce Wayne, who was now standing in front of us smiling.
"I'm so glad you could all make it." Donna looked at me with a confused look on her face, and I stuck my hands up in surrender "Don't look at me, I had no clue he was coming." My dad laughed "Awh, don't turn on my little Ali now, she really didn't know." My dad put a hand on my shoulder as he came and stood next to me. He looked to me and we both gave each other a knowing look that said yes I'm okay to the other. He pulled his hand away and looked to the others. Kori scowled "Wait, hold on. This is your dad? The one you and Dick always talk about." I nodded as my dad laughed "I hope it's all good things."
I shook my head as I rolled my eyes and then looked to him "We need your help." He nodded "I know. It's why I'm here." I nodded and smiled, he's always been there when I needed it most. If there's one person I know I can always rely on to help me when things get bad, it's my dad. We spent the next few hours all recounting what had individually happened to us while we were all apart. My dad listened patiently and only asked questions when needed. I had been the last to go and had just finished telling them everything.
Once he was all caught up he shook his head "This is troubling news. No Conner or Gar?" I sighed and shook my head "No. They're gone and I have no clue where they took them." My dad nodded "Nothing?" Donna shook her head "Just bloody paw prints." I nodded "They tranq-ed me. I couldn't stop them from convincing Conner to go with them. They didn't take me because I didn't have powers." My dad nodded "It's not your fault." I shook my head "I should've done something, or at least called you." My dad sighed "That's in the past. Yes you should've called but you had good intentions. You wanted to show him what life was about. Teach him how to be a hero and help people. Your heart was in the right place."
I sighed as Dawn put a hand on my shoulder "Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault. You didn't know they'd come after him like that until it was too late. You did what you could after all of us left you." Donna nodded "We'll find them." I sighed and gave a reluctant nod, my dad looked at us all "Now that I know what you've all been through these past few days. I'm sorry. Lies can tear a family apart and you've been living in the aftermath of that and it's a....lonely place to be. But this was a...this is a....family of choice."
He paused as he looked at us all "Breaking apart was a choice. In the light of this news, I'm asking you to make another one. To come together. Walking away from bad feelings is easy. It's much harder to take the blow, and come back for more, but that's what a family does. If you can unite, you can face any threat. But if darkness arrives while you're still cast apart, I truly believe that none of you will survive." He stood up "If you won't protect one another, who will?" He turned around and grabbed a jelly doughnut off of a platter that was sitting behind him and then looked at me "Call if you need anything, and do try to stay out of trouble this time. I would like to eventually see you and Dick settle down after all. Oh and Alfred sends his love."
And with those final words he walked out of the diner got in his Porsche and drove away. Dawn looked to me shocked "Did he just leave?" I nodded "Yup." Kori shook her head "So let me get this straight Alithea's dad, Bruce Wayne, somehow miraculously arranged for us all to meet in this diner, in the middle of nowhere, to mansplain us into putting the Titans back together?"
Donna nodded "Yup. I think that's exactly what just happened" I nodded "Sounds about right." We all started getting up. Out of nowhere a staticky crackling noise turned on. We all went in search of the noise and found a tv showing snow. Once we were all standing there in front of it, it switched on to a news report. The reporter started talking "Today two men escaped jail apparently aided by imprisoned Detroit Police Detective Dick Grayson. More details on this story and more on our next news update." I groaned loudly in annoyance as everyone looked to me.
I put my hands to my temples "You've got to be fucking kidding me." Men. Are. So. Stupid. He was literally without me for what, a few weeks and he's already locked up in prison. Of fucking course. Donna shook her head "I can't." She started stocking out of the diner and all of us followed her out as she went towards the car we took to get here. I yelled to her "Donna, wait." Kori shouted "Troy, Where are you going?" She turned to look at us all "Back to San Fransisco." Rachel grabbed Donna's arm as she tried to turn away "No. We need to save Dick." She pulled her arm out of Rachel's grip.
"Dick's on his own." I scowled and shot her a glare "What is wrong with you?" She glared at me "Me? Look we both know Dick Grayson. He put himself up on that cross, nailed himself to it. Now he's gonna have to take himself down, too." I sighed as Dawn put a comforting hand on my shoulder and said "Donna's right. Whatever Dick's doing he's doing to himself. You know that." I know they're right but I still can't let it go. Both Dawn and Donna started to walk away but then Rachel yelled "I'm having dreams again. I was at Dick's funeral. Deathstroke killed him. Look...I know that I sound crazy. I know that, but Dick needs my help and I really need yours. Please."
Donna shook her head "I'm sorry, Rachel. But Gar needs us more." She got in the car and Dawn walked up to Rachel "I get why your doing this. I do. But I'm gonna go with Donna. As soon as you're done here, you come find us, okay? Don't worry, I know Ali will help you." She glanced at me one last time and smiled then she turned around and started to walk away. I called out to her "Dawn." She ignored me as she got in the car and they drove off.
Rachel and me turned to Kori and I sighed "So, I guess you're leaving, too." Kori shook her head "Hell no. Let's go." Me and Rachel smiled at each other and then quickly followed after Kori as she hopped into her car.
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Dick's POV
I was sitting on the cold floor in my cell since they took everything out of it after my outburst. I looked around and then called out "Bruce?" Nothing. "Bruce!" I shook my head "Now you disappear." Suddenly I heard the sound of wings and a squawk. I got up and looked up to the very small windows I had in my cell. There sat a lone bird watching me. I sighed "Hey." Then it flew off "Hey! Hey!" I wanted it to come back. I could feel myself going crazy. I fell to the floor and huddled into a ball. The fever kept me feeling exhausted. I soon felt my eyes close as sleep took over.
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I woke up and looked around and gasped when I saw Bruce there. He's back. He smiled at me "It works, doesn't it?" My fever was gone, sleeping on the cold floor had actually helped. I sighed "Where'd you go?" He shrugged "You needed to rest. Build up your strength for the escape." I furrowed my brows "No escapes for me." He continued "Deathstroke has taken hostages and yet here you are." I shook my head "We have a truce. He's not touching anybody." Bruce gave me a sly look "No one you can see. At Adeline's, Slade was there, you were there, and yet no killing. Why?" I shrugged "He was unarmed." Bruce was standing next to me analyzing me "And?"
I kept thinking trying to see what Bruce was so obviously getting at "And I was in Adeline's house." He continued "Maybe you didn't want to. Maybe there's something inside Slade that you need." I glared at Bruce "Yeah, his tiny tin heart got to me." Bruce shook his head as he started walking away from me "You both loved Jericho, and you both got him killed. A common bond of self-loathing. As long as you're both alive, you can always blame the other guy." I sighed "I admitted to my mistake" Bruce scoffed "It was very moving." He started slow clapping.
I glared at him "You think this is funny?" He stopped and shrugged "It only took you five years." I could feel my anger taking hold "Fuck you!" I threw a punch at him and he quickly side stepped and dodged it. I turned and tried again but he threw me against the wall. What the hell. I ran at him and he blocked it and grabbed me and pulled me closer. I tried to push him away but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in before he grabbed me by my jaw. Then he threw me and I landed far and hard on a different floor. I looked around and there were lights everywhere. I was on a stage. Bruce came and stood in front of me. I got up and tried to kick him but he dodged and kicked me instead. I pulled out three bat-a-rangs somehow and threw them at him.
He caught them and held them in his hand "Fighting the wrong fight, again and again." He threw them back at me and I dropped to avoid them. He then came at me again I successfully blocked two of his punches before he turned and kicked me in the face sending me hard to the ground. I spit out some blood and coughed and then wiped my mouth. Bruce glared at me "Worrying about your bleeding conscience...instead of helping your friend?" He was suddenly at my side as he put a hand on my shoulder "Open your eyes."
I scowled and turned to punch him he grabbed my arm and hit my back sending me backwards he grabbed me by my throat before I could fall. "Leave your disappointment at the door." I groaned and hit his arm that was holding my neck making him release his grip. I tried to punch him but he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. There was a crack and I groaned in pain. Bruce sighed "It's time to grow up." I stood up and tried to kick him but he grabbed my foot and twisted it and then punched me.
I hit the floor hard and sat there for a minute. My shoulder is out of place I can't fight like this. I took a second and popped it back into place with a painful grunt. I then stood up and turned to look at Bruce while still holding that shoulder. He shook his head "Not Robin anymore. Stronger, faster.......like a bird of prey." Something in me clicked. He's right. I'm not Robin anymore. I've changed and become something more. I'm better than I was before and I won't let anything stop me from getting even stronger. Bruce went to hit me and I blocked, he started a series of fluid sharp hits that I successfully parried one after the other.
While I thought I was on a stage going against Bruce, I was really back in my cell punching at nothing but air.
But whatever I was experiencing was working and that was all that mattered. I was starting to think about my life and the events of the past few years. I then thought back to when I saw Slade at Adelaide's. Why was Bruce so adamant about talking about that day. I remembered Slade sitting in that chair as I was about to leave he yelled "No, wait." I looked him over and realized that his hands were moving, he was using sign language. It suddenly hit me. Jericho could body hop and Jericho was the one who always spoke in sign, why would Slade do that if his son is dead?
Jericho isn't dead. He body hopped into his dad. Oh my god. I turned around away from Bruce who had stopped and started watching me. Suddenly I was back in my cell. I looked to the floor my eyes wide as my shadow was casted down on the floor. I had wings coming from my back in my shadow. It was a sign.
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Ali's POV
Rachel, Kori, and I had all decided we were gonna bust Dick out of prison by any means necessary. We had found the details of Dick's arrest online and found out where he was being held. Luckily we weren't too far so we only had to drive for like half a day. We eventually made it to the prison and got out of the car. All three of us stopped and looked at each other. I sighed "The things I'd do for this man." Kori laughed while Rachel nodded "Let's go." I followed after her as she extended her powers out and started taking down guards left and right.
Me and Kori didn't even need to do much. We eventually made it inside and down to the corridor Dick was being held in. We each took out a guard and turned down the hallway.
Rachel held the last guard down as he reached his hand up for help. She stopped her powers and punched the guy hard in the face knocking him out. We then walked down a few doors stopping at Dick's cell. Kori lifted up her hands and activated her powers but before she could do anything they suddenly died out. We looked at her confused "You okay?" She nodded "Stand back." We nodded and moved back a little as she activated her powers once again and this time threw a huge fire ball at the door. Successfully blowing it off its hinges.
We walked into the cell and saw that it was empty. We looked around and saw a carving on the wall. It read Jericho is alive.
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