Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Diana smiled tenderly, her fingers playing with Dick's hair, her nails gently rubbing his scalp, eliciting moans of bliss. The acrobat rested his head on her lap, the rest of his body lying on their bed, completely relaxed by his girlfriend's soft, delicate touches, both thoroughly enjoying this intimate, domestic moment.

It had been about four years since they'd gotten together and decided to live together in Bludhaven, and their relationship had progressed in an extraordinary and spectacular way: in fact, practically everyone kept telling them they were like soulmates and that they were the best couple ever.

Sure, there had been a few arguments, but they were all small and over silly things: that was completely normal in a serious, committed relationship.

A lot had happened in those four years.

First, because Dick loved spoiling his girlfriend, he built a huge mansion in Bludhaven, where he installed the best security system in existence.

Renegade was still the world's best mercenary and anti-hero assassin, to no one's surprise, and his reputation had only grown, and he hadn't failed a single contract. Furthermore, he had managed to eliminate over 80% of the corruption in Bludhaven's system thanks to his methods, even earning the sympathy and respect of tough woman Amy Rohrbach, current commissioner of the GCPD and the city's best honest cop.

It was not uncommon for Renegade to patrol the city on nights when he wasn't on a contract and when Diana was busy with the JL or her civilian job: he had saved so many civilians, killed the worst scum, and dismantled numerous criminal networks that most of Bludhaven's honest population hailed him as their savior.

In his civilian identity, Dick opened a gym and taught gymnastics to children: a job he loved dearly and that made him very happy.

Diana continued to work for the UN, mainly working remotely from home and physically attending only the most important meetings, and was virtually unanimously recognized as the best peace ambassador in the entire world.

To make Renegade even more dangerous, his training was expanded. In recent years, he trained extensively with the Justice League, learning exclusive Amazon, Thanagarian and Atlantean fighting moves. He also strengthened his mental defenses with the help of Martian Manhunter and learned additional languages, including Kryptonian, Thanagarian, Martian, Atlantean.

By now, even Dick had forgotten the exact number of languages he could speak.

No one was surprised when Dick saw the most important members of the Justice League as his honorary uncles and aunts.

Or, in the case of Zatanna and Shazam, as good friends.

Furthermore, with ultra-advanced technology, they were able to clone Wonder Woman's sword, and now Renegade possessed two swords forged by the gods, capable of cutting literally anything.

As if that weren't enough, Dick had founded two other unrelated superhero teams.

The first of these was Young Justice, which depended on and reported directly to the Justice League, which included the Atlantean Kaldur/Aqualad -the leader -, the half-Kryptonian clone Conner/Superboy, the Martian M'Gann M'orzz/Miss Martian -the niece of Martian Manhunter -, the human Artemis Crock/Tiger - who decided to give her father a big middle finger and use her assassin training to become a hero-, the Amazon Cassandra Sandsmark/Wonder Girl and the speedster Bart Allen/Impulse.

Bart Allen was Barry's nephew and apparently came from an apocalyptic alternate dimension. He gave everyone in this world heart attacks when he revealed that in his Earth, Dick had been adopted by Bruce Wayne, had begun his vigilante career in Gotham at the age of eight under the alias Robin -shocking even Dick- and was the glue of the entire hero community.

Slade and Bruce's reactions were hilarious, to say the least, and both looked like they were having a nervous breakdown.

Barry, too, when he learned that in Bart's world, his nephew Wally was a speedster like him, and Ollie, when he was told that Roy had been the second sidekick under the alias Speedy.

Some members of the Justice League were a bit skeptical about allowing young people to join the team of heroes, but Renegade pointed out that Wonder Girl was currently seventeen and one of the top Amazons and that Bart, sixteen, was the second-fastest person in the world. Both needed experience, as they both wanted to be in the hero business.

Furthermore, Zatanna had joined the top ranks of the Justice League when she was only seventeen, not to mention the complicated situation with Shazam.

The other team, completely independent of the Justice League and based in New York, were the Titans, composed of the Amazon Donna Troy/Troia -leader-, the Atlantean Garth/Tempest, the half-demon Raven, the human-machine hybrid Victor Stone/Cyborg, the shapeshifter Garfield Logan/Beast Boy and the Tamaranian Koriand'r/Starfire.

These last four were relatively new to the whole thing and were personally recruited by Dick, who scouted them in a talent scout-style way.

Although the way Kory was recruited was very peculiar.

Long story short, she had escaped from her home planet, Tamaran, and her evil sister and ended up on Earth, where she unwittingly caused quite a stir. When the heroes and Renegade reached the scene, after a few futile attempts to calm her down with politeness, Starfire attempted to kiss Dick.

It was only thanks to his superhuman, automatic reflexes and instincts that he managed to dodge her.

Let's just say that Diana's jealousy had gotten the better of her a little.

Just a little.

And that meant she had hit Starfire with such a powerful punch that several of the Tamaranian's ribs, despite her superhuman resistance, remained broken for over a month.

And Diana hasn't stopped being teased by her teammates or her boyfriend for this display of jealousy.

Apparently, however, Koriand'r had the ability to learn any language through lip contact aka kissing, as evidenced by how she learned English by kissing one of the doctors who examined her.

It wasn't the Amazon's fault that, of all the JL heroes present, Kory had chosen the only one who wasn't a member of the team, her boyfriend.

This also explained why the relationship between the two women was still very tense and awkward, further aggravated by Starfire's obvious crush on Dick.

Not that Diana could blame her too much, because it was Dick they were talking about, but still.

Dick had mentored all the heroes of the new generation and was like a big brother to practically all of them, who accepted him with open arms, despite being the world's deadliest mercenary, and they adored him dearly.

In any case, the year before, the Justice League had faced one of the most powerful enemies ever, worse than Darkseid himself: the intergalactic demon Trigon, Raven's father, who had conquered and destroyed millions of worlds.

Unfortunately, many civilians died during the battle, but none of the heroes did, even though they were physically and psychologically exhausted by the ferocious, intense and bloody battle against the powerful demon. Renegade also participated in the battle, not being the type to stay out of this kind of situation, and his help was crucial, as with his new swords, he was able to blind Trigon in more than one eye and break off one of his horns, allowing Raven, Dr. Fate, John Constantine and Zatanna to seal him away in a distant dimension.

The heroes weren't that surprised that Dick was able to hold his own against universal threats like Trigon and Darkseid -Dick had literally gouged out the tyrant of Apokolips's eye- since years earlier, he had defeated a 100% mind-controlled Wonder Woman in a direct confrontation with no restrictions whatsoever, while he himself had held back a lot.

As for Dick's children, they were all doing great and had grown considerably, and while the acrobat would always be proud of them, he would greatly miss the tiny, adorable versions of his own children.

Joey, Rose, Damian and Cass often visited Dick in Bludhaven to spend time with their older brother/father figure but also with Diana, since the children adored her so much and they were one of the fierce Amazon warrior's very few weaknesses.

Jason had fortunately gotten over the whole thing of being practically kidnapped off the streets by Batman relatively quickly and had settled in very well at Wayne Manor. He was deeply impressed when he met Renegade in person, as he was so in tune with the anti-hero's methods, and the two quickly became brothers: Dick often met him at the Manor, sometimes under the pretext of visiting Alfred and Bruce, and would take him around Gotham or even Bludhaven when the younger boy came to visit.

Jason was the nerdiest book kid Dick had ever met, and being an amazing older brother, he naturally teased him about it.

The fact that Jason had a true hero worship for Wonder Woman was quite adorable -the first thing he asked for was an autograph, which she, of course, gave him- and his reaction upon discovering that she and Renegade were romantically involved was one of the best Dick and Diana had ever seen.

One of Dick's greatest fears was that Jason would want to follow in Bruce's footsteps and become some sort of vigilante sidekick to Batman, but fortunately his little brother was smart enough that the idea of wanting to get involved in crime-fighting in the city with the highest crime rate in the world, when his Little Wing didn't even reach Dick or Bruce's shoulders, had never crossed his mind.

Sure, Bruce had given Jason some training, just enough to survive in a city like Gotham, but not enough to allow him to enter the field.

Dick would literally kill his Uncle B if he even dared consider making Jason his sidekick.

Which he had never done.

The situation at the Gotham Rogues Gallery was the same as it had been years ago, with slight changes: Bane and Killer Croc were definitely out of the supervillain business and occasionally helped the heroes when they needed it, Mr. Freeze was being funded by Wayne Enterprises in his cryogenics research in an attempt to find a cure for his wife Nora, Catwoman still occasionally pilfered something -and she and Bruce had finally started dating!- and Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were no longer causing trouble.

Although no one was yet sure whether the two women were simply best friends or in a romantic relationship.

The other lunatics at Arkham Asylum had significantly reduced their criminal activities when they realized that Batman was letting Renegade roam his city without trying to stop him.

Their fear of the world's most dangerous mercenary was far greater than their desire to commit crimes, so they mostly minded their own business for fear that Renegade would kill them.

Which Dick would have done because he essentially had Bruce's green light.

Not that Bruce would have been able to stop him, obviously, but still.

In fact, Renegade had killed several members of the Gotham Rogues Gallery who refused to stop hurting innocents: Man-Bat, Clayface, Hush, Victor Zsasz, Professor Pyg and Prometheus.

What worried everyone was that it seemed as if the Joker had vanished from the face of the Earth: there had been no trace of the psychopathic clown in the last four years.

Even Dick, with all his countless sources around the world, couldn't locate the Clown Prince of Crime, and he didn't like it at all.

Some claimed that Renegade even scared the Joker to death, and the clown, knowing he would be killed in cold blood by the mercenary for the first crime he committed after Batman's "green light," had decided to retire.

However, Dick knew that this was most likely not the case, as the Joker was too much of a psychopathic lunatic to be afraid of him. The acrobat feared that Joker was hatching a terrible plan involving the world going up in flames, a mass extermination, or something similar that fit the standards of the Clown Prince of Crime.

In fact, every now and then, Joker would appear out of nowhere, cause trouble as was his usual, and disappear from the face of the world again, even managing to elude the world's best detective, the most dangerous mercenary and the Justice League.

It was decidedly annoying and frustrating for all of them, as they couldn't locate that damned psychopathic clown.

The League of Assassins was still the best anti-hero organization in existence, Talia was still the best Demon's Head ever -not that it took much to be better than Ra's, but she was still fantastic- and Katana, Lady Shiva, Deathstroke and Cheshire were still among the best assassins and elite members -Renegade was still at the top, of course- who had recently been joined by Deadshot, since he got along quite well with Dick, and, shockingly, Sportsmaster.

Indeed, Lawrence must have listened to Dick's words after the beating he received four years ago, because he had genuinely tried to be a better father to Jade and Artemis, and in recent years the entire Crock family had been closer than ever.

Lawrence had improved so much as a human being that he had even become good friends with Dick and, to no one's surprise -except for Slade's utter horror and disbelief- a sort of honorary uncle to the acrobat: the man, in fact, occasionally thanked the last Flying Grayson for making him understand the importance of family.

The rivalry between Slade and Lawrence was still present, of course, but over the years it had transformed into a more playful and teasing rivalry between the two mercenaries, in which they constantly teased each other.

The world was generally a better place thanks to Dick, who had not only permanently eliminated international supervillains, but also, in recent years, killed several global and universal threats that attempted to destroy or conquer the Earth -Sinestro, Circe, Brainiac, General Zod, and others- as well as single-handedly permanently destroyed several supervillain organizations -Spyral and the Brotherhood of Evil foremost among them-.

Needless to say, everyone was amazed every time by the mercenary's skill and efficiency. No matter how much his opponents outclassed him in sheer power: he always found a way to kill and exterminate them.

And Diana knew that Dick would forever continue to kill every supervillain organization and global and universal threat, something she would always be proud of, as long as he lived.

Which likely meant that Reneagde would live past several hundred years, since no death could permanently kill him, given the combination of electrum and his prolonged exposure to Nth Metal over all these years.

In any case, Dick's life was going great, and while he would forever be traumatized by the Court of Owls and would continue to have nightmares about them, these had diminished in recent years.

Especially thanks to Diana's comforting presence, who was and would always be there for him whenever he needed her.

Which was also true vice versa, of course.

Diana, in fact, still feared that sooner or later Hippolyta or the other Amazons would discover her relationship with Dick, that they would disapprove of it, and that they would do anything to separate them. Fortunately, there had been no trace of them in Man's World, and Dick continued to reassure her that there was nothing in the entire universe that could separate them, because their love was one of the strongest, truest, and most enduring of all time.

And their love would last forever.

Eternally .

Chapter Text

“So, where are we going?”

Dick gave his little brother a brief smile before returning his gaze to the road. “I already told you it’s a surprise, buddy.”

Jason sank into the passenger seat with a slight frown. “You might as well tell me, Dickhead.” he grumbled disgruntledly.

The acrobat snorted. “And ruin the surprise? Yeah, not happening.”

The rest of the car ride lasted a few more minutes, filled with bickering between the two brothers, until Jason’s eyes lit up when he spotted a familiar building. “You took me to the public library?” he asked excitedly.

The mercenary smiled, pleased with the reaction of Bruce’s adopted son. “You are literally the nerdiest kid I’ve ever met and I know this is your favorite place in all of Gotham. It seemed like a good idea.” he spoke as he parked the car.

Jason gave him a mischievous grin. “Well, it would be the first time.”

Once the vehicle was turned off, Dick dramatically placed a hand over his heart, pretending to be hurt. “Hey! My ideas are always amazing!”

The sixteen-year-old stared at him with a suspicious, wary look. “I don’t think so. Slade told me about that time you wanted to go skydiving.”

“So? Everyone does it!”

"Without a parachute? From over a hundred meters above the ground?"

“I literally have the best healing factor anyone could ever have. I didn’t even die momentarily!”

“You have no instinct for self-preservation, Dickhead.”

“It’s not my fault I have an excellent healing factor and a near-infinite pain tolerance, Little Wing. I can assure you, that was one of the most adrenaline-pumping things I’ve ever experienced.”

Jason wrinkled his nose. “Stop calling me that! I’m sixteen, for heaven’s sake!” he almost whimpered.

The assassin pointed impassively at the building in front of them. "Sixteen years old and still the biggest nerd ever."

“It’s not being a nerd: it’s being cultured and not ignorant like you, Dickhead!” Jason grunted as he got out of the car.

Dick did the same and they walked toward the public library. “Me ignorant? Please: I know about twenty languages, about a quarter of them not Terrestrial, and I’m a genius at math.”

“Just because you prefer math makes you the nerd, not me.”

“Math is much more useful than the books you read.”

Jason flinched dramatically, as if physically hit. “That’s absolutely not true, idiot!”

Dick smirked. “Put your theatrics aside and leave them to the real professionals, like a circus kid. Besides, knowing Hamlet by heart isn’t as important as being able to do any math in your head.”

“You’re lying.”

“Try me.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “What’s 394 times 426?”

Dick paused, forcing his little brother to do the same, and the twenty-two-year-old tilted his head slightly, remaining silent for about ten seconds before answering. “167.844.”

Bruce’s adopted son frowned and grabbed his phone. He punched the numbers into the calculator and his eyes widened in shock when the result matched his older brother’s answer. “How the hell did you do that?”

“Language.” Dick admonished him amusedly, continuing to walk. “I told you I’m a math genius. When I was in school, I won practically every national and a few international math championships.”

Jason followed him, gaping. The shock and wonder faded from his blue eyes, giving way to indifference. “Yeah, well, the humanities are still better than the sciences.”

The acrobat snorted in amusement at his little brother's cool-but-tough attitude, since that was the way he was expressing his rebellious teenage phase, even though Jason had always been one of the sweetest, kindest kids Dick had ever met, and always would be.

He didn't envy Bruce at all for having to deal with this phase of Jason.

Especially when he had to give him The Talk.

The mercenary shuddered at the memory of when Slade gave him The Talk and silently made a mental note to ask Martian Manhunter to erase that memory.

It was probably the most embarrassing thing he'd ever felt, and all he'd wanted in that moment was a sword so he could decapitate himself.

There was a reason Slade had confiscated all his weapons before giving him The Talk: it was for both of their safety.

Dick shook himself out of his thoughts and gave his little brother a friendly shove. "Get into the damn library before I make you stay whelmed."

Jason staggered forward and glared at his older brother, disgusted by how Dick continued to mangle the English language. “I hope you don’t speak other languages like you speak English, idiot.”

“English makes the least sense of all. Why the hell are some people overwhelmed, others underwhelmed, and not just whelmed?”

Jason shivered.

“You’re clearly not feeling the aster right now, Little Wing.”

“Stop mangling English. Please.”

Dick chuckled but for once decided to obey, to the sixteen-year-old’s infinite relief. The two entered the public library, and the meta-human followed his little brother toward a counter where a woman with long red hair stood on the other side, her back to them.

“Babs!”

At Jason's greeting, the woman turned, and the way she did so allowed Dick to see her wheelchair.

When she turned, the acrobat recognized her immediately.

Barbara Gordon, the commissioner's daughter, had joined the police force a few years earlier, following in her father's footsteps, but unfortunately, she was the victim of Joker's latest attack, which paralyzed her a few months ago.

He noticed the young woman's green eyes light up when she saw Jason. "Jason! It's good to see you!" she said pleasantly, moving her wheelchair around to face them.

"Same, Babs."

Barbara smiled at him, her eyes shifting to the older boy. Dick watched with amusement as a blush appeared on the girl's face when she saw him, which she attempted to hide with a casual facade and a hand outstretched toward him. "I don't think we've ever met. Barbara Gordon."

The mercenary grabbed and shook it, absentmindedly surprised by the strength she displayed. “Richard Wilson, but you can call me Dick.”

A flash of recognition flashed across Barbara’s eyes and she smirked at Jason. “You didn’t tell me your older brother was so attractive.”

“Not you too, Babs!”

Dick laughed at Jason’s disgusted and tired look, but he stopped laughing immediately when several people glared at him. He gave his little brother a comforting pat on the shoulder, but it came across more like a sign of derision. “Don’t blame your friend, Jay. It’s not her fault I’m irresistibly sexy.”

Jason stared at him in disgust and pushed his older brother’s hands away from him. “Don’t say that in front of me again, thank you. I don’t want any more trauma.”

The Talon chuckled and smiled at Barbara, listening with amusement as her heart began to beat faster at his smile. “How long have you and Jason known each other?”

“A few months ago.” Her eyes darkened with anger and pain. “After Joker paralyzed me, because I couldn’t work at the GCPD anymore, I decided to work here at the city library.”

Dick nodded in understanding, his gaze softer and more understanding. “I’m sorry for what happened to you.” he said sincerely, receiving a nod from the woman. “Have the police found out anything about the Joker?” he found himself asking, despite his deep doubts about the Gotham Police Department’s work.

But never say never.

Gordon shook her head. "No. As has been his habit for the past four years, every time Joker strikes, he immediately disappears from the face of the Earth, eluding everyone. I really hate his new modus operandi." She grunted.

Dick nodded, maintaining his unreadable facade.

You can say that out loud.

The dark expression and frown disappeared from Barbara's face and she turned her most charming, flirtatious, and seductive gaze on Dick. "Why don't we exchange numbers and take me out for a romantic lunch or dinner, handsome?"

Jason groaned at his friend's obvious flirtation with his older brother and made fake gagging noises.

Why does every time Dick takes me somewhere there always have to be someone shamelessly flirting with him, dammit?

Dick chuckled. "I appreciate your boldness, but this masterpiece is off limits to everyone except my girlfriend." he said, gesturing up and down her body with a smirk.

A flash of disappointment and sadness crossed the woman's face. "Oh. Too bad. Whoever the woman is, she's very lucky."

"Dickhead is the real lucky son of a bitch, not his girlfriend."

The antihero shrugged at his brother’s words. “I'd be offended if it weren't for the fact that it's absolutely true. I don't understand how the hell I got so lucky that Diana fell in love with me either but hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“I have to understand that too.” Jason quickly agreed with a shit-eating grin.

Dick grabbed him in an unbreakable grip and gave him a noogie. “You little shit!”

Instinctively, Jason began to try to wriggle free, even though he knew he had no chance against the world’s best assassin. “Release me immediately, Dickhead!”

The acrobat chuckled for a few seconds but Barbara’s glare at their loudness forced him to stop, slightly embarrassed. He suddenly flinched and shot his little brother a blank look. “When will you understand that biting my arm is never the right choice to make to get rid of me?” he grunted, pushing him away.

Jason staggered back and gave him a shit-eating grin. “As long as I bother you, never.” he said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

Dick snorted and noticed the commissioner's daughter's analytical gaze toward him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I know I'm irresistible, but please don't devour me with your eyes, thank you."

"In your dreams, handsome." Barbara scoffed with a roll of her eyes, though her slightly racing heart and the faint blush on her face betrayed her. "It's just that I have the feeling I've seen you before, even though this is the first time we've met face to face." She paused briefly and then it was as if a light bulb went on above her head. "You mentioned Diana earlier: are you Diana Prince's boyfriend? The world's greatest peace ambassador?" she realized with a shocked gasp.

The anti-hero wasn't surprised to be recognized in his civilian identity.

After all, in recent years, he had accompanied Diana on several occasions to the most important official events, such as galas, award ceremonies, and more. He had effectively become a sort of public face, known throughout the world as the boyfriend of the greatest ambassador for peace.

Dick smiled at her and bowed dramatically. "The one and only. At your service."

Barbara gave him a strange look. “Diana is, what, ten/fifteen years older than you?”

Jason coughed into his fist, hiding a Try several hundred.

The assassin managed to suppress an amused chuckle at the sixteen-year-old’s words, being the only one who had heard them thanks to his enhanced hearing. “Only ten, but as you can see with your own eyes, she looks much younger than she really is.”

He ignored Jason’s cheeky giggle.

“I would pay gold to be her age and be that beautiful and charming.” Barbara admitted.

“More like praying to the old gods for eternal youth and immortality.” Jason muttered so softly that only his older brother could hear.

Dick barely managed to keep from bursting into laughter, though his upper lip lifted a few inches.

The woman turned to look at him. “Did you say something?” Jason simply shook his head with an innocent smile, and after a few moments of suspicion, Barbara shrugged and looked back at Dick. “In any case, it seems strange to me that a beautiful, famous, influential and strong woman like Diana would be with a boy ten years younger than her. No offense.” she added quickly.

Dick glared at his little brother, who chuckled, and with a sigh, he looked at Barbara with a smile that was a little more forced than usual. “Well, the only thing that matters is our love. Nothing else matters.”

And that was definitely very true.

“Of course, I didn’t mean to imply anything else.” Barbara nodded, her lips pursed slightly. “It's just… I don't know. Diana can easily charm and conquer any man or woman she wants, and she still chose a boy ten years younger than her. And if I'm not mistaken, you've been dating for four years, and you're currently 22, so you started dating when you were barely out of high school. It's strange. A little young for a grown woman like her, don't you think?”

Now even Jason's lips twisted at her words and he was staring at her with a frown.

Dick's smile didn't falter in the slightest, but a glint of warning and danger crossed his eyes, fed up with the turn the conversation had taken and its implications. "It's much more complex than that. In any case, it's none of your business."

"Of course, but-"

"Don't push it, Gordon." Dick interrupted her coldly, a note of warning in his tone in stark contrast to his seemingly accommodating smile.

It was easy for Jason to forget that his older brother, despite his ever-bright, radiant, and brilliant demeanor, was literally the world's most dangerous assassin and mercenary, and that compared to him, the damned Deathstroke The Terminator was a piece of cake.

Barbara shivered, a glint of fear crossing her green eyes, and Jason couldn't blame Dick for her fear.

Dick was the coolest, toughest person Jason had ever met, and he was his hero and idol.

Though he'd rather die than admit it out loud in front of his older brother, of course.

"You know, I find your attempt to sow discord between Diana and me so you can sleep with me pathetic." Dick stated casually, ignoring Barbara's incoherent, slurred babbling. "Do humanity a favor: stop making a fool of yourself and making eyes at me. Diana will always be better than you in every way, and always will be. Literally forever. You're lucky she's not here, otherwise she would have broken both your arms by now. Or maybe not, because you would have made her feel sorry for you."

"You're arrogant, Wilson." Barbara spat venomously with an angry look. "All you did was brag about yourself, but you're a classic brainless handsome guy. I bet Diana's just using you for fun."

Jason glared at her and was about to come to his older brother's defense because, what the hell, no one talks to Dick like that in front of him, but the acrobat beat him to it. "I advise you never to gamble, then. Because otherwise you'd lose all your money." Dick commented casually, drawing an amused and surprised chuckle from the sixteen-year-old. "You can say what you want about my relationship with her: I don't give a damn about your useless words. Just make peace with yourself, I will not sleep with you under any circumstances in the entire universe. Or any other woman in general. I'd rather cut off my arm."

Barbara made a mocking, derisive sound. "As if-"

"Please: literally since we met, all you've done is undress me with your eyes." The mercenary interrupted her, rolling his eyes. “Even though I've known you less than thirty minutes, your attitude is nothing short of disgusting, Gordon. Just because you've been through a tragedy doesn't give you the right to act like some spoiled bastard who starts complaining when she doesn't get what she wants. Which, in this case, means me.”

The woman's grip on the wheels of her wheelchair tightened as she glared at him. "Don't you dare talk about tragedy. You don't know what it means-"

"Don't go there, Barbara Gordon."

Dick's cold, dangerous tone made Barbara snap her mouth shut, her eyes widening in terror at the aura of danger and menace hovering around him.

"Don't you dare tell me I don't know pain and suffering. If you suffered even 1% of what I suffered, you'd have killed yourself by now." Dick stated coldly, his voice devoid of any emotion as his blue eyes flashed dangerously.

For a brief moment, Jason feared his eyes might flash gold, but thankfully, thanks to the acrobat's astonishing self-control, that didn't happen. He watched his older brother step forward and loom over Barbara, staring her down, and he silently wondered if he should have intervened to prevent a possible murder.

“You can throw any bullshit at me. You can say anything to me. I don't give a damn what you think about me.” Dick lowered his head slightly, focusing his cold, hard eyes on the woman, his voice becoming lower and more menacing. “But I won't take any bullshit you throw at Diana. Especially behind her back and when she has no way to defend herself. You're just an insecure coward and a spoiled brat who complains whenever things get out of your control. Grow up, damn it. The commissioner certainly raised you better than that.”

Then the Renegade attitude quickly disappeared, and, as if it had never been there, it gave way to a casual smile typical of Dick Wilson, who took a step back. “Now, enough arguing. That’s not what I’m here for. My Princess would kick my ass if she found out I wasted precious time on what she thought was bullshit. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take my little nerd to read one of the boring, dusty books in this place.” Dick stated with a smirk, pettily pleased by the woman’s grimace, who was shocked by his complete change in attitude, and grabbed his indignant little brother by the shoulders and led him away.

When the last Flying Grayson was sure he was out of earshot of the redhead, he let out a sigh of relief. “Dude, I was so close to committing murder.”

Jason shrugged his hands off and walked past several shelves of books. “Just don’t commit any crimes in my presence, okay? I don’t want to be mistaken for your accomplice.”

Dick snorted in amusement as he followed. “As if I needed an accomplice. You, on the other hand, would. And that’s why my services to you will always remain free, Little Wing.”

Jason chuckled, genuinely moved by the knowledge that his older brother would help him cover up a murder and eliminate any threat to him.

Sure, it was pretty much the least he could do, but it was still nice to know he had someone in his life who would do anything for him.

Dick watched his little brother approach a shelf full of books and browse through them. “What are you looking for?”

“Pride and Prejudice.”

“Why read it here when you have a copy in the Manor library?”

“Because, if I want to enjoy a book with your annoying presence and your damn incessant chatter, I have to opt for a world-class masterpiece.” Jason grunted as he continued searching the shelf.

“Damn. I love you too, little brother.”

It took Jason about a minute to find the book he was looking for, and when he did, he made a triumphant noise. He turned and snapped his mouth shut when he noticed Dick was no longer behind him.

I hate it when he uses his ninja skills against me. He’s quieter than a fucking dead man. Sure, technically Dickhead is also dead and practically a zombie, but still.

Jason looked around and a few seconds later spotted his older brother sitting around an empty table with a book in his hands. He gaped in shock, never expecting such a sight, and approached him. “Dickhead reading a book? The world is about to end!” he joked, sitting down across from him.

Dick snorted in amusement. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t dislike literature at all.”

“You could have fooled me.” Jason stated dryly, getting a chuckle. “What are you reading?”

“It’s ‘Il Principe,’ or ‘The Prince,’ if you prefer, by Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian author from around 1500.” the acrobat stated, holding up the book so his little brother could read the title. He chuckled at his incredulous look. “I’m much more cultured than you might think, Little Wing.”

“It looks familiar to me but I'm not sure.”

“That’s because you’re primarily focused on English literature. In many ways, Italy is one of the most cultured countries in the world and is home to many world-famous authors, even though they’re often overlooked.”

“How do you know that?”

"My parents and I performed with the circus in Rome about a year before their deaths, and one of the few things I remember is the beauty and charm of Italy, both in its monuments and landscapes. This then inspired me to delve deeper into Italian culture, and I fell in love with it."

Jason nodded, absorbing the new information. “Machiavelli was the one who said that ‘the end justifies the means’ or something like that, right?”

“‘Il fine giustifica I mezzi.’” the anti-hero repeated in perfect Italian and nodded slightly. “That phrase superficially sums up his thoughts but yes, that’s the crux of the matter. He attempted to understand politics from a rational and scientific perspective, and above all, social organization and how power was administered and maintained. In Machiavelli’s case, he wanted to justify any improper or questionable actions of the prince if they served to safeguard the order and power of the state. This was because it was a noble goal, and to achieve a goal commonly deemed moral, one could accept immoral means and attitudes.”

Jason remained silent for a few seconds, considering the matter. “I bet that’s why you like Machiavelli. I mean, given your whole thing.”

The Talon gave him a half-smile, immediately understanding what he was referring to. “I don’t know if Machiavelli would have appreciated my methods, which are certainly illegal, or considered them morally right. I haven’t had the luxury of meeting him personally.” he joked.

“Ah. Very funny.” the sixteen-year-old stated, rolling his eyes in a flat voice. “You should ask Diana. Maybe she knew him.” He smiled at the older man’s chuckle but stopped, a huge frown on his face. “You said Machiavelli was born in the 1500s, right?” Dick nodded. “Was Diana born around that time?”

Dick also stopped, his expression thoughtful and questioning. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“How old is she, exactly?”

“I don’t know.” Dick answered honestly. “I always thought she was a few hundred years old, but I don't know the exact number. I don't even know if she's over a thousand years old.”

“You should ask her that. At least you can be sure she won't ask you how old you think she is.”

The assassin burst out laughing but quickly lowered the volume. “It should be, but even though it might not seem like it, she's a little shit too and would still ask me that question just to put me on edge.”

“And that's why I like her.”

“Even more than me?”

“I even like a rock more than you .”

“I'll politely ignore what you just said.”

Jason snorted. He glanced at his book and then at the one in his older brother's hands. He made up his mind and closed “Pride and Prejudice”, earning a curious, questioning look. “I've read that one many times and know it practically by heart. Can you read “The Prince” to me?”

Dick smiled sweetly and nodded. "I'll read you the chapters I find most interesting."

Jason settled back in his chair and nodded.

The two brothers remained in the library for several hours, almost closing time. Dick read to him not only "The Prince" but also the most interesting parts of other masterpieces of Italian, Greek, Russian, German and other cultures, and he thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

It was one of the best days of his life: being in the library and having his older brother read masterpieces of different cultures.

Jason would never have imagined that Dick was so knowledgeable and so cultured about different cultures, and he was pleasantly surprised.

Even though his older brother would remain the stupidest person he had ever met.

Chapter Text

With a sweet smile, Dick watched the children emerge from the gym with their parents, chattering excitedly and childishly, and he waved at them. He turned and began putting the gym equipment away. "Any plans for the day, Cynthia?"

Cynthia, his secretary, looked up from the various documents on her desk and glanced at him from across the room. "Nothing in particular. Henry's swamped with work today and will be home late, so I guess I'll watch a movie or something. What about you?"

"Maybe a whole afternoon off with Diana if she's not busy."

"You're lucky Diana mostly works remotely from home."

"True, but it's still UN ambassador work, and that means boring online meetings with other ambassadors and snobbish, power-hungry politicians." Dick emphasized as he carried the exercise mats from one side of the room to the other. “Let alone when she has to attend these meetings in person.”

The woman in her forties, with long brown hair that fell past her shoulders, brown eyes, and glasses, shivered dramatically. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound very nice. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.” she stated, drawing a chuckle from her boss. “I honestly don’t know how Diana manages to keep her sanity intact around those kinds of people.”

Dick snorted. “Believe me, her greatest dream is to strangle them all one by one.”

Cynthia chuckled. “Yeah, that’s just like her.”

The two chatted calmly for the next few minutes, while Dick easily carried the various gymnastics equipment to put it away and while Cynthia busied herself with various paperwork. The acrobat quickly finished and glanced at his secretary and friend. “You can take the rest of the day off and leave the paperwork until tomorrow.”

The woman smiled gratefully. “I have a couple of papers to finish here and I’ll gladly follow your suggestion, best boss ever.”

And she meant the last words.

Dick was the best boss she and the other gymnastics instructors hired by the youngest ever had. He was always very flexible, friendly, joking, accommodating and understanding with all of them, and in return, he simply wanted them to give their best in their work.

She and the others had been a little skeptical when Dick, who had just opened his gym in Bludhaven, had contacted them to offer to hire them, especially considering his young age, only eighteen.

Man, it hadn't taken them long to realize they were wrong about Wilson.

Dick was not only the best boss anyone could ask for, but also a great friend to all his employees. The gym's staff were like another little family and they were all honored to be a part of it.

The name of the acrobatic gymnastics gym, Gravity Defiers, was perfectly fitting, in her opinion: seeing Dick on the trapeze was like seeing the closest thing to a potential eighth wonder of the world.

The way Dick soared through the air and the perfect, flawless fluidity of his every move was a spectacle everyone should witness at least once in their lives. It seemed as if his territory was not the solid ground but the air: to see Dick at work was to see him fly and defy the laws of gravity that seemed not to apply in his case.

Neither she nor the other gymnastics instructors had ever seen anything like it: even the most experienced among them learned a lot from the boss, who was probably the best acrobat who ever lived.

Each of them had told him at least once that he should become a professional athlete and participate in the Olympics so that he would literally win every gold medal in acrobatic gymnastics with ease. Each time, Dick had a strange glint in his eyes, like a sort of distant gaze that briefly transported him to a previous life, but it quickly disappeared, and he always shrugged and, with a casual smile, replied that it was a childhood dream that would remain in the drawer.

They couldn't quite understand his answer, but silently agreed that they would never ask him that question again, since it always seemed to sadden him.

They didn't know much about their boss except that he had tragically lost his parents in a car accident at a young age. He was then adopted by a certain Slade Wilson, a former soldier who lived in New York. He has several younger siblings, numerous friends and honorary aunts and uncles. He dropped out of school right after high school, met peace ambassador Diana Prince, with whom he developed a relationship that was still very strong. Immediately after high school, at 18, he moved to Bludhaven with Diana and founded "Gravity Defiers," thus becoming the best acrobatic gymnastics boss and instructor ever.

Apparently, Dick used his late parents' trust fund, which allowed him to buy both the beautiful mansion he and Diana owned -knowing Prince's strong personality, she likely contributed at least half of it- and to build the gym in Bludhaven.

As for business, it was booming. Many children from all over the city had joined the gym, some even coming from Gotham. The gym's excellent reputation had quickly and briefly spread throughout Bludhaven, attracting the attention of ever more children and teenagers.

All the gymnastics instructors who worked there were very good with children and teenagers, but Dick was still the best of them all in this area. All the kids adored Dick, who made them all feel equally loved and important, showering them with praise and approval, which made them all happier.

His skill with the kids was probably explained by the fact that he had several little siblings who occasionally visited him while he was at work, and together they were one of the cutest things Cynthia had ever seen.

There had never been a single kid who complained about Dick, the other instructors, or "Gravity Defiers" in general, and the same was true for the parents.

Although it was unlikely the kids' parents would ever complain about the place, since they could hardly take their eyes off Dick's impressive display of flexibility and his Greek god-like appearance.

There was a reason, after all, that many mothers, especially single ones, arrived well before the time they were supposed to pick up their children and were more than happy to wait in the gym to watch the notorious Richard Wilson at work.

Cynthia wasn't lying when she said that at least one mother a day drooled every time one of them saw her boss.

These mothers' husbands often complained about this and became furious with Dick, but Cynthia and the others quickly discovered that the owner of "Gravity Defiers" was more than capable of defending himself.

It wasn't hard to understand that his adoptive father, a former soldier, taught him how to fight.

It was honestly hilarious for Cynthia to watch all these women -and sometimes even men- drool over her boss, but what amused her most was the fact that Dick barely gave them a glance.

Even a blind man could see that Dick admired and loved Diana more than anything else in the universe, and that the end of the world was more likely than him even considering looking at other women.

And, from the times Diana came to visit her boyfriend at work, Cynthia knew the same was true vice versa.

Although when Diana came to visit Dick at the gym, there was always a risk of some mother losing at least an arm because they insisted on staring and flirting with Wilson even despite Prince's presence.

Honestly, Diana scared the hell out of both Cynthia and the other gym instructors.

She was the scariest, most intimidating woman Cynthia had ever met: she was so tall and more muscular than most women that even a male bodybuilder was nothing compared to her.

Cynthia was startled out of her thoughts when her boss's voice reached her ears. "Don't overwork yourself, Cynthia. I'd have a hard time replacing you with someone half as good as you."

The woman sent him a smile, her chest warming at the praise of her boss and friend. "You can say that." she joked, getting a chuckle from him. She nodded. "See you tomorrow, boss. Say hello to Diana for me."

"I will. Say hello to your husband for me." Dick nodded back and with a final goodbye, he left the gym.

With a small smile, she focused her attention on the various papers scattered on her desk.

I’m so lucky to work here and be part of this little family.

Dick closed the villa door and turned his enhanced hearing to its maximum. When he was sure he couldn't hear Diana's voice or any other voices on the video call, he smiled. "Honey! I'm home!"

He loved saying those words aloud every time he returned home -it gave him that extra domestic touch- but he knew he'd first have to make sure his girlfriend wasn't in some boring online meeting.

The meta-human headed for the enormous living room, where he found Diana sitting on the comfortable couch while she idly flicked through the television. She smiled at him as soon as she saw him, turned off the television, and stood up to meet him. His Princess greeted him with a sweet kiss on the lips, and the acrobat hummed happily into the kiss, his hands gently caressing her hips.

"How was work?" Diana asked him after the kiss, returning to sit on the couch.

Dick smiled at her. “Very good. The kids are getting better every day, even if only a little.” he replied as he sat down and cuddled against her side, sighing contentedly at the warmth she emitted.

Diana reached an arm over his shoulders and pulled him toward her until the distance between their bodies was zero. She rested her chin on his head while rubbing small circles on his leg with her other hand, smiling at the slight shiver that ran through his body. “I have good and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Dick rubbed his nose against her shoulder softly, loving the sweet sound of her laughter. “The good one first.”

“The good news is I don’t have to work the rest of the afternoon or tomorrow.”

“I like it.” Her boyfriend purred and pulled away slightly, forcing his girlfriend to lift her chin from his head. “And the bad news?”

“In two days, a few other Justice League heroes and I have to go into space. We have a diplomatic mission to a planet potentially hostile to Earth.”

The anti-hero grimaced. “I hate space missions. They always keep you away from me for too long.”

The Amazon gave him an apologetic smile. “I know. I feel the same way. But you know I’m better at interplanetary diplomacy than Bruce.”

The acrobat chuckled. “Bruce would probably start a conflict between Earth and other alien planets like five seconds after he started speaking.” He joked, making her laugh. “If anything goes wrong, don't hesitate to contact me on the Justice League communicator.”

Diana caressed his cheek with a soft touch, her lips curving gently upward as she saw her lover lean into her touch. "I will. I know you won't hesitate to find a way to save me, no matter what corner of the entire multiverse I find myself in. Just as I would for you, my beautiful warrior."

Dick smiled and lifted his head, capturing her lips. He moaned when Diana bit his lower lip and his hands slid under her shirt to caress her bare skin, smiling into the kiss when he felt her shiver at his touch.

The Talon pushed her forward and the princess of Themyscira let out a surprised sound in his mouth as she fell back onto the couch, her boyfriend on top of her as their mouths never parted. She let out a deep moan of pleasure as his tongue slid into her mouth, exploring every inch of it.

The couple spent the next ten minutes making out heavily on the couch, alternating who dominated the kiss several times. Eventually, Diana was back on the couch, with Dick removing her shirt, his touch on her bare skin soft and tender.

The assassin gazed at the magnificent panorama before him for a few seconds, never tiring of the immense, indescribable beauty of the greatest woman in the entire universe in every possible way.

Even after four years of being with her, Dick was still stunned by Diana's beauty, her smooth, soft skin and every touch, let alone a kiss.

He could never tire of it.

Never, ever.

And the knowledge that the same was true vice versa only made his chest warmer.

Dick gazed at his lover beneath him, his eyes gleaming a soft gold. "I love you infinitely, Princess."

Diana returned the sweet smile, a soft glint in her beautiful blue eyes. "I love you more than words can describe, my wonderful warrior."

The mercenary smiled and lowered his lips, meeting hers in a kiss that was initially soft and tender, but quickly became more heated. At the same time, his hands roamed up and down her perfect figure and skin for about ten seconds before moving back up and toying with her breasts.

Diana let out muffled moans into his mouth as her entire body experienced a series of shivers and electric shocks that only Dick had ever been able to give her in her entire life.

Their mouths parted, needing oxygen, and the demigoddess tilted her head back as Dick's lips traveled from her chin to her throat, a sigh of bliss escaping her. The acrobat licked, bit and kissed her throat, grinning from ear to ear as her moans grew louder.

The Amazon whimpered in pure pleasure as her boyfriend's expert tongue ran over a specific part of her throat that was her sweet spot, and she clenched her hands into fists to avoid accidentally breaking the couch.

Again.

She felt her knees become more and more jelly-like as Dick continued to tease her throat with his tongue and lips, heat and electricity coursing through her chest in an incredible swirling mix she'd only felt with the young assassin.

Dick's lips trailed down his girlfriend's throat until they reached the top of her chest. Diana moaned loudly as Dick's tongue began expertly teasing her left breast while he played with her right breast with his other hand, her mind foggy and dazed by immense pleasure.

A few minutes later -which seemed like a veritable eternity of bliss to Diana- her body felt a jolt of electricity and heat as she watched Dick deftly slide her jeans off in one fluid move and position himself between her legs, completely mesmerized by the movement of his tongue between his lips.

“I know exactly how to spend the time we have left before you go into space, Princess.” Dick purred hoarsely.

Diana felt every fiber of her being shiver, and when she managed to overcome the daze caused by the intensity of his beautiful blue eyes, which occasionally flickered into his equally beautiful golden ones, she returned his gaze mischievously. “It wouldn’t be bad if you took the whole day off tomorrow.” she proposed sensually, not so casually.

Dick gave her his usual half-smile that she loved infinitely. “Since when have you had the power to read my mind, Princess?”

“Since we got together.” She replied, a twinkle in her eyes. Then, in a hoarse, more sensual voice: “Let me reach bliss, my beautiful warrior.”

“Your every wish is my command, Princess.”

And indeed, they did: over the next few hours, they both reached the highest state of bliss and pleasure.

“What do you mean I won't see you for a month?”

Dick looked affectionately at his Little Wing. “Sorry, Jay. I have a very important contract.”

Jason looked at him warily with narrowed eyes. “What contract could make the most dangerous and lethal mercenary in the world take so long?”

“I have to destroy the mafias that exist in Italy.” the assassin revealed, making his little brother’s eyes widen in shock. “Which, as you well know, are among the most dangerous and influential in the world. Especially the ‘Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra, Camorra and a few other minor ones. That and also solving some cases related to the Italian mafia that have remained unsolved for several decades. The families of the victims killed by these mafias deserve justice, after all these years, and I will give them the evidence they need to find out what happened to their loved ones who are no longer with us.”

“But it is extremely dangerous!”

“I know, buddy. But I've already eliminated numerous other mafia and terrorist organizations. After all, ISIS has been gone for years, and it's thanks to me.”

Dick's shark-like grin reminded Jason that his older brother was literally the most dangerous person on Earth.

Yeah. The Italian mafias don't stand a chance against Dickie.

“This contract must pay you a lot. I mean, you'll have to destroy the Italian mafias and solve cases that have been unsolved for decades!” he emphasized.

The acrobat hummed softly. “My client gave me a million dollars up front and will pay me another ten million once the contract is completed.”

Jason's eyes widened in shock. “Damn! Now I want to become a mercenary too if it pays this well!”

Dick chuckled. “I think Bruce would have a heart attack.” he commented, earning a chuckle from his little brother. “Besides, a mercenary can’t be a nerd, and you absolutely are.”

The sixteen-year-old glared at him and grunted. “You know how every time Diana goes on a JL space mission, you’re always more irritating and annoying than usual?”

“It’s natural. I worry every time my Princess is somewhere in the universe and I’m not there with her.”

“So, you hide your concern behind a more asshole attitude?”

“Exactly.”

“Dick.”

“Thanks!”

“It wasn’t a- you know what, forget it.” Jason sighed wearily before tilting his head slightly. “But you’re not like that when she’s busy with her ambassadorial duties, and she might be, like, in Europe or Asia. Why?”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “In those cases, I’m worried about the other ambassadors and politicians.” he stated dryly.

Jason burst out laughing. “Okay, point taken. What are you going to do about your gym?”

“I’m the boss, so I can be away pretty much whenever I want. I told Cynthia and the others I’ve organized a little family trip with Diana, Slade and a few little siblings.”

Dick noticed the obvious displeasure in his little brother’s eyes, even though the younger one was trying hard not to show it. He placed his hands on his Little Wing’s shoulders and squeezed lightly.

“I’ll only be gone for a month, Jay. I think you’re more than capable of handling Bruce for that period of time without me curbing your urge to strangle him with your own bare hands.” he joked, pleased when he saw him chuckle. “You can call me whenever you want. If things get tough for any reason, just call me. I can't promise I'll answer right away, but as soon as I have time, I will. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me.” he stated solemnly, staring at his little brother with blue eyes sparkling with seriousness.

Jason felt his throat tighten, moved by his older brother's words, and he lunged at him, wrapping his arms around Dick's neck and resting his head on his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you so much, Dickie." he muttered, the sound of his voice slightly muffled by the acrobat's shoulder.

The mercenary smiled softly and kissed the top of his head. "You too, Little Wing."

They held each other in the embrace for about ten seconds before separating. "Did you tell the rest of your family, too?"

The twenty-two-year-old nodded. "Yesterday I spent the day with Slade, Uncle Billy, Aunt Sandra, Aunt Talia, Aunt Tatsu, Jade, Joey, Rose, Dami, and Cass. Today was your turn, buddy, and then I'm going to visit Bruce and Alfred at the Manor."

Jason smiled softly before staring at him with a deadly glint in his blue eyes. “Don't die, Dickhead.”

“I can't die, Jay.”

“I mean permanently, idiot.”

“That won't happen. I don't even know if there's a way to kill me permanently. And if I'm ever in danger, I've got the world's best assassins and heroes on speed dial.”

“Please. We both know you'll never call them even if you're actually in danger.”

“In fact, I never said I'd call them.”

“Idiot.”

“Love you too. Now that I think about it, didn't you have a Mario Kart rematch waiting for you?”

“I haven't forgotten. I'll kick your ass, Dickhead.”

“In your dreams, little nerd.”

Chapter Text

Jason couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him.

A short time ago, Bruce had accompanied Jason to the public library and minutes after the billionaire dropped him off, the boy had slipped away to return to his childhood home.

His adoptive father would surely ground him if he ever found out he'd walked alone across Gotham from the library to Crime Alley. Sure, if he'd asked Bruce if he could accompany him to his childhood home, the vigilante would have gladly done so, but Jason wanted some independence from that man.

After all, he'd taken defense lessons from the Dark Knight and even occasionally from Renegade himself, and was therefore better at fighting against common criminals, but not against the more dangerous ones.

Not that Jason had ever wanted to fight Gotham's worst scum, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't occasionally dream of fighting crime alongside Batman. This was a completely normal dream for kids, especially those in Gotham, but the sixteen-year-old knew it would always remain just a dream.

Even thinking about fighting crime in the city with the highest crime rate in the world at just sixteen years old, let alone at an even younger age, alongside a deeply traumatized man who dressed as a bat was nothing short of incredibly stupid, idiotic and irresponsible.

It was already a miracle that Jason had survived, at least physically, on the streets of Gotham before being taken in and adopted by Bruce. Why the hell would he risk his life alongside the Caped Crusader when he could have studied and graduated with a degree in literature, his greatest dream?

While it was true that Renegade had helped reduce crime in the city, scaring the most dangerous people in Arkham Asylum -and even killing some of them!- to the point that they'd rather stay in the asylum than commit a crime and be killed by the mercenary, Gotham still had the highest crime rate in the world.

And that said it all.

In any case, Jason was visiting the house where he grew up for the first time in years, and he chased away the darkest moments.

Namely, the ones where that bastard Willis Todd would come home drunk and beat up his son and his wife.

His wife, who apparently wasn't Jason's biological mother.

The sixteen-year-old swallowed hard as he stared at the birth certificate, faded over the years, in his hands that were shaking and wouldn't fucking stop.

Apparently, the woman Jason had always thought was his mother, because he had no damn reason to think otherwise, wasn't actually his biological mother.

Catherine Todd wasn't his mother.

A woman named Sheila Haywood was.

Jason staggered sideways and leaned against a wall of the now-abandoned, years-old house, a hand clutching his racing heart.

His world had suddenly and completely turned upside down.

And he didn't know how the hell to react.

Jason swallowed the lump in his throat and closed his eyes, using one of the breathing techniques his adoptive father had taught him. A few minutes later, he opened them again, slightly more composed than before.

Now, as for the whole issue of my mother not actually being my biological mother...

He knew that, despite what the birth certificate told him otherwise, Catherine would always be his mother, biological or not.

After all, in recent years, Jason had come to understand that blood didn't necessarily make a family: it was the bond that united people that was more important than blood. That's why Bruce was his father in everything but blood just as Alfred was his grandfather, Dick was his older brother, Diana was his honorary aunt, and so on.

The sixteen-year-old could never forget everything Catherine, his mother, had done for him.

All the times she'd come between him and Willis and let the bastard beat her instead.

All the times she'd give up a portion of food to give it to him.

All the times she'd read him a bedtime story and kiss him on the forehead after tucking him into bed.

All the times she'd hug him and playfully squeeze his cheeks.

All the times she'd tell him that sooner or later he'd realize his dream of going to school and that he'd be the smartest boy in the world.

All the times she'd tend to his wounds, both those caused by Willis and those from fighting with other kids on the streets.

Of course, Jason knew Catherine wasn't perfect, because otherwise she wouldn't have let him watch her overdose death right before his eyes, but Jason didn't care at all.

He knew Catherine loved him more than anything in the entire universe, and that was more than enough for him.

The only ones who now mirrored her love for him were Alfred, Bruce, Dick, and probably even Diana.

So screw the birth certificate.

Catherine Todd would always be his mother, no matter what that damned piece of paper said.

Jason furiously wiped away the tears streaming down his face, caused by the loving memories of Catherine, and carefully folded the piece of paper just enough to slip it into his pocket. He quickly left his old house because, for that day at least, he had had too much to deal with the countless memories of his childhood -both the terrible ones and the slightly more beautiful ones- and made his way back to the public library.

The thought that he might still have another mother figure alive didn't bother him at all, and warmth and hope filled his chest.

Yes, that wouldn't be bad at all.

After Alfred had come to pick him up from the library and after receiving a long scolding about not going out alone into the streets of Gotham without even notifying him or Bruce, and taking advantage of the billionaire's current absence for reasons related to Wayne Enterprises, Jason found himself in front of the Batcomputer and typed in the name of his biological mother, hoping immensely that she was still alive.

He discovered that Sheila Haywood was a doctor, that she was still alive and currently working in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. He cheered loudly and, completely overwhelmed by happiness and joy, he did a backflip, frowning rapidly upon standing.

Damn. I've spent too much time with Dickhead.

“I still have a living mother, Alfie!” he cried with joy, turning and staring at his grandfather with a huge, bright smile on his lips, his blue eyes brighter than usual.

The British butler's upper lip lifted a few inches and Alfred's usually stoic demeanor instantly softened. "This is wonderful news, Master Jason. However, before any reckless action, it is my duty to convey this wonderful news to Master Bruce as soon as he returns."

“Of course.” Jason quickly agreed before a flash of nervousness and hesitation crossed his face. “Do you think Bruce will agree to let me meet my biological mother?” he asked, his voice almost shy.

Alfred stepped forward and placed a hand on his grandson’s shoulder, staring directly at him with piercing dark blue eyes. “Master Bruce may not be the best person at expressing his emotions appropriately but, my dear boy, he loves you infinitely and would do anything for you.”

The sixteen-year-old relaxed at his grandfather’s words and leaned slightly into his touch. He sent him a bright, grateful smile. “Thank you, Alfie.”

His grip on his shoulder tightened slightly, and Alfred gave him a small, silent smile.

That was probably the first time Alfred had been wrong.

As soon as Jason told his adoptive father everything upon his return to the mansion from Wayne Enterprises, Bruce's gaze immediately hardened, becoming the one he usually adopted when he was having trouble processing difficult emotions.

Bruce had sternly told him that it was dangerous to go to the Middle East, especially Ethiopia. When Jason pointed out curtly that he was the damn Batman and that going to Ethiopia was a walk in the park compared to everything he'd accomplished as a hero, Bruce reminded him that he couldn't possibly protect him from the numerous risks and dangers since he'd be in his civilian identity as Bruce Wayne, not Batman.

Which was a damn good point, Jason reluctantly conceded, but he was still pissed at his father, especially after he'd dismissed him with a hasty "We'll see later" and left to patrol the city.

Sure, he could have waited for Dick's return, and possibly Diana's, but the last call with his older brother made him realize that he still had a few days left to complete his contract, perhaps even more if something unexpected arose.

But who knows when Wonder Woman would return.

Space missions were always the most unpredictable.

So after Bruce went out on patrol and Alfred momentarily returned to the Manor, Jason's gaze automatically fell on the Batplane.

The same Batplane that Dick had stolen several times and taught Jason to fly.

Slowly, an idea formed in his mind, and Jason smiled to himself.

It could be the most reckless act of his life, and it might even result in him being locked up in the Manor until he was thirty, when Bruce would inevitably find out.

Numerous alarm bells rang in his head, telling him that this was a very idiotic, reckless and stupid thing to do.

But Jason was a fucking sixteen-year-old and in his rebellious phase.

So screw all forms of logic, rationality with a big middle finger especially to that asshole Bruce Wayne.

Jason Todd had a biological mother to meet.

There were infinite alternate worlds.

There were infinite alternate universes.

There were numerous universal constants.

One of these was the inevitable death of Jason Peter Todd in Ethiopia, betrayed by his biological mother Sheila Haywood and sold to the Joker.

Beaten to death with a crowbar by the Joker amidst the deranged clown's insane cackles.

Tied up and trapped in the exact same warehouse in Ethiopia, forced, with numerous broken ribs and bones and severe internal bleeding, to watch a bomb countdown before his eyes.

His vain attempt to save his biological mother's life, despite her betrayal and her having sold him to the Joker.

The knowledge and resignation that no one would have been able to save him in time.

Both dying in the warehouse explosion.

Batman arriving too late.

Batman cradling the broken body of his son.

A part of Bruce Thomas Wayne that inevitably breaks irreversibly in the face of his son's death.

Because, no matter the world and universe, no matter if Jason was Robin II or just a civilian, no matter if he was adopted by Bruce Wayne or someone else, no matter what decisions he makes-

Jason Peter Todd’s fate was always the same.

And in this alternate universe, his fate wasn’t any different either.

Renegade slipped quietly into his secret hideout and removed his mask. He grabbed his work phone and smirked when he saw his client's payment and ten million dollars deposited into one of his many bank accounts.

This contract, too, has been completed. I've taken down the most dangerous and influential Italian mafias in the world, provided the prosecutors with the evidence they needed to solve some of the most notorious and unsolved mafia-related cases, and reduced the international crime rate by a few more percent.

He quickly changed into his civilian clothes and fell into bed, sighing contentedly at the soft material.

During the contract, The Talon encountered a few problems and unexpected events, mostly related to how the Italian mafias began to collaborate with each other once they realized Renegade was there to exterminate them all. Not to mention the brief trips to other countries, given that the Italian mafias had strong influence literally everywhere.

This forced Dick to extend the mission by two weeks, but in the end, he prevailed.

As always, after all.

He pulled out his civilian phone, noticing that he had several unread messages and that there were several still unheard ones on his answering machine.

This was because the last few days had been very hectic for numerous reasons, and so he rarely had a moment of peace that allowed him to look at his civilian phone.

First, he answered the unread messages from his children, and even from Conner and some younger heroes he had mentored. Next, the assassin moved on to the messages left on his answering machine, discovering that most of them were from Jason.

He listened to them one by one and chuckled at the updates Jason was giving him: about how much of an ass Bruce was, his last grade in chemistry, and more. He played Jason's last answering machine message, left three days earlier.

“Hey, Dickhead. I recently found out that Catherine wasn't my biological mother but a doctor named Sheila Haywood, who works in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. That's wonderful news! I still have a living mother, and I can't wait to meet her! You know, Bruce's at work and doesn't know about all this yet, and I'll tell him once he gets home.

“Alfie promised me that Bruce would take me to meet Sheila, and damn, I'm so excited! I mean, I still have a mother! That's amazing! I know you're probably busy slaughtering all the Italian mobsters right now but, um, please call me back as soon as you can. I haven't heard from you at all in the last few days and… I miss you so much, Dickie. So don't die permanently and get your ass back here because I have a Mario Kart rematch to redeem, okay?”

“Oh, Bruce just got back! I have to run and tell him the wonderful news! Call me as soon as you get a chance, okay? I love you, Dickie.”

Dick felt his heart melt at Jason's words. “I love you too, Little Wing.” he muttered and pressed the call button.

In Italy it was almost night and, since Italy was six hours ahead of the United States, in Gotham it was already late afternoon.

He listened to several rings and frowned slightly when his little brother's voicemail came on. The acrobat turned off the call and shrugged.

Maybe he's busy studying or something. The little nerd.

Dick put the phone down and lay down on his bed, intent on getting a few hours of well-earned rest.

Tomorrow he had a long plane ride and, well, he couldn't wait to see all his kids again.

So Dick went to sleep, unaware that his world was about to be violently turned upside down in one of the worst ways possible.

Chapter Text

Jason was dead.

Jason Peter Todd-Wayne was dead.

Jason, Dick's little brother, the nerdiest boy the acrobat had ever met, was dead.

Dick would never see his little brother again.

Dick would never hear his giggle again.

Dick would never play video games with him and kick his ass again.

Dick would never hear his little brother chatter about Shakespeare, Jane Austen or any other English author again.

Dick would never hear his little brother call him "Dickhead" or “Dickface” again.

That because his little brother was dead.

While Dick was busy exterminating the Italian mafia.

And to add salt to the wound, Dick had also missed his little brother's funeral.

It was Alfred who had called Dick.

Alfred.

Not Bruce.

And that pissed off the assassin.

Yet at that moment Dick felt nothing but sadness, pain, suffering.

The mercenary was kneeling in front of Jason's grave and had placed flowers on it, his broken blue eyes staring at the damned writings his brain had memorized since the first moment he saw them.

Jason Peter Todd-Wayne

Beloved son, brother, nephew and friend.

Dick swallowed hard, his throat dry and his arm moving away from the headstone with a decidedly slower movement than usual.

It didn't help that he had been standing in the incessant rain for about half an hour and was freezing to death, soaked from head to toe.

Cold which was one of his weaknesses, slowing his movements.

Dick ignored the cold, the numbness caused by the cold and the rain, the way his body was much weaker than usual and constantly shivering, and everything else.

“I-I’m sorry, Jason.” he croaked in a hoarse, broken voice. He leaned over the cold marble headstone, barely holding back a shiver. “I should have been there. I shouldn’t have gone to Italy. If I hadn’t been there and if I had stayed in Gotham, you would be-”

Alive.

Dick couldn’t even say the word aloud.

His chest was completely consumed by an immense sense of guilt that was eating away at every millimeter of his body.

Dick still didn’t know exactly what had happened. As soon as he learned of the horrible tragedy, he had immediately rushed to Wayne Manor and Alfred had told him that Jason had been buried in the Manor’s garden, next to Bruce’s parents.

The acrobat didn’t let him say anything else: without even going down to the cave to meet Bruce, he had sprinted to his little brother’s grave.

And he had remained there the entire time, even when it began to rain incessantly.

“I feel broken, Jason. I'm so close to falling apart that it's impossible to put into words. I feel a huge hole in my chest. I feel a huge emptiness inside me. It's consuming me. Every fiber of my being. Every millimeter of my body is agonizing. In pain. In agony. I'm sad. Grieving. Devastated. Lost without you. Pissed off at Bruce for not protecting you. At me for not being here by your side. At the entire universe for allowing such a thing to happen.

“The only time my world has been completely turned upside down in such a horrific and traumatizing way was when I witnessed my parents die in front of me. Part of me died with my parents and all the horrors of the Court of Owls. Another part of me died with you, little brother. I… I…”

Dick's shoulders began to shake violently, both from the cold and from the emotional pain.

“I miss you so much it hurts. It's like I'm back with the Owls and Cobb has broken me mentally and physically and burned me alive and impaled me and cut off my limbs and shot me and stabbed me and killed me in so many other inhumane and horrible ways times ten. I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to go back to those bastards if it meant you're still alive.

“I miss everything about you, Jay. Your little laugh and the way your eyes lit up and your shit-eating grin and how we both complained about Bruce and called him an ass and your passion for school and your nerdiness and your English literature quotes and-”

Dick paused to breathe and ran a hand over his face, not even trying to blink away the tears streaming down his face.

“I’m so sorry, Jason. I’m sorry for not being here when you needed me. I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for missing your funeral. I’m sorry for everything. If I’d been there for you, when you needed me, if I hadn’t gone to Italy, you-” Dick clenched his jaw, a look of pure regret, hatred and self-loathing crossing his face. “You’d still be alive.” he whispered, his voice lost in the rain.

His wet hair fell limply forward and Dick shivered intensely. He fell into a violent coughing fit that lasted for a few seconds, and when it subsided, he grazed the marble of the gravestone with his fingers, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat.

“Jay… fuck, you were so young. Only sixteen. You had your whole life ahead of you. You were the last person in the world who deserved death. Even though I still don't know the details and I don't know what the hell happened to you, I'll find out very soon. And I promise I will avenge you, little brother. I swear I will make your killer pay. Whoever took you from me and from this world is running out of time. I will torture them in the worst, most inhumane ways possible, and I will enjoy every second of it. I will make them regret being born, and most of all, regretting taking you.”

Dick’s broken gaze never left his little brother’s gravestone, and the mercenary caressed the photo of a smiling Jason with a tender, feather-light touch.

“I love you, Little Wing.”

Dick remained in the rain for another twenty minutes or so.

After that, he didn’t return to Wayne Manor, knowing that if he did, he would most likely beat Bruce, even in his weakened state. So, he rode his motorcycle from Gotham to New York, unaware that he had risked several accidents.

Dick still didn't want to know the identity of his little brother's killer, because otherwise he wouldn't hesitate to locate, torture and kill them.

That could wait a little longer.

At that moment, the mercenary didn't need revenge or to quench his bloodlust, but rather reassurance and comfort.

And since Diana still hadn't returned from her space mission -the thought of revealing to her that her nephew in all but blood had been murdered made him almost vomit- there was only one person in the entire world who could do it.

And so it was that Dick knocked on the door of the house where he had grown up.

Slade wasn't expecting a visitor and was wary of who it might be. When he opened the door, his eye widened in shock and immediately concern washed over him.

His adopted son looked, for lack of a better word, like complete shit. He was soaked from head to toe, and this only increased his concern, knowing the cold would weaken him.

What made the super soldier's heart stop briefly was when he realized the light in Dick's blue eyes was gone.

Slade quickly ushered him inside and spent the next few minutes changing his son's clothes and warming him up. The entire time, neither of them spoke at all, and Slade simply watched his son, mentally cataloging all the alarm bells ringing in his head.

The light in his eyes is absent. The look in his eyes is as empty and broken as I've ever seen him. He hasn't said a single word. His movements are more robotic than usual.

After making some hot chocolate and handing it to the twenty-two-year-old, Slade sat down next to his son on the couch and watched him silently, his heart aching at Dick's unusual appearance and demeanor.

"What happened, kiddo?" Slade asked softly, his gray eyes fixed on the acrobat.

Dick's blue eyes, so broken and lifeless, slowly shifted toward him. "Y-You don't know?" he croaked hoarsely.

"Know what?"

A glint of anger and fury crossed Dick's expression but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Slade was still pleased.

It was better to see Dick feel some semblance of emotion, even negative ones, than to see him as if he were a damned robot.

"Jason is dead."

Slade's eye widened in shock.

And his heart broke, as he could only imagine his son's pain.

Of course, Slade was also saddened by this tragedy, knowing Jason and growing fond of the boy, but Dick was much closer to him.

Dick told him what little he knew.

That Jason had died a few days earlier.

That it wasn't Bruce who informed Dick, but Alfred.

And apparently they had both missed the funeral, as no one had contacted Slade about this horrible tragedy.

The super soldier felt rage clawing fiercely at his chest, begging for release against that bastard Wayne for not speaking out about Jason's death. The man quickly pushed that anger aside, knowing his son needed him right now.

"Oh, kiddo." Slade murmured and wrapped Dick in a tight embrace, his heart breaking as he felt him shiver.

It was definitely a mix of cold and emotional pain.

Dick cried and vented for hours.

Slade comforted Dick every single second, repeatedly reassuring him that it wasn't his fault at all.

Chapter Text

Diana looked up, her eyes heavily reddened, traces of dried tears still visible on her face. "Who's the bastard who killed my nephew?" she croaked, smiling faintly as Dick wiped the tears from her face with a soft touch that made her lean forward slightly.

She had returned from the space mission a few hours earlier while Dick was on his way to Wayne Manor, forcing him to turn around and return to Bludhaven. When he told her of the fateful tragedy, her look transformed into one of utter devastation, horror and pain, which broke the acrobat's heart.

The couple spent the next few hours cuddling and reassuring each other, both feeling the comfort that only the other could provide.

Diana knew her boyfriend so well that she already knew Dick would feel guilty since his little brother had died while he was in Italy on a contract, and she didn't hesitate to tell him over and over again that he wasn't to blame and that he was the last person to blame.

Dick looked at her. "I didn't want to ask for details right away because I needed comfort and to grieve before I was blinded by anger and revenge." he admitted, and after his girlfriend’s understanding nod, he continued. "I'm going to the Manor in a bit. Whoever the bastard is, I'll make them pay in the most inhumane and cruel way possible."

A small glint of satisfaction crossed her eyes. "Break them."

"I will."

“Good.” The Amazon nodded in satisfaction before resting her head on his chest, closing her eyes as his hands began to tenderly caress her hair. “I just… want to be with you a little longer.”

Dick kissed the top of her head softly, his arms tightening slightly around the demigoddess. “I need you too, Princess. I can’t get through… this. Not without you.” He confessed in a broken whisper, burying his head in her hair and inhaling shakily, absentmindedly enjoying her sweet, intoxicating strawberry scent that always managed to stun him.

The princess of Themyscira felt her lower lip begin to tremble but managed to fight the urge to shed more tears.

She had definitely shed too many tears for today.

Diana shifted so she could lift her head and give him a tender kiss on the lips, her thumb gently wiping the teardrops from his paler-than-usual face. "Me too, my warrior. I need you too." she murmured softly, snuggling into him.

The couple spent more hours in each other's arms, exchanging sweet words and gestures of comfort because, in that moment, each was the other's lifeline.

“Is Bruce in the cave?”

Alfred nodded and he placed his hand on the shoulder of the world's most dangerous and lethal mercenary, drawing his attention. “I ask you kindly not to be too hard on Master Bruce, dear boy. He's been through a lot.”

“I can't promise that, Alfie.”

Dick regretted his words when he noticed a pained look cross the man's face.

It seemed as if Alfred had aged twenty years in the last few days. The wrinkles on his face were more prominent, and his blue eyes were duller than usual, surrounded by dark circles and more wrinkles.

The assassin felt his chest tighten painfully for the man before him.

Not only had Alfred had to deal with the death of Jason, his grandson in all but blood, whom he had watched grow up and raised himself over the past few years, but he had also had to deal with a Bruce who was darker, quieter and more brooding than usual.

Alfred didn't deserve all these burdens at all.

Perhaps Dick could ease some of it, starting with the billionaire in the cave.

The twenty-two-year-old sighed wearily. "Look, I'll do my best not to attack him in any way, okay?"

Alfred gave him a weak smile, his eyes showing a faint hint of gratitude. Dick nodded and headed toward the Batcave, reaching it in seconds.

He wasn't at all surprised to find Batman hunched over in the chair in front of the Batcomputer, nor that the man had reverted to his old habits.

Namely, sinking deeper into the darkness, pushing everyone away.

"Hey, Uncle B."

Nothing.

Not even a grunt of greeting.

Dick sighed and approached with deliberately loud steps, positioning himself next to the man.

Now came the hardest part.

Ask what happened to Jason.

Sure, he could have asked Alfred or hacked the Batcomputer and found out for himself, but it seemed only right that Bruce himself tell him what the hell had happened.

“Bruce, can we talk for a moment?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

Dick rolled his eyes and swiveled his chair, forcing the vigilante to stare at him. He smiled bitterly, unconcerned by the Bat-glare he received. “See? It wasn’t that hard.”

Batman stood up abruptly, sending his chair back a few meters. He loomed over the mercenary, his white eyes fixed coldly on him. “What do you want, Renegade?”

The anti-hero lost his smile and returned the menacing glare. "Don't you dare try to threaten or scare me, Bruce. We both know you've never scared me and you never will." The bat-glare increased a notch and the younger man narrowed his eyes. "I want to talk to Bruce Wayne. The real you. Not Batman. Not the mask."

Batman stared at him coldly for a few tense seconds before lowering his hood.

Dick had never seen him so tired and worn.

The man's face had lost some color and was slightly gaunter than usual, his blue eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by heavy dark circles that clearly indicated that he was barely sleeping.

But what worried the acrobat most was the fact that the sparkle in Bruce's eyes, the same sparkle he'd regained after Dick's temporary residence in the Manor, bringing light back into his life, the same sparkle heightened by Jason's constant presence, was gone.

Dick's gaze and posture softened.

I can't be angry with him. He's a grieving father. There's no getting over such a tragedy.

"What happened, B?"

Bruce stared at him with an inscrutable gaze for a long silence. Finally, his shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh of pain. "Jason had discovered that Catherine wasn't his biological mother but that a certain Sheila Haywood was, a doctor who was still alive and working in a refugee camp in Ethiopia."

The use of the past tense did not escape Dick but he did not interrupt him, letting him speak freely.

“Jason asked me to take him to Ethiopia to meet his mother. I…” Bruce’s jaw tightened and a look of anger and self-hatred crossed his face, worrying the younger man. “I refused.”

“Why?”

“Because it was too dangerous. If I took him there, I could only do it as Bruce Wayne, not as Batman. I couldn’t defend him properly if something happened to him.”

His reasoning was flawless. But Dick knew his little brother and his occasionally reckless attitude, and he knew Jason wouldn’t give up so easily.

He feared he knew the broad outlines of what had happened.

“What happened next?”

“While I was on patrol and while Alfred briefly returned to the Manor, Jason stole the Batplane and drove to Ethiopia.”

Dick felt the world around him fall apart.

After Slade and Diana repeatedly told him that it wasn't his fault Jason died and that he couldn't do anything about it because he was on another continent, Dick began to believe it.

But this belief fell like a house of cards.

It was Dick who had stolen the Batplane with Jason several times and taught him how to fly it.

This means that it was Dick's fault that Jason flew to Ethiopia where he was presumably killed.

If Dick hadn't taught him how to fly the Batplane, none of this would have happened.

Jason would still be alive.

And this was a burden in Dick's dark soul that he would carry for the rest of his life.

The meta-human took a deep breath, pushing down his guilt. “What happened in Ethiopia?”

Bruce was silent for a few seconds, his hands clenching into fists, which the acrobat noticed. “Sheila worked for the Joker and betrayed Jason.”

“W-What?”

“The Joker beat Jason with a crowbar, causing broken ribs, a concussion and a punctured lung. He then left him and Sheila in a warehouse where there was a bomb. The explosion killed them both.”

Dick staggered sideways, physically having to brace himself against the cave wall to keep from falling to the ground. He used a breathing technique Slade had taught him many years ago, trying to push away the horrible mental images that flashed through his head.

His little brother beaten to death with a fucking crowbar by the damned Clown Prince of Crime and blown up by a bomb-

Dick turned just in time to vomit the contents of his stomach into the trash can. He absently heard a series of silent footsteps and the rustling of a cloak, and initially tensed as large, strong hands gently massaged his back, but then he relaxed.

Moments later, the mercenary took a deep breath, straightened, and turned, fixing the billionaire with a look of fierce determination. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to torture him in the most inhumane, cruel ways imaginable, and there’ll be nothing left of him.” He growled dangerously, gold replacing the blue in his eyes.

Bruce returned his gaze with an unreadable look. “I know.”

“Will you stop me?”

There was a brief pause as the two men stared at each other in tense silence.

“I couldn’t stop you if I tried.”

Dick gave him a sharklike grin. “You’re damn right. Now answer me a question. Why didn’t you kill the damn bastard? I mean, I know you don’t kill, and as you already know, I respect you for that, but this is your son we’re talking about. I wouldn’t blame you if you’d snapped his neck.”

Dick had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

On the one hand, he was pissed off with Bruce for not killing the psychopathic clown and there was apparently no reason in the world why Batman would break the no-kill rule, not even against his son's murderer. On the other hand, he was glad, because otherwise Bruce would have drowned in darkness forever and Dick doubted the man would have been able to escape it this time.

The vigilante looked away. "I would have killed him."

The Talon's eyes widened briefly at the revelation. "What stopped you?"

"Superman."

"WHAT?"

How ironic. Clark couldn't go on the space mission because he'd recently been injured with kryptonite, so he stayed on Earth, preventing his best friend from breaking his number one rule.

"Superman stopped me because the Joker became the UN ambassador to Iran and if I killed him, tensions between the US and Iran would skyrocket."

Dick blinked slowly, his brain processing the man's words a couple of times.

Had he heard correctly?

"How the hell did that mentally ill, psychopathic bastard become the UN ambassador to Iran?" he blurted out furiously.

"I haven't the slightest idea."

Dick stared at his uncle, who looked more like a broken, shattered ghost than a living man, for a few seconds before sighing and placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault Jason died, B." he stated softly.

It's all my fault.

Bruce's gaze quickly closed and he shrugged off his hand, to no surprise from the younger man. "Don't lie to me, Dick. It's my fault. If I'd accompanied him to Ethiopia-"

"Maybe you both would have died. Maybe Sheila would have betrayed him and sold him to the Joker the moment you'd given them some privacy. Maybe you'd be the only one who died trying to save him." Dick interrupted before softening. "You can't know that. It's not your fault at all. You did your best to try to save him."

"My best was insufficient." Bruce growled, his face revealing pain, guilt and suffering. "I was late. I saw the warehouse explode in front of me. I cradled his broken body." he stated, his voice cracking.

To Dick's utter surprise, tears began to well up in the vigilante's eyes. He wrapped the man in a tight embrace, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as Bruce sagged weakly against him. “It’s not your fault, Uncle B. Let it go. Cry. Let it all out. I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.” he whispered, resting his chin on his uncle’s head and closing his eyes to keep from shedding more tears.

And Bruce did as he was told.

He cried.

“I’m sorry.” Bruce muttered, pulling away from his nephew.

Dick frowned. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t-”

“I wasn’t referring to that.” The man grunted and looked away guiltily. “You missed the funeral. And it was my fault.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Dick asked softly.

The man shook his head weakly. “I couldn’t do it. And you know how I handle my emotions. I withdraw into myself. I push everyone away.”

“You’re the worst, dude.” the acrobat teased, slightly relieved when he received a faint smile.

It was better than nothing.

The anti-hero stared at his uncle with a serious look. “I know the loss has made you more violent. I’ve seen in the news that you break more criminal’s bones, even the most common ones like thieves and small-time drug dealers. I know you’ve become more self-destructive and passively suicidal. I know you’ve practically reverted to old habits because of all the pain and suffering you’re experiencing. Just… please, don’t get yourself killed on patrol. I can’t lose my uncle too. Please.” he whispered weakly, casting him a pleading look.

“I… I can’t promise you that. I’m sorry.”

Dick’s gaze broke but regained composure almost instantly. “You have a lot of people who love you and care about you. We would all be devastated if anything were to happen to you. Just… call me if you need anything, okay?” The billionaire nodded slowly and the assassin gave him a small smile. “I have to go now. See you soon, I think.”

The acrobat turned and started to walk out of the cave but stopped at Bruce's voice.

“Dick.”

“Yes, Bruce?”

Pause.

“Make him suffer.”

A menacing, dangerous smile. “With great pleasure.”

“So? How did it go with Bruce?” Diana murmured, tenderly rubbing Dick’s scalp, his head resting in her lap.

“Better than I expected. I didn’t even punch him in the face.” her boyfriend joked, then told her everything.

A spark of fierce anger exploded in her chest. “You want company to torture that bastard?”

The mercenary chuckled lightly. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll do it alone. I don’t want you to see the worst side of me.”

Diana frowned and glanced at him. “The worst side of you, or at least what you consider to be that, is giving the worst scum what they deserve. I could never hate that side of you.”

“Just… let me do it alone, okay?”

Wonder Woman stared at him for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. “Fine.” she grumbled disgruntledly. “Show that bastard how cruel and ruthless Renegade can be.”

“I will definitely do it. There will be nothing left of him.”

The demigoddess nodded contentedly at his promise, smiling slightly when she felt him purr softly at her soft touch on his scalp.

The most dangerous and lethal mercenary on Earth and he is the cuddliest person I know. One of the many reasons I love him.

“When will you track down Joker?”

“I'll start tomorrow. I don't care if that son of a bitch is ambassador to Iran, I'll make him regret every choice he's made in life. And if any other Iranian representative complains, I'll send them the Joker's head in a package.”

Diana snorted in amusement before grimacing. “Get him as soon as possible. I won't be able to resist if I run into him at work with the UN.”

“He won't get away this time.” Dick promised and snuggled closer to his girlfriend, letting out a blissful sigh at the wonderful feeling of warmth and love. “But that can wait until tomorrow. All I want right now is to cuddle and stay with you for the rest of the day.”

The Amazon softened, her tender, loving gaze fixed on his form. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. I love you more than anything in the entire universe, my warrior.”

“I love you infinitely, too, Princess.”

Chapter Text

Renegade had located Joker.

The psychopathic clown had returned to Gotham, presumably to mock Batman for killing the adopted son of the White Knight, the most important and influential man in the entire city, unaware that they were one and the same.

The Clown Prince of Crime was more arrogant and reckless than Dick expected, if the Joker actually thought he could return to Gotham without becoming the target of the fury of the most ruthless, lethal and dangerous mercenary on Earth.

Renegade stood completely still and silent on a beam inside one of Gotham's endless warehouses, watching below him as the Joker paced back and forth like some sort of general in front of twenty or so of his men, all dressed and made up like clowns.

The Joker surely had another of his crazy plans in mind.

This time, however, he won't carry it out.

All Dick wanted at that moment was to grab a gun and shoot Joker in the head but that was a quick, painless death that the clown was the last person in the world who deserved.

So reluctantly, the assassin grabbed a couple of small grenades containing sleeping gas and threw them down. He then donned his rebreather as he watched the sleeping gas being released into the air, forcing the criminals to fall asleep like bowling pins one after another.

The Talon tapped his holographic glove and sent a signal to Batman so he could deal with the Joker’s henchmen. The acrobat easily descended to the ground and grabbed the sleeping Joker, dragging him roughly away.

The first part of the plan is complete. Now comes the best part.

Renegade had been staring at the unconscious figure of Joker tied to a chair for a few minutes now, a fierce rage clawing at his chest, begging to be released against that bastard.

However, Dick knew he had to wait for the bastard to wake up so he could experience firsthand all the horrors and worst tortures the world's most dangerous assassin would inflict on him.

The acrobat had to wait a few more minutes for the clown to wake up, hating how those damned red lips curled into a mad smile.

“Little Ren! Long time no see!” the madman greeted him as if they were two old friends. “Although it's been a while since you've been so little, huh?” he mused lazily with a chuckle that only further increased Dick's hatred for him. “You know, if you wanted to have some fun with Uncle J, you didn't have to try so hard! All it took was a phone call!”

Renegade was silent for a few seconds before sending him a shark-like grin. “Laugh while you can. Because all you'll ever know is pain and suffering.”

The Joker burst out laughing as if the assassin had just told him the funniest joke ever. “Do you really think a bratty, insolent kid like you could scare me?” he asked with a huge grin on his face, his eyes shining with madness and evil.

The mercenary returned the grin. “Yes. Why else have you disappeared from the face of the Earth these past few years? Because I know you're terrified of me, especially when you knew Batman would let me kill you if I found you.”

The Joker's smile faltered slightly and became more tense than usual. “My Batsy would never let you do that.”

The antihero looked up from beneath his mask at the madman's obvious unhealthy and sick obsession and possessiveness over the vigilante. “Batman couldn't stop me if he tried. Anyway, stop talking. All I want right now is to hear you scream.” he growled low and menacing, walking away briefly.

When he returned, he had a crowbar in his hands. The Joker's eyes wandered over the weapon for a few seconds before a crazed grin returned to his face. "Oh! That's nice! I see you learned how to torture from the best! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Renegade growled and swung the crowbar forcefully across the clown's chest, enjoying the cracking of broken ribs. The Joker gasped in pain and then burst into laughter.

"Nice shot! Another one, please!"

The assassin gave him a dark smile. "With pleasure."

And with that, he struck him again, this time on the left arm, which gave way with a cracking sound. With his free hand, Renegade grabbed his green hair, abruptly yanking the supervillain's head upward, forcing his mad green eyes to meet masked white ones.

“You killed a boy. He was only 16. He was my little brother.

“And now I will enjoy every single second of your torture. I will break you physically. I will break you mentally. You will beg for mercy. You will beg for death. And I will laugh in your face as I continue to break every single bone in your body. My laughter will haunt you forever, even in death. You will never be able to shake the sound of my voice, not even when you will be dead. I will haunt you for the rest of your time in Hell as you roam there. You will remember every pain I inflict upon you. You will vividly remember every single second of your torture.”

Dick noticed a glimmer of something he couldn't identify cross the Joker's eyes but it disappeared almost instantly, giving way to the older man's usual smirk. “Nice threatening speech! You can become my assistant and write these speeches for me! I'm going to need them for my Batsy!”

The mercenary snarled and struck him with another blow of the crowbar, this time breaking his right kneecap.

The Joker's pained scream quickly turned into a crazed cackle. "I'll pay you! I swear! HAHAHAHA-"

The laughter was interrupted when the clown was hit hard in the face, knocking out a tooth, forcing him to spit out blood. The Joker licked the blood from his lips, which curved into a huge smile, a knowing look in his eyes.

“I hit Jason a lot harder than that. His name was Jason, right?”

Dick felt a fiery rage boiling fiercely in his chest and he began to vibrate with rage, his teeth clattering together. His grip on the crowbar tightened so tightly that the acrobat felt the weapon's material begin to give way under his superhuman strength, forcing him to loosen his grip.

At that moment, the assassin wanted nothing more than to beat the Joker with the crowbar again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again-

Until he stopped breathing.

But that was too quick and painless a death.

A death the Joker didn't deserve at all.

How many people has the Joker killed and ruined over the years?

How many families has he destroyed?

How many people has he traumatized?

Only because, in his insane mind, it was funny.

Was it funny to watch people literally die laughing from lack of oxygen due to Joker venom?

Was it funny to kill innocents?

Was it funny to destroy families?

Was it funny to fill a city of millions with numerous bombs that could explode at any moment?

Was it funny to push Batman to the limit over and over again in an attempt to break him?

Was it funny to torture a sixteen-year-old boy, Jason, Dick's little brother, with a fucking crowbar and blow him up in the air?

Renegade let out a wry chuckle, shaking his head. “You know, you almost had me. I was tempted to kill you on the spot. Unfortunately for you, I have far more self-control than anyone in the entire world, so I won't honor you with a quick death.”

The Joker pouted, but his usual smirk betrayed him. “Aww! And here I thought-”

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a vicious punch to the face that shattered his nose, sending the sound of snapping cartilage echoing throughout the warehouse. The Joker screamed in pain as his chair fell backward to the floor, blood spraying all over his pale face.

Renegade loomed over the fallen figure, a predatory grin playing on his lips. “Do you know what one of the infinite differences between you and me is?” he asked casually as he dropped the crowbar to the floor with a clang.

The Joker’s eyes briefly flicked to the crowbar before he fixed his gaze on the assassin, his crazed smirk failing to completely hide the distrust that crossed his expression. “Is this a joke? Say yes, please! I love jokes!”

“No. It’s not a joke.”

Renegade grabbed one of his swords strapped to his back and swung it with a mastery unmatched in the world. He knelt before the downed clown and removed his mask.

Bright gold eyes met wide green ones.

Dick smirked, savoring the moment of fear the Joker displayed, evidenced by his heart beating a little faster.

“One of the infinite differences between us is that, while you torture to kill, I torture to break.”

“What the hell-”

With lightning-fast, superhuman speed, Renegade, taking advantage of the moment when Joker's mouth was open as he spoke, thrust his sword into the supervillain's mouth, careful not to go too deep. The Joker instantly froze, his mouth wide open while his eyes widened even further.

“Stick your tongue out as far as you can.”

Joker stared at him with wide green eyes, and because of the cold blade in his mouth, he could only make incomprehensible strangled noises.

"Do as I say or I'll start by cutting off your dick."

Dick thoroughly enjoyed both the look of pure terror, fear and horror filling the clown's eyes and his heart beating faster than a sprinter's during the 100-meter race. He smirked as the Clown Prince of Crime extended his tongue to its fullest extent.

The Joker made strangled, choked and panicked noises of pain as blood suddenly sprayed violently in all directions, his body twitching nervously.

Renegade stepped back and wiped the clown's blood from his face. He held up the Joker's tongue, dangling it in front of its owner like a gift, and smirked, his golden eyes twinkling. "You know, I'm having a bit of a deja vu right now. Did you know I also cut out Ra's al Ghul's tongue many years ago before drowning him in a modified version of his own Lazarus Pit?" he casually revealed.

The Joker's eyes were wide and frantic, a glint of pure fear and terror filling them. He could only make strangled, panicked sounds.

The world's most ruthless and brutal assassin let out a satisfied murmur. "No more laughter from the mighty Joker. I'm not sorry I ruined your trademark, buddy."

He then let out his signature cackle, which echoed eerily throughout the warehouse. The acrobat burst into laughter at the psychopathic clown's terrified gasp and shook his head with an amused grin.

"AH! I just scared the fucking Joker with my creepy laugh! One of the best days of my life!"

The world's greatest mercenary threw the Joker's tongue to the ground and crushed it with his boot, reducing it to thousands of little pieces of flesh and blood that sprayed in all directions. He enjoyed the clown's gasp and turned to him with his best innocent smile.

“It didn’t even take me half an hour and I already broke you. You’re weak and pathetic.” He ignored the indignant, strangled sounds the Joker made and approached him with his most disturbing, frightening smile, his golden eyes lighting up noticeably. “Look on the bright side, buddy.

“This is just the beginning. We’ll have so much time together. We’ll have so much fun together. That’s a promise.”

Three days.

Renegade tortured the Joker for three whole days, with brief pauses.

The mercenary clenched his right hand into a fist, crushing the Joker's left eyeball, causing blood to spray violently everywhere. He smirked at the deranged clown, enjoying his squeak of fear, and surveyed his condition.

The Joker's right arm had been severed as had all five fingers on his left hand. His face was covered in dark bruises and cuts, and blood was pouring profusely from his temple, the back of his neck, and across his entire face. His lip and nose were split, as were many of his ribs and bones courtesy of the crowbar. He was missing numerous teeth, several knives protruded from his legs, and his head was dangling from the side due to numerous waterboarding and electroshock sessions with escrima sticks.

And, to top it all off, Dick had just gouged out his left eye with a knife.

Right after he'd cut off his dick with the sword.

God, he loved torturing the worst scum of the Earth with every fiber of his being. Especially hearing their screams of pain and mercy -or, in this case, strangled, panicked sounds- was music to his ears.

Dick had made sure to treat the Joker just enough to keep him from bleeding to death and ruining his fun.

After all, he was trained by the best assassins in the world on how to torture people without letting them die.

The acrobat looked into the Joker's eyes and fully savored the glint of pure terror and dread he felt towards him.

He had accomplished his goal.

To break the Joker once and for all.

To make him experience the true meaning of fear and terror firsthand.

Dick absentmindedly twirled two knives between his fingers, staring at the Joker with a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered how to prolong his torture, when suddenly his phone rang. He grabbed it and answered the call. “Hey, honey.”

"Are you done with that bastard?"

“Nope.” he replied, clicking his tongue. “I'm really enjoying torturing him. It's definitely therapeutic.”

A soft laugh rang out from the other line, making his chest flutter with warmth. “As much as I want Joker to continue to suffer, I miss being with you, my warrior.”

The assassin murmured in recognition. He glanced briefly at the broken form of Joker, who could die at any moment. “I suppose you’re right. I doubt he has any more blood to spill.” he joked, loving the sound of Diana’s laughter. “I’ll be home in two hours at most. See you later, Princess. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The Talon put away his phone and his knives. He cracked his knuckles with a menacing grin at the clown. “Well, you’re in luck, buddy. You’ve finally reached the end of the line. Now I’m going to strangle you with my own hands and enjoy the last moments of your panicked life, the light in your eyes -ops, I meant eye- slowly fading.”

Renegade lunged forward and punched him in the face with a vicious punch, enjoying the crack of his broken cheekbone, sending him falling backwards to the floor with the chair. He pinned the clown to the ground and wrapped his hands around his throat, starting to apply pressure.

He lowered his golden eyes to his face, ignoring the blood spattering his armor, and let out an inhuman growl as the pressure increased.

“Die, bastard. You got what you deserved. And now you will rot in Hell for eternity.”

And a few seconds later, the light gradually faded from the Joker's remaining eye.

Dick could finally breathe.

It was over.

The Clown Prince of Crime's reign of terror was over forever.

Justice and vengeance had been served.

Because Dick was a dramatic asshole, he had the Joker's severed head delivered directly to the Gotham Police Station. That, and he hid several pieces of the Joker's body throughout the city, so much so that it would take months, if not years, to find them all.

He returned to his mansion in Bludhaven, simply smiled at Diana and wrapped her in his arms.

"It's over."

Chapter Text

News of the Joker's death spread rapidly and became public knowledge within seconds.

How could the death of the most psychopathic and insane killer of all time not go viral worldwide?

Gotham threw a week-long citywide celebration, and virtually all of her millions of residents celebrated the death of their most dangerous supervillain in the streets.

The news that Renegade had killed the Joker spread just as quickly: after all, what other anti-hero assassin could have killed the psychopathic clown in such a brutal manner that his severed head was delivered to the Gotham City Police Department and the rest of his body scattered across the city?

In fact, several pieces of Joker's body had yet to be found.

The whole world was celebrating Joker's death.

Everyone except Iran, that is.

In fact, shortly after Joker killed Jason, the crazy serial killer had become Iran's ambassador in a way that no one had yet figured out how the hell it was possible.

This forced Superman to stop Batman from killing the Joker to avoid potential diplomatic problems.

Iran was, to say the least, pissed off by the death of their ambassador and had publicly called for Renegade's arrest and execution.

As if a trivial execution were enough to permanently kill the world's best assassin.

Iran's announcement sparked international controversy and virtually the entire global public sided with Renegade, accusing Iran of favoring the most insane and murderous supervillain in history over an antihero who had been reducing crime rates across the planet for years.

Needless to say, Renegade's popularity, though already high and with millions of supporters, only grew significantly after he killed the Joker.

This global debate raged for a few weeks and created two camps: those who argued that Iran had every right to carry out the arrest and execution of the world's most ruthless and lethal mercenary and those who defended him, claiming that he had prevented thousands, if not millions, of deaths that would have occurred had the Joker continued to live.

The debate ended when Renegade himself shot a live video to the world in which he accused Iran's top leaders of appointing a psychopathic and insane murderer as their ambassador, who had caused widespread death and destruction, ruined numerous families and lives, and he literally threatened to kill them if they did not put an end to this stupid and senseless debate.

No one was surprised when Iran dropped the charges against Renegade.

Several months had passed since the Joker's death and the entire Iran debate.

And also since Jason's death.

Dick still wasn't completely healed -it was impossible to fully heal from his little brother's death: an emotional scar would follow him for the rest of his life- but he was on the right path, thanks to the crucial support of Diana and Slade first and foremost.

The acrobat was currently snuggled blissfully with Diana on the couch, and they were idly flipping through the TV channels. The Talon was curled up next to his girlfriend, loving the feeling of warmth that only she could give him. Diana's arm was around his shoulders, pulling him closer, while she held the remote in her other hand.

The couple was immersed in a relaxing, domestic silence, occasionally broken by the soft sounds of tender kisses exchanged along with other affectionate gestures, both more than happy to enjoy each other's presence and this small, intimate moment.

Dick's eyes were closed, but he snapped them open when his enhanced hearing caught specific words coming from the television. Diana, however, had already changed the channel, and he told her to turn it back, which she did.

They both stared wide-eyed at the announcement the news was making.

“-Wayne, after a legal battle against the Drakes, one of Gotham's wealthiest families and owners of the multi-million-dollar Drake Industries company, wins and obtains legal custody of their only son and heir: Timothy Jackson Drake. His adoption occurred months after the tragic death of the White Knight's first adopted son, Jason Peter Todd. The question everyone is wondering right now is-”

The reporter's voice cut off abruptly as the television screen instantly went black. The Amazon put down the remote and turned to her boyfriend, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “I think it’s about time we paid a visit to Wayne Manor.”

Dick sighed wearily and nodded at her. “Sure.”

Uncle B, what the fuck did you do?

“Master Dick. Miss Prince. I’m not surprised you’re here.” Alfred Pennyworth stated, stepping aside to allow the couple into Wayne Manor.

Dick greeted him with a brief hug. “It’s good to see you again, Alfie.”

Diana sent him a grateful, courteous nod. “Thank you for welcoming us on such short notice, Mr. Pennyworth.”

“Nonsense. You two are always welcome here at Wayne Manor.”

“I assume you know the reason for our visit.” the Amazon continued, giving the butler a meaningful look.

The older man nodded without revealing any emotion. “Master Bruce and Master Tim are down in the Batcave right now.”

The couple froze in place, staring at him in surprise and shock. “Has Bruce already told him his secret?” the acrobat exclaimed in disbelief.

“Although Master Tim’s adoption was only publicly announced today, he had in fact been living at Wayne Manor for much longer.”

The acrobat murmured in recognition, his inquiring eyes fixed on his grandfather. "Does this have anything to do with the Drakes' accusations of child neglect toward their only son and heir that Diana and I recently uncovered?"

"It does, sir."

"Well, at least now I can be sure that it wasn't a last-minute decision, but rather a thoughtful one." The Talon mused aloud.

"For the record, we're just here to meet the new boy." the demigoddess clarified. "And also to see how Bruce is doing."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

The pair then headed to the Batcave, and once there, they quickly spotted what must have been the new child sitting in front of the Batcomputer, his eyes wide in awe.

Blue eyes and black hair? Again? Seriously, B? I hope it's just a coincidence.

"Sup, Uncle B."

The acrobat's casual greeting caught the attention of both Bruce and his new adopted son, and their heads snapped toward the pair. Timothy's eyes, if possible, widened even further, and his mouth dropped comically as his gaze fell on the Amazon's figure.

“Wonder Woman?” he blurted out in shock and confusion.

The woman's smile faltered. She let out a tired sigh and cast a disapproving look at her best friend. “You know it's rude to reveal your friends' secret identities to newly adopted children without their explicit permission, right?”

To her surprise, the billionaire's upper lip rose a few inches. “This time I had nothing to do with it. Tim discovered most of the heroes' identities even before I adopted him.”

Genuine amazement flashed in the couple's eyes and they exchanged a quick, surprised look. “Okay, we're rushing things a little too fast here.” Dick intervened with his usual accommodating smile. He approached the boy and offered him a hand, his eyes bright. “You must be Timothy Drake. It's nice to meet you, buddy. My name is Richard Wilson, but you can call me Dick.”

Timothy's eyes widened and Dick watched a variety of emotions flash through his eyes: surprise, shock, disbelief and even hope.

Huh. Strange. I won't push him, though. Not now that I've just met him.

The boy's face quickly returned to normal and he returned the twenty-two-year-old's handshake. "You can call me Tim." he offered shyly.

Dick swallowed heavily.

Tim reminds me a lot of Jason. Not just because of his physical appearance, but also because of our first meeting. He was quite shy back then, too. God, Jason… I miss you so much, Little Wing…

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Diana approached them, extending her hand to Tim. "And I'm Diana Prince and Wonder Woman, although obviously you apparently already knew that." she said with a small laugh, her eyes shining with curiosity.

The acrobat didn't miss the quick, almost imperceptible shift of the Amazon's eyes toward him, showing her concern for him.

I'm so lucky to have Diana in my life.

An adorable blush appeared on the boy's cheeks, which immediately softened the couple. "It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Prince. You too, Mr. Wilson."

"You can just call us Dick and Diana, buddy." Dick informed him with a gentle smile. "So... how did you know the identity of my beautiful girlfriend?" he asked curiously, chuckling when she rolled her eyes affectionately.

Tim began fidgeting with his hands, shyly averting his gaze as the blush on his cheeks deepened. "Well, I've always been a huge hero fan... one thing led to another... and eventually I figured out the identity of most of them."

Bruce gave a small smile as one of his hands affectionately ruffled his hair. "Don't let his adorable appearance fool you: he's a child prodigy. An absolute genius."

It was no surprise that the boy's entire face was now a deep tomato red.

“Well, it’s still true that most heroes don’t even bother hiding their civilian identities.” Dick intervened with a chuckle. “Uncle Clark and Uncle Ollie first and foremost.” His gaze fell on his new little brother. “Did you figure out the identity of the big bad Bat all by yourself?” he joked, ignoring Bruce’s glare and Diana’s amused snort.

Tim shook his head. “I didn’t have much to work with to figure out Batman’s civilian identity.”

Bruce’s hand rested on his shoulder. “But he is a Batman stalker.” the vigilante stated, his lips twitching in an amused smile. “Apparently Tim has entire Batman photo albums. He took numerous pictures of me without me even realizing he was there.”

Diana’s head snapped toward the boy with such speed that it crunched. “You wandered Gotham from rooftop to rooftop at night just to take pictures of Batman?” she exclaimed, shocked and horrified. “Do you know how dangerous that could have been?”

Dick nudged her side. “Don’t scare the kid, Princess.” he scolded lightly, nodding his head minutely at how Tim had curled up slightly at the Amazon's slight outburst, even though he shared her sentiments. “It’s both admirable and scary, honestly.” A shit-eating grin played across his lips as he looked at his uncle. “And you never even realized you were being spied on by a child? B, you’re slipping further and further into old age.”

Bruce stared at him blankly. “As if you could have done any better.”

The expert assassin smiled and simply pointed to his ear, clearly referring silently to his enhanced hearing capable of hearing heartbeats from over thirty meters away.

The billionaire simply grunted.

Whatever anyone was about to say was interrupted by Tim’s sudden outburst.

“You are Dick Grayson!”

His words shocked everyone, especially the acrobat, who stared at the child with the most shocked, incredulous and surprised look the other two adults had ever seen on him.

Surprising Renegade so much was extremely difficult, to say the least, and apparently Tim had just set the fastest record in history.

The shocked mercenary shifted his gaze to his uncle, but the man's shock mirrored his own was enough to prove to him that Bruce hadn't said anything about it to his adopted son.

It's impossible for anyone to recognize me as Dick Grayson, both because I'm legally dead and because I disappeared when I was only seven years old. No one should be able to remember me, let alone Tim.

The acrobat narrowed his eyes slightly. "And how do you know?" he asked, his voice clearly suspicious.

Everyone noticed how Tim's face lit up noticeably when his theory was confirmed. "Wait here! I'm going to get something!" he exclaimed and, ignoring the acrobat's suspicion, he ran out of the Batcave.

The three adults blinked slowly and looked at each other, clearly confused by what the hell had just happened. "How the hell could that kid recognize the young warrior as Dick Grayson, missing and legally declared dead for over a decade?" Diana asked raising both eyebrows, loudly asking the question everyone was wondering at that moment.

The two men shrugged at the same time, neither able to answer her.

The three had to wait a few minutes when Tim returned to them with a photograph in his hand. He slowed his pace noticeably as he approached Dick and, with obvious hesitation and shyness written all over his face, he handed the photograph to the gym instructor.

Dick grabbed it and a surprised gasp involuntarily escaped his body, barely registering the sounds of surprise emitted by the other two adults who moved closer to get a better look.

The acrobat couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing at that moment.

The photograph showed him, at the tender age of seven, with an enormously bright and radiant smile, holding a baby in his arms who had a smile almost as bright as the little acrobat's, and accompanied by two adults who must have been his parents, who had small smiles on their faces.

Next to little Dick were his parents: John had a hand on his son's shoulder with a proud smile, while Mary was affectionately stroking her son's hair with a loving smile, her blue eyes bright.

“I was there that night.” Tim whispered, swallowing hard when shocked, incredulous blue eyes met his gaze. “Even though I was only a few years old, I remember everything. I remember the happiness I felt when my parents bought me a ticket to the Haly Circus show. I remember the thrill of meeting the famous Flying Graysons, the best acrobats and trapeze artists in the world and the only ones capable of performing a quadruple somersault. I remember the joy when you picked me up and we took a picture together. I remember your promise that you would perform a quadruple somersault for me in that show. I remember when they-” he stopped at Dick’s obvious emotional agony and, for his sake, ignored that part. “I remember the nickname you gave me-”

“Timmy.”

Dick’s whisper of realization was almost lost in the silence of the cave. The mercenary swallowed, his gaze briefly falling on the photograph in his hands before returning to Tim's face, which had just lit up like a Christmas tree.

He had just remembered.

He had just remembered the details Tim had just announced.

Dick didn't remember exactly everything about that night, since it was a miracle in itself that he had regained any memories of his childhood after three years of torture and inhuman deaths at the hands of the Court of Owls.

It was indeed a miracle that Dick remembered, in broad terms, what had happened before his transformation into The Talon.

He clearly remembered his parents' deaths.

Their frightened faces as they realized they were falling to their deaths.

The sickening crunch of breaking bones.

Their corpses.

Their blood.

Their unnaturally bent postures.

A tall, slender figure -William Cobb, his great-grandfather- approached him and tricked him, then kidnapped him and took him to the Owls.

It took him several years to remember that Bruce Wayne, a figure he recognized by his extremely elegant outfit, which was in stark contrast to the location of the show, was also in the circus at the time and was talking to some police officers about what had happened.

However, he didn't remember the Drake family, especially little Timmy.

Until now.

A myriad of memories flashed through Dick's mind at once and he winced slightly in pain as he rubbed his throbbing head with his free hand.

"Dick?"

He shifted his gaze and noticed three pairs of blue eyes, of different shades, staring at him with equally worried eyes.

"It's nothing. It's just... memories that just came flooding back." he informed them with a reassuring smile, hoping to ease their worries. He returned his gaze to the photograph, particularly the smiling, loving figures of his parents, and looked away from them with a lump in his throat. "Can I... can I have a copy of this photo? Please?"

Tim smiled brightly and nodded frantically. “Of course!” he exclaimed quickly. A blush appeared on his face and he scratched the back of his neck timidly. “You know… you were the first friend I ever had. From that day on, you were always my hero. My role model. But then…” his gaze darkened and he stared at him with huge, sad, pain-filled eyes. “You disappeared into thin air. Declared dead. No one had heard from you again.”

A shiver ran down the assassin’s spine and without hesitation he pulled the boy into a tight embrace. Tim melted into his arms, and even though Dick was colder than he remembered, he fully enjoyed the warmth that somehow came from it.

Dick gently rubbed the boy’s back and placed an affectionate kiss on the top of his head. “From this moment on, you are officially my little brother.” He murmured. "I'm going to spoil you so much, Timmy. I'm never going to leave you, sweetheart."

"What happened to you?" Tim asked softly in a low, hesitant whisper, snuggling up to him.

The acrobat closed his eyes, banishing all the traumatic memories that threatened to brutally overwhelm him. His arms tightened lightly around his small figure. "That's a story for another time, buddy." he murmured, hoping Tim wouldn't push further.

Luckily and relieved, Tim didn't, probably aware that whatever had happened to him wasn't pleasant -his new little brother was a genius Dick could already brag about to everyone-.

Dick knew that sooner or later he would have to give Tim a general explanation of what had happened to him.

Dick knew that, sooner or later, he would have to confess to Tim that he was Renegade, the most dangerous, cruel, ruthless and efficient mercenary and assassin in the world.

He feared what Tim's reaction would be.

Tim might hate him and want nothing to do with him. And Dick would accept it, even though it would obviously hurt him greatly, but if that was what Tim wanted, the acrobat would respect it.

But all those were potential problems and worries for another time.

For now, Dick was more than happy to hold his Baby Bird tightly in his arms.

Chapter Text

“What do we have here?”

About twenty criminals gasped at the sudden voice and spun around, their weapons ready to fire, but they froze when they saw the legendary Renegade standing before them.

The mercenary looked around, his smile slipping as he saw several cages containing people of all ages and genders. He felt rage clawing at his chest, begging him to unleash it on those scum.

Human trafficking will always be one of the crimes I hate most.

He let out a ferocious, inhuman growl that echoed eerily and frighteningly throughout the warehouse. “Burn in hell, you bastards.”

With that, the assassin lunged at the criminals, easily dodging the hail of bullets aimed at him thanks to his superhuman speed and reflexes. In about twenty seconds, he killed approximately ten criminals with superhuman punches that pierced their windpipes and slashed their chests.

Renegade crushed a human heart he had grabbed from one criminal in his hands and, ignoring the blood that spattered his armor, lunged at five more criminals, slicing their bodies with a single, swift swing of his swords.

In the end, in less than a full minute, only one criminal remained alive, his face completely pale, his eyes wide, his heart pounding, his entire body trembling, especially the hand holding his gun.

The assassin gave him his most frightening smile, practically purring at the stench of pure terror and fear emanating from the man. “What do you want to do with that gun, dude? Do you think you have any chance after seeing how easily I brutally exterminated your friends?”

He simply sighed and shuffled lazily to the side, dodging a few bullets. He shot him a lazy look and chuckled at his look of terror and disbelief. “Dude. Did you really think you could hit me that easily? Literally my physical abilities are at least ten times greater than a human’s.”

Probably more, given the combination of electrum and prolonged exposure to Nth Metal. I’m pretty sure no kind of death can kill me permanently now.

One moment, Renegade was thirty meters away, and the next, he was facing the criminal, who flinched in fear at the mercenary’s sudden appearance. The anti-hero grabbed the hand holding the gun and, in one fluid motion, broke it, emitting a cracking sound of bone followed by a cry of pain. With his free hand he grabbed the man's gun and, simply by closing his hand into a fist, the weapon easily bent until it was completely destroyed under his superhuman strength.

The Talon let out his creepy chuckle at the man's gaze. "Superhuman strength at least 10 times that of a human, remember? I just told you." He scolded him the way a teacher would scold a student caught not following class. "I've made you live too long anyway. Say hello to your friends in hell for me, please!"

Renegade drew back his right fist and swung it into the human trafficker's chest, tearing it open and piercing his body until his fist emerged at the other end. The mercenary pulled back his hand, which again tore through flesh, organs, and bone with a sickening sound, and he carelessly tossed the man's heart to the ground. He ignored the criminal's lifeless body as it fell to the ground and turned away.

He sighed as the drug trafficking victims -in terrible conditions: dirty clothes, some of them naked and showing clear symptoms of sexual abuse, severely beaten, hungry, thirsty, etc.- backed away in their cages when his gaze fell on them.

His entire equipment already screamed Danger Lethal Threat Ruthless, let alone the blood on his armor and the brutal way he'd killed the criminals which the victims had just witnessed.

It's cases like these where I hate being the scariest and most threatening person on Earth.

Dick tapped on his holographic glove for a few seconds and then put a hand to his ear, changing the frequency on his comm. "B, I sent you the location of a warehouse where human trafficking was taking place. Bring the most honest cops in this shithole cuty with you.”

“Roger.”

Renegade sat on the dirt floor of the warehouse and waited for the police to arrive while ensuring the victims would be safe until they arrived, his heart clenching painfully at the sight of them clearly traumatized for the rest of their lives.

Damn. I should have prolonged those bastards’ suffering.

Renegade, perched on a nearby building, watched as the victims were loaded into numerous ambulances that sped off, one after another, toward the hospital. He nodded to himself and stood up, turning and smiling at Batman. “One less criminal gang here in Gotham. You are welcome because I have single-handedly decreased the crime rate of this godforsaken city by over 40%."

The Caped Crusader gave him a blank look. “Brat.”

Renegade, after completing his contract, which earned him approximately $5.000, decided to stay in Gotham for a while longer, stopping several robberies and killing those on the spot who were about to rape and/or kill civilians.

He had just stopped an attempted rape, killing the bastard, when his enhanced hearing picked up a heartbeat coming from above. Dick, after reassuring the near-victim and receiving her thanks, waved goodbye and flew to the roof with a grappling hook. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, getting closer and closer to the source of the heartbeat, and stopped when he saw its owner.

It was a little girl, probably a little older than Timmy, wearing some sort of superhero suit, mostly purple, made of clearly shoddy materials.

The little girl whirled around and squeaked after catching a glimpse of Renegade's looming figure a few steps away on the same rooftop.

The mercenary ducked his head, easily dodging a brick she threw, and a smile appeared on his lips. “You know it’s rude to throw bricks at strangers, kid?”

The little girl’s eyes widened, whitened by the slits in her mask, when she realized who she was dealing with. “R-Renegade?” she squeaked in surprise and disbelief.

The assassin sent her a sweet, reassuring smile and nodded. “It’s me. I would never hurt you.”

“I know.” She nodded, her lips curling into a wider smile. “You’re Renegade! The world’s greatest mercenary who only kills the worst scum in existence! It’s thanks to you that crime in Gotham is dropping steadily! You’re practically adored by the vast majority of us citizens!” she exclaimed, bouncing excitedly on the tips of her toes, launching into an increasingly rapid rant about how much Gotham loved and admired him.

Dick blinked behind his red mask, genuinely taken aback, and the only reason he could keep up with her rapid-fire chatter was because he was used to speedsters like Barry and Bart.

I knew I was generally pretty beloved around the world, but I didn't know I was so revered here in Gotham. Heh, I bet Uncle B is jealous.

"What's your name?"

His question cut off the little girl's incessant chatter, and she stiffened slightly before giving him a shit-eating grin. "Secret identity, you know? What's your name?"

The mercenary gave her an unimpressed look, absently noting her thick Gotham accent.

Is this how Slade felt about me, given that I was never the slightest bit afraid of him, not even as a child? Damn, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

"What are you doing out there at night on a rooftop in Gotham? Do you know how dangerous it is?"

If it were possible, Dick would have started to feel a headache when the girl, offended and outraged by his words, began talking again at the speed of light about how he doesn't need to tell her anything about Gotham, that Gotham has been her home since she was born, that she knows Gotham better than anyone, thank you very much, and more.

"For goodness' sake." the assassin muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "Okay, change of question: what are you doing out on a rooftop at night in a cheap eggplant-colored costume?"

“It’s not eggplant!” the little girl cried, stomping her foot with a look of pure indignation despite her hood. “It’s lavender purple! Besides, not all of us are rich from mercenary contracts that can afford real armor, you know?” Then, with a 180-degree change in expression and attitude, a huge smile spread across her face. “By the way, is it true that you took on so many contracts and missions that you quickly became a millionaire? If so, can I become your partner?”

Dick stared at the little girl with the most surprised, shocked, incredulous and tired look he’d had in months. He let out a sigh of pure pain and mental exhaustion and swore he could hear Slade’s voice taunting him in his mind.

I call this karma for all the bullshit you’ve put me through all these years. Even if it’s not even a quarter of your little shit attitude, you son of Satan.

The acrobat, whose only desire at that moment was to return to Bludhaven and be in Diana's arms, gave her a tired look. "Just... can you tell me who you are and what you're doing here alone?"

She sent him her biggest shit-eating grin. "Nope."

This bullshit lasted longer than it should have.

The little girl barely had time to blink when there was a rush of air in front of her, and the next thing she knew, her hood had been lowered. The next second, she found herself staring in shock at the mercenary standing several meters away, as if he hadn't moved at all in the last second. "What the-"

"Language." He scolded her lightly as he pressed a button on the side of his mask.

Immediately, a small display appeared in the mercenary's field of vision, and he completely ignored the child's furious and indignant chatter. A few seconds later, the display was replaced by the image of a blonde, blue-eyed girl, along with a series of data and information.

“Huh.” Dick commented, a huge, victorious grin playing across his lips as he shot her an amused look. “So, you’re Stephanie Brown.”

Her rant was cut off, and she stared at him with shocked eyes for a few seconds before snorting. “Come on, man! This is cheating!” she complained.

“It’s not cheating if my mask is equipped with global facial recognition software.”

“You’re a stalker.”

“And you’re the daughter of Cluemaster aka Arthur Brown.”

Stephanie was silent for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh and nodding sadly. “Don’t remind me of my relationship to that bastard.”

The Talon suppressed the urge to scold her for the foul language and waited patiently for her to open up further.

“I just want to stop him, okay?” she snapped angrily, gesturing vaguely at her costume. “I’m sick of his career as a stupid, second-rate criminal! He doesn’t care about my mother or me! He’s always hurting us! I just want him to rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life!”

Renegade’s entire posture immediately softened at her words, and he took a slight step forward. When Stephanie showed no sign of fear or hesitation toward him -which quite surprised him- he crouched down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. With his free hand, he gently lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his sweet, reassuring smile.

“You are very brave and noble in your intent. I mean it. You are one of the strongest little girls I have ever met. But it was also dangerous of you. From what I know of Cluemaster, he has hurt many innocents and children. I don't know if he would have any remorse about hurting his own daughter.”

Stephanie sniffed. “Stephanie Brown wouldn’t have stopped him.”

Renegade tilted his head slightly, a knowing smile playing across his lips. “Oh? And what’s your code name?”

“Spoiler.” she stated proudly with a determined smile.

The mercenary hummed lightly in contemplation. “Sounds good. Just let the experts do the work, okay?”

Spoiler’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’ll find him yourself?”

“Only if you want it.” he reassured her. “You know that once I accept a mission, I’ll always complete it, no matter what.”

“You… you’re not going to kill him, are you?” she asked in an almost shy and frightened whisper.

The acrobat shook his head. “I don't kill all kinds of criminals: only the worst scum in existence. And while technically Cluemaster destroyed the lives of numerous families-” he felt a little guilty for her shudder. “-I might make an exception this time. After all, he's still your father, no matter if he's a-“

The assassin felt the air rush from his lungs when Stephanie suddenly lunged at him. He automatically wrapped his arms around her small figure and held her close, smiling softly when she rested her head against his heart.

If she was surprised or horrified by the lack of a heartbeat, she didn't show it.

In fact, she cuddled further into him, humming happily when his hands began to play softly with her long blonde hair.

If it weren't for his enhanced hearing, Dick almost missed her next question, which was barely above a whisper.

"Can we... can we stay like this for a little longer?"

"Sure, sweetheart." The Talon easily agreed, pulling her slightly closer. He placed a tender kiss on the top of her head. "For as long as you want."

“So, this is your secret base. Man, I'm a little disappointed.”

Cluemaster jumped violently at the sudden voice and turned around, paling noticeably when he saw Renegade casually leaning against the entrance to his secret hideout with a lazy smile.

“R-R-Renegade?” he stammered in terror, already starting to sweat. “W-What are you doing here?”

“To stop you, you bastard!”

Arthur's gaze fell on the small figure next to the notorious mercenary and was stunned when he noticed a little girl in a cheap costume with the most furious look he'd ever seen on a little girl.

"Who the hell are you?"

She snapped her hood down, and the criminal's jaw dropped in shock when he saw an extremely familiar face. His daughter's blue eyes hardened and she snarled, pointing a threatening finger at him. "We're here to arrest you for all your crimes!"

"Steph!" he gasped, his eyes flickering from his daughter to the internationally renowned assassin and back again. "G-Get away from him! Renegade is dangerous, cruel and-"

"And a better person than you!" she interrupted furiously. "I've only known him a few hours, and I can say with absolute certainty that he's been a better person and father than you have been in my entire life!"

At her words, Renegade's eyes widened comically and he began to choke on his own saliva.

Steph ignored his shocked, startled babbling and continued, her cold blue eyes fixed on her father. “You’re not worth a shred of the person Renegade is! He’s never harmed an innocent person in his entire career: never! And yet here you are, plotting who knows what to hurt good people and destroy other families!” She shook her head in disappointment, a glint of unshed tears forming in her eyes. “Give up, Cluemaster. You have no escape.”

Cluemaster was on the verge of protesting and scolding his daughter for her nonsense, but when his eyes shifted behind her, he flinched at Renegade’s menacing gaze, which clearly promised extreme physical pain if he hurt the child further.

Knowing he stood no chance against a mercenary of his caliber, he put his hands behind his head and fell to his knees. “Don’t kill me! Please!”

Renegade snorted, amused by how pathetic the man was, and glanced at Spoiler. "Want to do the honors, sweetheart?"

Stephanie nodded with a mischievous smile and walked toward her father who stared at her in confusion. "What are you-"

She cut him off with a vicious punch to the jaw, instantly knocking him out. She turned and met Renegade's gaze of pure pride, clearly visible despite his mask.

“You've already mastered throwing a punch.” He wiped away an imaginary tear. “How quickly children grow up.”

Stephanie giggled at his dramatic nature, appreciating it immensely. “I had a fantastic mentor, after all.”

Renegade returned her smile and quickly sent a message to Batman, relaying the coordinates. He looked at her. “Ready to go home?”

Spoiler's smile quickly faded and her expression turned one of disappointment and sadness. “Oh.”

Dick winced inwardly at her look and grimaced.

Is this what Slade and the others feel every time I give them those lethal puppy dog ​​eyes?

“Well, since it’s already late… how about I get you an ice cream?” he offered slowly, mentally cheering when he was rewarded with a bright smile and sparkling blue eyes.

“Hell yeah!” she shouted, pumping her fist in the air excitedly.

The acrobat chuckled, delighted by her behavior, and motioned for her to follow him, which she did immediately.

“Thank you for everything, Mr. Renegade.”

Renegade smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around the little girl’s small figure. He tenderly kissed her forehead, grinning from ear to ear as he received a delightful giggle.

True to his word, the mercenary took Stephanie to the best ice cream shop in Gotham.

Man, the look on the faces of the ice cream vendors and customers as they saw Renegade buy an ice cream with an enormous variety of flavors for a little girl in an eggplant-purple costume was priceless.

They ate ice cream on the roof of the tallest building in the city and, as they watched the sunrise, they exchanged stories and got to know each other better.

Dick quickly learned that she attended Gotham Academy and planned to pursue medical studies after graduation. When he asked if she knew Tim Drake, who also attended the school, he was pleased to learn that the two were good friends.

Stephanie, on the other hand, learned that Renegade, despite his reputation as the most ruthless, cruel and lethal mercenary and assassin on the planet, had a heart of gold and was one of the kindest, most compassionate, sweetest and most caring people she'd ever met. Moreover, the fact that he loved puns and jokes like she did made him much cooler than he already was.

She'd be lying if she said she'd miss seeing him again, but she knew it had already been an immense honor for her to know him and spend so many quality hours with him.

"Why that sad look, Steph?"

She looked up, meeting white slits in his mask, and she smiled sadly at him. "Because I'll hardly see you again." she admitted with a slight blush on her face.

Renegade looked at her for a few seconds in silence before smiling. "Instead, I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me."

"What-"

Her eyes widened in shock when, in one fluid motion, Renegade removed his mask, smiling at her with blue eyes brighter than the sun. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Steph. My name is Richard Wilson, but you can call me Dick.”

Steph couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Really? The world’s most dangerous mercenary is named Dick?”

The assassin chuckled. “I’ve heard countless jokes about my name.”

“Is that a dare?” Steph asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Do your worst.”

From that moment on, Stephanie Brown officially became one of Dick’s many children.

And if Steph cried upon learning that her mother had received a million-dollar bank transfer with a sweet note from Renegade, well, only Crystal Brown could bear witness.

And the next time they saw each other, Steph gave her older brother/father figure in all but blood a bone-crushing hug over the fact that she could now spend a lot of time with her mother who no longer needed to work.

Dick whistled as he returned home after a particularly hard day at work. However, as soon as he entered the house and closed the door, he froze.

All his mercenary instincts were screaming at him that there was an intruder in his home right now.

The acrobat amplified his enhanced hearing but couldn't detect a heartbeat. However, he blindly trusted his instincts, which were never wrong, and silently made his way into the living room, ready to kick the ass of anyone stupid enough to enter his home.

Whoever it was, was extremely lucky, as Diana was in Switzerland at the time for an important UN meeting she couldn't miss.

In fact, unlucky would be a better word, as Renegade wouldn't have had the same qualms about killing the intruder if they turned out to be scum.

However, Dick froze as soon as he entered the living room. His eyes widened, and if he still had a heartbeat, his heart would be in danger of bursting out of his ribcage right now.

The mercenary felt a genuine shiver of pure fear and terror run down his spine and unconsciously took a step back.

No… It can't be!

Because standing in his living room was the living nightmare that had tormented and haunted nearly every one of Dick's nightmares ever since he regained his memories thanks to Slade, no matter how much more than a decade had passed.

The same living nightmare that had killed Dick without hesitation, leaving him with a stab scar above his heart.

The same living nightmare that had trained, tortured and killed Dick daily and in the most brutal, inhuman and cruel ways possible for three whole years, from age 7 to 10.

The same living nightmare that had turned him into a tool and a weapon at the service of sick people.

The same living nightmare that had permanently and irreversibly destroyed a part of Dick's psyche that would never heal, no matter how many centuries passed.

Cold, emotionless golden eyes flashed, and a cruel smile formed on the intruder's lips.

His great-grandfather.

William Cobb stood before him.

"Long time no see, Gray Son."

Chapter Text

"Long time no see, Gray Son."

Dick shivered involuntarily at the cold, empty voice that haunted him in every nightmare, never being able to free himself of it or its owner. Instinctively, he placed a hand over his heart, right where Cobb had left a scar from the fatal stabbing that began his transformation into a Talon.

The acrobat felt countless traumatic memories begin to overwhelm him and he swallowed, his throat dry as his vision began to spin. He used a breathing and self-control technique taught to him by Slade and did his best not to abruptly fall back into the destructive spiral of his past.

“H-How did you discover my new identity?” he asked, cursing himself when his voice sounded more cracked and panicked than he wanted to show.

He didn't blame himself too much since he was literally facing his worst nightmare, one that traumatized him for the rest of his life and irreversibly destroyed a part of his psyche.

Dick barely suppressed a gasp as a sinister smile formed on his great-grandfather's lips and it was as if ice had settled on every inch of his body.

"We found out a few years ago." the elder Talon commented in a low, dark voice. "You and Wilson did a great job of trying to hide your identities. But, unfortunately for you, the Court of Owls has quite the influence."

The mercenary narrowed his eyes, trying to sound menacing and not as utterly terrified as he felt at that moment. "Then why wait years, if you already knew?"

Cobb's smirk became even more sinister and cold. "You could say we were training some sort of army of recruits, if you know what I mean."

The cold gripped every fiber of the acrobat's body and he took on a look of pure horror, shock and fear. His heart tightened painfully and he felt a sharp pain run through his limbs, making them feel like lead.

N-No!

Dick felt his legs begin to tremble, but he managed to stay standing, even though all he wanted to do at that moment was fall to the ground and curl up in a ball.

One of the main reasons Dick became Renegade was to prevent others from going through the same hell of countless traumas he himself had been forced to endure. And yet, he could say with absolute conviction that he was succeeding, and the data was on his side: since Renegade became independent from Deathstroke, the international crime rate had dropped by several percent, meaning fewer families were suffering.

But now Cobb's words only planted a seed of disappointment, despair and guilt in Dick's stomach that would only grow.

Because, if his great-grandfather's words were true -and they almost certainly were- that meant that many more people had been kidnapped and killed by the Court of Owls, who had brainwashed them, turning them not only into Talons but also into empty shells and mere tools for Gotham's filthy elite.

So other people had been through almost exactly the same hell as Dick -almost because, after all, he was their The Talon and The Gray Son and therefore decidedly more special and worthy of attention- and the acrobat had done nothing to prevent it.

And at that exact moment, the seven-to-ten-year-old disappeared, making way for the world's most ruthless, dangerous and lethal mercenary.

With an inhuman growl, Dick lunged forward, and before Cobb could even blink, the elder Talon found himself pinned to the wall of the house, easily lifted over a meter from the ground by the internationally renowned assassin.

"Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't rip your head off with my own fucking hands." Renegade growled in a low, dangerous voice, the menacing gold replacing the blue in his eyes.

Cobb, despite his position, smiled almost proudly. "Gold suits you much better than blue, Gray Son." he choked between words.

Dick wasn't surprised that he could speak well without any problems, despite the chokehold on his neck, which cut off the passage of air, since oxygen isn't essential for their kind.

With another growl, the mercenary slammed Cobb's head against the wall with all his strength, violently shaking the entire building from the superhumanly strong impact. "I'd rather die permanently than return to you mentally ill bastards!" he hissed, a furious glint in his golden eyes, grimly satisfied as he watched a trickle of black blood slide from his great-grandfather's temple.

"I know."

"I could easily rip your head off and burn your corpse. Not even you could resurrect from that death."

"I know."

“I am no longer the child you trained, tortured and killed daily for three years in the most inhumane and cruel ways, Cobb. I am literally the most dangerous, ruthless, cruel, efficient, deadly and best weapon, assassin and mercenary in all of human history. I can hold my own against the likes of Darkseid, Trigon and Doomsday. You and the other Talons are no longer my match: you've barely become a warmup for me.”

“I know. And for that, on behalf of the Court of Owls, I thank Wilson, Woosan, Al Ghul, Yamashiro and all the other mentors you've had since your escape.”

Dick frowned, annoyed and suspicious of the elder Talon's calm and collected demeanor, as if he were in complete control of the entire situation despite everything else suggesting otherwise. “Then tell me why the hell I shouldn't send your ashes to the Owls, dammit!”

“Is the well-being of your children a good enough reason?”

Dick's eyes widened and the feeling of pure terror, fear and shock coursed through every fiber of his being with a force greater than Trigon's.

And Dick knew firsthand what it felt like to be punched by the intergalactic demon.

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

The mercenary stared at the other Talon with a look of shock and horror. "N-No!" his voice croaked faintly, a huge weight settling in his chest. Instantly, anger filled every inch of his body and his eyes shone the brightest, most furious gold like they had never done before. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR! I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD IF YOU HURT THEM-"

Cobb cut off his outburst of pure, ferocious anger with a cold smile. "You won't do anything. Not if you don't want the deaths of the Wilson children, the Drake kid and the Brown kid on your conscience. I'm pretty sure the death of the Todd kid still haunts you." He let out a low, satisfied chuckle at the grim, murderous gaze that, if it could, would have reduced him to ashes. "Other Talons are secretly following your so-called children right now. If anything happens to me… I'm sure you can figure out the consequences yourself."

Dick gritted his teeth so hard they nearly broke as they clashed painfully together. Unconsciously, his forearm pressed harder on Cobb's throat. But he made no strangled sounds of pain, simply staring back at him with golden eyes that shone with victory and satisfaction.

The two Talons remained in that stalemate for a few more minutes, simply staring at each other silently, murderous, angry and venomous stares on one side and cold, emotionless stares on the other. Finally, the acrobat, against his will, physically forced himself to step back, his golden eyes never leaving Cobb's crouched form.

"Let me guess: now comes the part where you want me to return to the Court of Owls exploiting my children and threatening their lives?" Dick spat venomously and angrily, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him.

"Exactly." The older assassin nodded, his lips curling into a sinister smirk. "Well? What's your answer, Gray Son?"

They both knew the answer even before he asked the question. Dick's shoulders slumped in defeat and he let out a long, pained sigh.

Was he still scared, terrified and mortally traumatized by Cobb and the Court of Owls?

Hell yeah, and he always would be.

Would he rather die permanently or face Darkseid and Trigon completely alone and in his underwear at the same time than return to that hell that left indelible physical, mental and psychological scars on him?

Without a shadow of a doubt.

However…

The lives of Rose, Joey, Tim and Steph were in grave danger and the Talons would not hesitate to kill them.

Dick knew, without the slightest hesitation, that he would literally do anything to keep his family safe.

Literally anything.

My children… my family and loved ones… they are my true weakness. Not the cold. Not my sensitive eyesight and hearing. Not decapitation.

Them.

My children. My family. My loved ones.

I can't let them die because of me. I've already failed Jason. I won't make the same mistake again.

And if protecting his family meant returning to his greatest personal nightmare and hell and becoming a hollow shell of himself once again, devoid of free will and at the mercy of sick people like the filthy rich of Gotham, aka the Owls...

Although the mere thought of returning to the same people who for three years, from the age of 7 to 10, trained, tortured and killed him daily in the most inhumane, cruel and horrific ways, and being forced to kill innocents and children without being able to do anything to fight back -all of this was literally the worst trauma that has ever happened to anyone in the entire history of humanity- was enough to make him nauseous and overwhelmed by the purest form of suffering -in all its forms-, terror and fear-

Dick would willingly subject himself to a second round of his greatest nightmare and trauma if it meant his family was safe.

He would always put the physical, emotional and mental well-being of his loved ones before his own.

He would always sacrifice himself for his loved ones.

“If I come with you willingly, without rebelling at all…will you leave my family and all my loved ones alone?”

Cobb stared at him for a few seconds and, with a growing smirk, nodded and held out a hand in his great-grandson’s direction. “Is this a deal?”

The mercenary grimaced and physically forced himself to shake the elder Talon’s hand. “Deal.”

In that moment, Dick felt as if he’d just made a pact with the Devil himself.

You should take notes from my fucking great-grandfather, Trigon.

Dick watched Cobb grab something from his armor -God, the mere thought of having to wear that Talon armor again was enough to make him feel sick- and discovered he had a sedative in his hands. He forced himself to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. "Let's get this over with, damn it!" he blurted out in rage mixed with terror.

“With pleasure.”

The mercenary was forced to suppress every instinct screaming DANGER NEUTRALIZE THE THREAT KILL KILL KILL and to back away or snap Cobb’s neck as he approached. He remained more still than a statue as his great-grandfather injected the contents of the syringe into his neck.

Darkness quickly filled Dick’s vision, and for once, he didn’t fight it but let it envelop him. The last thing he heard before passing out into the darkness of unconsciousness was Cobb's low, hollow voice.

"You can't escape your destiny, Gray Son."

Fuck my destiny.

Chapter Text

“Honey! I’m home!”

Diana closed the door behind her, frowning slightly at the lack of response, but shrugged it off.

Her meeting with the UN had lasted longer than expected and she’d been forced to stay in Switzerland for an extra day, which was why she’d returned to Bludhaven the afternoon after her departure.

It was very likely that Dick was still in the gym or had accepted a contract somewhere in the world, so she wasn’t that surprised by his absence.

She advanced into their house, humming a little song her handsome warrior had played her a few days earlier, a song she couldn’t get out of her head anymore, but as soon as she reached the living room she stopped, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

One of the walls of the room had a hole in it.

Diana looked down, her heart skipping a beat when she glimpsed traces of dark blood on the floor.

There was only one person in the entire world she knew who possessed blood of that color, and that was precisely the most important person in her life.

The Amazon tried to convince her brain that it meant nothing and that Dick was more than capable of defending himself against literally anyone.

Hell, the mercenary had managed to single-handedly take down the entire Justice League multiple times, including the time he defeated the seven founding members who were mind-controlled by the Light, and they fought at 100% without restraint and actively tried to kill him while he still held back a lot.

Not to mention, he's capable of holding his own against universal entities -and beyond- like Trigon and Darkseid.

Rationally, Diana knew all of this: that her boyfriend was Renegade himself, aka the most dangerous, lethal and best assassin/mercenary/weapon in the world, and that there was literally nothing he couldn't do, and therefore she shouldn't worry about him.

But her more emotional side was terrified right now, especially at the sight of the black blood there on the floor, in plain sight.

If Dick was truly safe, why didn't he clean up his own blood?

Diana frowned at the words of her treacherous mind, which only increased her anxiety and fear, no matter how hard she tried to keep her emotions in check. She grabbed her phone, briefly scrolled through her contacts, and called her boyfriend.

The Princess of Themyscira could already imagine Dick's soothing, joyful voice in her ears, calming her surely unfounded anxieties and fears-

She was abruptly brought back to reality when the acrobat's phone rang throughout the house.

And it was close to her, too.

Diana's head snapped to the side so quickly her neck snapped in protest, and her limbs turned to ice when she caught sight of her boyfriend's phone resting on one of the chairs.

Now I'm really starting to worry. It's not like Dick to leave his personal phone behind: he literally carries it with him everywhere, even on his missions and contracts!

The Amazon bit her lower lip nervously, her heart pounding in her chest. She closed her eyes briefly in an attempt to calm herself, but wasn't surprised when that didn't work, but instead only increased her fears.

She swallowed hard before straightening her back, a steely gaze crossing her blue eyes. Every ounce of anxiety and fear was replaced with steely determination, and just like that, she entered her fiercest, best Amazon ever warrior mode.

I can't allow myself to be overwhelmed by these negative emotions. Not if I really want to know what the hell happened here.

Her blue eyes shifted upward, settling on a recording device so small that virtually no one would notice, and a slight smile formed on her lips.

For once, I appreciate your paranoia, my warrior.

Diana had never been so close to such a breaking point in all her hundreds of years.

She had finished watching the recording and… Zeus, there were no words in any known language that could fully express what she was feeling in that moment.

Fear.

Shock.

Terror.

Disbelief.

Anger.

Pain.

Horror.

Disturb.

Uneasiness.

Dismay.

Panic.

Breakdown.

As the recording continued, Diana was closer and closer to both an aneurysm and a heart attack.

Dick, her amazing boyfriend, the most important person in her life, the only one in the entire world capable of making her laugh and have fun with very little and making her feel special with just a look and a touch, the only one capable of arousing in her the best sensations and feelings she had never felt before meeting him, the only one who constantly cared for her in every way without asking for anything in return, the sweetest, most caring, strongest, bravest, most protective, reliable and loyal person she knew, the only one who is actually making the Earth a better place thanks to his reputation, which is lowering the international crime rate by several percent every year-

He had been forced back into his worst nightmare and hell ever.

The Court of Owls.

She clenched his hands so tightly she felt her nails piercing her skin and ignored the small trickle of blood. Her heart was beating so fast and hard against her chest like it had never done before in her entire life and it was honestly a miracle that it didn't fall out of her ribcage.

Her brain could barely function properly in the face of the horror her eyes had just shown her. Tears began to stream furiously down her face but she ignored them, just as she ignored the urge to vomit at the mere thought of Dick in the clutches of the immoral bastards who had already broken him once, when he was still a child.

It was as if she were living her worst nightmare, and no matter how many times she hoped it was just a terrible nightmare from which she could wake up -the dark bruises on her arms confirmed that- the fact that it was reality made it infinitely worse.

It was as if her limbs had frozen, and she, unable to move even an inch, was forced to replay the footage of Dick's kidnapping at the hands of Cobb on a loop.

It was as if every ounce of her training as a demigoddess and the fierce, best Amazon embedded within her being had been thrown out the window.

She had never felt so terrified and scared and she hated this feeling with all her heart.

At the same time, the demigoddess felt a ferocious anger boiling in every inch of her body, begging her to unleash her most destructive and dangerous fury on every bastard in the Court of Owls, starting with William Cobb.

Diana didn't know how long she'd been staring at her boyfriend's looping video, as she'd genuinely lost track of time -it could have been a few minutes, half an hour, or even an hour- but eventually, between one strangled sob and another, she managed to break free from the restless, numb state of her entire body and, despite the incessant tremors in her hand, she managed to grab her phone and call the first person that came to mind.

One of the few people, besides her, who would literally burn the entire world down for Dick and do anything.

The person answered on the third ring.

“Slade. Come to Bludhaven. It’s an emergency.”

“I’m busy. Contract.”

“It’s about Dick.”

Pause.

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

It was almost impossible to scare Deathstroke the Terminator.

In his entire life, he had only experienced the purest form of terror, pain and ferocious anger, mixed in a dangerous mix that meant physically and mentally breaking those who had made him experience such intense emotions.

When they killed Grant.

When they slit Joey's throat, rendering him mute.

When Amanda Waller sent Dick to the most dangerous prison in the world where only the worst scum in existence were held, exactly like the ones his son killed every day.

Now, another had been added.

Cobb not only threatened the lives of four children, two of whom are my children, but he also forced my kiddo back into the hell that caused him the worst kind of trauma in all of humanity.

His hands tightened with all his superhuman strength around the edges of the table, which began to buckle, but he ignored him.

To say that in that moment Slade was seething with ferocious anger, rage and pure terror would be an understatement.

The second-deadliest mercenary in the world felt every fiber of his being literally burning with rage and fear in a way he had never experienced before.

He had many regrets throughout his life, but in that precise moment, the greatest was not destroying the Court of Owls after Dick regained his memories.

Despite the immense rage he felt, the super soldier managed to take a deep breath and glanced to his side, observing the current state of the legendary Wonder Woman, who was so close to breaking.

He couldn't blame her.

He too felt pretty close to breaking down at the mere thought of his son being with those unscrupulous bastards at the Court of Owls.

But now was no time for whining.

It was time to go on the offensive.

"Diana."

The demigoddess flinched at the sudden voice, and she turned to stare at the former soldier with wide eyes devoid of their usual light.

"Call a meeting at the Watchtower. Call together the entire hero community: the entire Justice League and all members of the Titans and Young Justice." Slade ordered with a growl. "I will call all former supervillains and antiheroes."

Diana's mouth dropped slightly in surprise before smirking darkly, easily guessing the super soldier's intentions.

Slade returned the smirk with a cold one, his single gray eye glinting dangerously with vengeance.

"The Court of Owls made the mistake of kidnapping my son, my kiddo. They will pay dearly for this affront. They will have the entire world on their tail and they will all want those bastards' severed heads served on a silver platter."

Chapter Text

The Watchtower meeting room had never been this crowded since the space station was built decades earlier.

It was honestly a miracle that the room could accommodate over forty people with ample personal space between them.

And it was even more of a miracle that a massive brawl hadn't broken out between the entire hero community and the entire anti-hero/former supervillain community.

There was incessant chatter among the people: some complaining about the presence of the heroes/anti-heroes/supervillains, some wondering what the hell was going on and why the hell was everyone there, some cursing so furiously that the new generations of heroes were learning new vocabulary, and more.

"ENOUGH!"

Wonder Woman's ferocious roar overcame the enormous crowd, which immediately fell silent at the demigoddess's outburst. To the surprise of most, she was flanked by Deathstroke the Terminator. He nodded gratefully and took a step forward, drawing all attention to himself.

"Renegade was kidnapped by the Court of Owls."

His words caused a heavy, tense silence to fall. The mercenary's masked gaze fell primarily on his son's extended family -Talia and Nyssa al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Cheshire, Katana and Wintergreen- who stiffened and took on a horrified look of pure horror, terror, shock and fear, much like that of most heroe -especially JL- and some former supervillains and anti-heroes.

The shocked silence lasted a few seconds before total chaos erupted. With an impatient growl, the expert assassin grabbed one of his guns and fired several shots into the ceiling. The sudden noise startled several people, and within seconds, silence fell again.

“Next time someone interrupts me, I won't be so forgiving as to shoot in the air.” Deathstroke declared coldly, a dangerous glint in his voice. He put away his gun and continued. “Most of you know Renegade's past, but for those who don't, I'll give you a brief summary, just enough to make you understand the situation without infringing too much on my son's privacy.

“The Court of Owls is a secret, underground organization that controlled Gotham for many centuries. However, in recent decades, their grip on Gotham has not been as strong as it once was. Their members, called Owls for the simple fact that they hide their identities with owl masks, constitute the majority of Gotham's wealthiest and most influential elite.

“However, the Court not only uses the wealth and influence of Gotham's elite to control the city, but also exploits the so-called Talons: meta-humans endowed with superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, durability and endurance, enhanced hearing and vision, an excellent healing factor that heals even the most lethal and deadly wounds in few minutes, eternal youth and immortality. The Owls implant electrum into their kidnapped victims, a little-known substance that not only grants these superhuman abilities but also integrates into their cardiovascular system. Besides depriving the victims of a heartbeat and any form of body heat, it also gives them golden eyes and black veins along their bodies, physical traits that characterize the Talons.

“These Talons are mere tools and weapons of the Court. They have been stripped, in the most inhumane ways possible, of their free will and their humanity. They have been reduced to empty shells, incapable of feeling any emotion whatsoever. They blindly obey the Owls without questioning them in the slightest. Unfortunately, they are no longer human in any sense: in fact, they have no basic need for food or water to survive, nor do they require much sleep.

“Renegade was kidnapped once before by the Court of Owls after a traumatic event at the age of seven. As you all know, Renegade is a meta-human but was originally a normal human. A few months after being kidnapped by the Court, he was transformed into a Talon and, for about three years, was reduced to an empty shell and a weapon for these bastards. Then, due to a failed mission, Renegade escaped from the Court and, after some events, fortuitously stumbled upon one of my safe houses, where I decided to take him in. It took almost a year for Renegade to recover most of his memories and return to his senses.

“The Court of Owls is obsessed with Renegade because, apparently, my son was always destined to be The Talon and The Gray Son of Gotham, that is, the Court's best Talon who would lead the organization to its ultimate conquest of Gotham. Furthermore, most of Renegade's ancestors were or are Talons. Especially this bastard son of a bitch.”

After receiving a nod from the mercenary, Diana turned on the monitor, revealing the image of a youthful-looking man, characterized by his impassive golden eyes and the black veins visible in his very pale face.

"This is William Cobb, Renegade's great-grandfather and the second-best Talon in the Court, second only to my son. He is directly responsible for both of Renegade's kidnappings: the one over a decade ago and the one yesterday. Cobb is the only Talon among the many with free will, making him far more dangerous and lethal than any other Talon.

"Fortunately, Talons have weaknesses, and Cobb is no exception: they possess sensory weaknesses, particularly hearing and sight, are weak to cold, which slows their movements and reflexes, and the only way to permanently kill them is through decapitation: otherwise, they are capable of resurrecting from virtually any death."

A few people in the crowd raised their hands and Slade, anticipating their questions, continued unperturbed.

“Because Renegade is a Talon, he is also subject to the same weaknesses. However, both because he has been trained for three years to combat his weaknesses daily, and thanks to prolonged exposure to the Nth Metal of his armor, which has mixed with the electrum that courses through his blood, Renegade is less susceptible to such weaknesses than any other Talon. Even decapitation is no longer enough to kill my former apprentice permanently, and at least currently, we are unsure if there is a definitive method to kill him once and for all.”

I certainly hope not.

The hands dropped quickly and Slade smirked behind his mask before it disappeared. “Any questions?”

“How did they manage to kidnap the chico?” Bane asked frowning, cracking his knuckles angrily.

“That’s what I’m wondering too.” Superboy nodded crossing his arms, but despite his usually stoic demeanor, his concern for his best friend was evident.

“After all, Renegade is practically unbeatable. If he can hold his own against the likes of Darkseid and Trigon, how the hell did the Court of Owls manage to kidnap him?” Donna Troy mused, her glare promising vengeance on the bastards who kidnapped her Wonder Twin.

The world’s second-best assassin stiffened minutely, and though no one could see it, his eye hardened behind his mask. “That’s because those bastards threatened the lives of Rose and Joey Wilson, Tim Drake, and Stephanie Brown.” he spat venomously, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Wintergreen, several assassins and Batman flinch. “And we all know Renegade.”

Many of those present snorted.

“He's the biggest sacrificial idiot ever.” Raven stated bluntly with a slight, affectionate smile.

“Especially when it involves his loved ones.” Shazam added softly.

The mercenary's masked gaze settled on several individuals in particular. "From now on, Renegade's children will have to be watched 24/7. As long as the Court has eyes on them, we can never break their hold on Renegade."

"The Watchtower might be the ideal place." Superman offered with a small, kind smile, and several JL heroes nodded.

"No one on the Court should be able to hack the zeta tubes, let alone get here." Hal Jordan spoke.

A murmur of agreement arose.

"Now that we've solved this problem, how should we proceed?" Catwoman asked with a slight growl, her grip tightening on her whip.

"Zatanna. Enchantress."

The two sorceresses immediately snapped to attention when the mercenary called their names, and after exchanging a brief glance, they stared silently at the man.

“You two will attempt to locate Renegade using his armor.” Deathstroke ordered, nodding to Wonder Woman, who now held a small suitcase in her hands. When she opened it, it revealed the entire equipment of the world’s most dangerous mercenary.

The two sorceresses nodded and Diana handed them the briefcase. Zatanna, noticing the Amazon’s downcast and worried look, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Hey, D. We’ll find him. Don’t worry about Dick: he’s the toughest guy on the planet.” she reassured her softly.

The demigoddess snorted a laugh and sent her friend a weak smile. “Thanks. I know you’ll do everything you can to locate Dick.”

“Hell if we will.” Enchantress snarled, her green eyes glowing coldly. "I won't leave my best friend in the hands of immoral bastards."

Diana gave them a small, grateful smile, and the two sorceresses walked away, presumably intending to leave the meeting room for another with more privacy and more focus on their spell.

“I doubt they’ll be able to locate Renegade.” Batman stated stiffly, drawing everyone’s attention. “When Renegade was first kidnapped, I asked for the entire Justice League’s help, and neither Dr. Fate nor Giovanni Zatara were able to locate him.”

The super soldier tilted his head slightly. “Did you have any of Renegade’s personal items to help their locating spell?”

“Zitka.”

The Dark Knight’s short, terse response confused most of the audience, who looked at each other in confusion. When they focused their attention on Renegade’s father, they easily noticed, despite his mask, that he looked as if he’d just received a full-force punch from Doomsday.

Deathstroke took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure and keep his emotions in check. His back straightened and his eye behind his mask narrowed. “Then we should do it the old-fashioned way.” he growled in annoyance.

“Renegade never mentioned the Court's secret base?”

The former soldier shook his head at Mr. Freeze's question. “I'm pretty sure it's one of the few things he's never been able to clearly remember.”

The frowns of many deepened. “Just our luck.” Hawkgirl grunted in irritation, her grip tightening on her spiked mace.

The attention of many shifted when the doors to the room were opened, revealing the dejected and disgruntled faces of the two sorceresses. “Even with our combined spells, we couldn't locate Renegade.” Enchantress revealed with a pained sigh, her hands clenching into fists.

“I don't know how that's possible. Maybe the Court's secret base is protected by some more powerful spell or something,” the JL sorceress added grimly.

Diana swallowed hard and barely suppressed a gasp when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned and met Black Canary's hopeful smile. "You'll see, we'll find him."

The demigoddess, fed up with the same old comforting words everyone kept repeating to her when they were worthless, managed to keep her emotions under control and simply sent a nod to her friend.

John Constantine, stressed and worried for the well-being of one of the few people he genuinely considered a friend -even though he would deny it even under torture- grabbed a cigarette, inhaled the smoke and released it to the side, ignoring the coughs and curses of Flash and Deadshot, who were closest to him. “Did the bastards kidnap the luv with one of his suits of armor on? Because if that were the case, I could easily locate Ren, since I could trace my magic that enhanced the security systems on the mask and utility belt of every of his suit of armor.”

The sorcerer expert of occult frowned as Slade shook his head and nearly broke the cigarette between his fingers.

“Fuck.”

“Do you have some sort of Plan B or something?”

The super soldier nodded at Aquaman's question. "We have many Gotham experts in this room. Batman, you and your former Rogues' Gallery will search the city from top to bottom every damn day. You will turn Gotham upside down, repeatedly if necessary."

The Caped Crusader glanced at his former Rogues Gallery in question.

Bane and Killer Croc looked like they were on the verge of breaking every bone in the first person they encountered, especially if it was Cobb himself.

Harley Quinn was swinging her massive hammer angrily, Poison Ivy was looking murderous and Catwoman was clenching her fists furiously at her sides.

Mr. Freeze was fiddling with his freeze gun, most likely wishing he was facing some Talon, especially Cobb, so he could trap them in ice for eternity.

Batman returned his gaze to Deathstroke, who was staring at him silently, and nodded. “We will.”

“Count us in, too.” Lady Shiva declared in a voice harder than steel, taking a step forward.

Cheshire and Katana, at her sides, nodded, and they nodded with determined looks.

“I will send my best assassins to search for any leads on the Court.” Talia added, her green eyes brimming with determination. “I will personally join the search for my nephew.” Her gaze fell briefly on Nyssa. “For a while, you will be in charge of the League of Assassins. Until we find him.”

Her half-sister nodded. “Whatever I can do to help, I will.”

Deadshot and Sportsmaster exchanged a brief glance and nodded. “So will we.” the man who shared the title of the world’s greatest sniper with Renegade stated solemnly.

“I owe Renegade for teaching me a lesson and for making me get my head out of my ass and understand the importance of family.” Sportsmaster admitted.

Artemis Crock and Cheshire exchanged a knowing smile.

“Can we do something useful, too?” Beast Boy asked, transforming into a monkey and climbing onto Superboy’s shoulders, ignoring the clone’s glare.

Cyborg crossed his arms. “I think I speak for all the Titans and Young Justice when I say we won’t sit idly by. Not when it comes to the person who essentially founded both superhero teams and for whom we all have immense respect and admiration.”

His words made everyone on both teams’ nod.

“That goes for us on the Justice League, too.” Green Arrow added.

The three superhero teams stared at the mercenary, waiting for an update.

Slade gave a small smile, grateful for the mask covering his face.

If only you could see what’s happening, kiddo. Even though you're an anti-hero mercenary, and the best in the world, you're the heart and soul of not only the entire anti-hero and former supervillain community, but also the heroes. That says a lot about the person you are, son.

He nodded stiffly. “Despite your enthusiasm, which I appreciate, you’ll have to stay out of Gotham. None of you are stealthy enough like Batman and the other anti-hero assassins, and none of you are native of Gotham like the former Rogues Gallery. The Court of Owls has eyes and ears practically everywhere in the city and we can’t have them knowing you’re involved in the rescue efforts.”

“What should we do, then?” Garth asked.

The mercenary considered briefly. “You could focus on further research to locate Renegade. Just because magic didn't work, doesn't mean you can't try further. Even with the best human and alien technology. You could also split up and search Bludhaven and other nearby cities thoroughly.

"Since the Court of Owls is known to operate in Gotham, I don't rule out the possibility that they moved to a nearby city, like Bludhaven, to waste our time searching Gotham fruitlessly when they moved their base of operations. Therefore, your search of the cities near Gotham will be equally crucial."

The heroes nodded.

Deathstroke removed his mask, revealing the black eyepatch over his right eye. His gray eye stared coldly at everyone present, and an inhuman snarl escaped his lips.

“We will find Renegade. We will save him. I will not accept failure. I will not accept any other options. We will exterminate the Court of Owls once and for all. We will show no mercy to those bastards who hurt my son and so many others.

“FOR RENEGADE!”

“FOR RENEGADE!”

Chapter Text

Dick awoke with a start and leapt to his feet, his muscles tensed and his eyes darting from side to side.

"Don't make any rash moves, Gray Son."

The emotionless voice only stiffened Dick further and he whirled around, meeting the imposing, menacing figure of William Cobb.

A myriad of memories flashed through the acrobat's mind in a matter of seconds. At the mere thought of his children's lives being in danger, he forced himself to relax and suppress every instinct that screamed at him to rip his great-grandfather's head off with his own hands.

He looked around, swallowing hard when he realized he was standing in the middle of a huge grandstand, surrounded by numerous men and women wearing white owl masks to hide their identities.

There are the Owls. The corrupt bastards of Gotham's elite.

His palms began to sweat, and memories of waking up in that exact same place, over a decade ago, surfaced in his mind.

"Good job, Cobb. You managed to bring the Gray Son home."

"Of course. The Gray Son will be essential to the conquest of Gotham."

Dick shook his head, trying not to fall into a spiral of destructive and traumatic memories, and he looked away when one of the Owls spoke.

“Gray Son of Gotham. I’m pleased to see you’ve grown up well.”

The acrobat remained silent, merely glaring at the masked man. Next, a female Owl spoke.

“You know, we didn’t much like your act of rebellion. Nor your escape and disappearance from the Court.”

A smug smile played across his lips. “Well, what can I say? I’m glad I did. I wonder why I did it.” he drawled sarcastically.

A murmur of indignation rose among the Owls, but, surprising Dick, it was Cobb who intervened in his “defense”.

“It was for the best.” he began calmly, his golden eyes betraying no emotion. “The Gray Son has now become the world’s most dangerous assassin, mercenary and weapon. He has trained for nearly a decade with assassins like Deathstroke The Terminator, Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Katana and more. He has become more efficient, lethal and dangerous: far more so than he would have been had he remained with us.”

Cobb's lips lifted slightly in a cold smile, a satisfied, cold glint in his eyes.

“This is clearly a sign of destiny. As we all know, Gray Son was always predestined to be the ultimate weapon with which the Court would finally conquer Gotham. And now that he is far more trained, efficient and infallible, he is all ours. We can use him to conquer not only Gotham, but the entire world.”

The Owls began to whisper among themselves, clearly excited by the words of their now second-best Talon.

The mercenary stiffened but could do nothing but press his lips together and keep his true thoughts to himself.

Until he was certain that his children were safe, he couldn't afford to antagonize his enemies too much.

Sure, Cobb had promised him that he wouldn't hurt his children if Dick came with him willingly, but the acrobat thought he couldn't be blamed for not trusting his great-grandfather at all aka the man who caused him the worst traumas and irreversibly broke a part of his psyche.

Cobb addressed his great-grandson directly, a twinkle in his golden eyes. “Now that we have our best weapon back, it’s only a matter of time before we conquer Gotham.”

Dick narrowed his gaze defiantly. “I won’t be here long. Slade, Diana, and the others will save me soon.” he stated in a smug, solemn voice, without a shred of doubt in the trust he placed in those he loved.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.” Cobb shook his head with a growing smile. “Our base of operations is very hidden. No one outside of us knows about it. Not even The Batman and the Rogues Gallery. Besides, it’s so hidden that I bet the location of our base isn’t among the memories that have surfaced in your mind, right?”

The intensity of the acrobat's glare increased a notch, but he couldn't deny it.

No matter how many times he tried to remember where the hell the Court's main base of operations was, even approximately, he always failed.

Now he wished he'd tried harder.

“In any case, that doesn't change anything. It's only a matter of hours, a few days at most, before your threat to kill my children becomes empty. Slade and the others will protect them all and won't leave them alone for even a second when they discover their lives are in mortal danger from you.”

A menacing smirk played across the mercenary's lips, his eyes glowing a dangerous, predatory gold. His chuckle echoed eerily throughout the enormous room, startling several Owls.

“And we both know I'm more than capable of permanently exterminating the entire Court of Owls single-handedly. Even without my Renegade gear. None of you are a match for me. Not when I'm simply better than all of you in every way. You're no match for me: you haven't been for years.

“And I'm going to enjoy every single second of ripping your head off with my bare hands and slaughtering every Owl.”

His golden eyes blazed furiously and menacingly, and in tandem with his words, the Owls had begun whispering among themselves, clearly terrified of their Gray Son.

Only Cobb remained indifferent and unmoved by Dick's threats, which didn't surprise him.

"You're right. It's only a matter of time before we can no longer blackmail you with the lives of the two Wilsons, Drake and Brown. We won't be able to kill them when they have the protection of Deathstroke, The Batman and the others." Cobb began in a calm and composed voice.

The mercenary's stomach began to churn nervously, a sign of bad omen.

Cobb is too calm. That means he has a plan. And whatever it is, I obviously won't like it.

"But it doesn't matter if we lose our hold on them. Because this time, I'll make sure to break you completely, without the slightest chance of you ever being yourself again." Cobb declared coldly.

Dick barely suppressed a terrified gasp and stiffened. He gritted his teeth so hard they clattered together painfully, nearly breaking.

I will not let them break me again. I will never, ever be their weapon and tool, devoid of free will and at their command. Not again. Never again.

“I am not a child anymore, Cobb.” Dick snarled, his furious, hateful golden eyes fixed on his great-grandfather’s. “You cannot break me any more than you have already. It is thanks to you that I have developed a virtually infinite tolerance for pain. No matter how many mutilations and tortures you inflict upon me, I am now impervious to every single one of them. You can no longer even kill me momentarily: I have learned all your training in fighting and evading death.”

His anger was quickly replaced by confusion, distrust and concern when Cobb, instead of responding in kind, chuckled. The sound of his laughter sent shivers down Dick's spine and he swallowed.

This isn't good.

“You’re a fool, Gray Son.”

The mercenary physically forced himself to remain still as Cobb began to approach him. He stiffened as cold fingers gripped his chin harshly, and Dick fought fiercely against the instinct and urge to tear his great-grandfather’s arm away. He was forced to stare directly into the elder Talon’s eyes.

Golden met golden.

“You think I didn’t already know?” Cobb began in a low, menacing voice.

The acrobat shivered as the grip tightened slightly, not from pain but from the risk of possible traumatic relapse.

It may have been over a decade, but Dick isn’t ashamed to admit to himself that he will forever be terrified of Cobb and the Court of Owls, no matter how immensely powerful he is now.

He bears physical, emotional, mental and psychological scars that will never leave him, no matter how many more decades pass.

"I know that physical torture isn't enough to break you again. I've trained you too well for that."

A small, almost wistful smile played on his lips.

“I still fondly remember the kind of torture and killing I inflicted on you on a daily basis. Every time I impaled you. Burned alive. Frozen alive. Torn out hearts and other internal organs. Mutilated hands, fingers, legs, feet, torsos and more. Gouged out eyes. Shattered eardrums.”

A myriad of memories of the hundreds, if not thousands, of inhumane and cruel deaths and tortures he had endured flashed through the mercenary's mind again, and he couldn't help but whimper. “S-Stop!”

Cobb smiled as if he'd just won the lottery. “There's your weakness, as well as the protection of your loved ones. Not the decapitation. Not the cold. Not the sensory weaknesses. But your mind. Your psyche. A part of you, a part of your psyche, has been irreversibly damaged by the Court, right?” The elder Talon remained unperturbed by the silence, but rather took it as an incentive. He put his lips close to his great-nephew's ear, despite their enhanced hearings, and whispered in a cold, menacing voice:

“You have a punishment to serve. A punishment for your act of rebellion and betrayal. A punishment that's been pending for over a decade. A punishment for your first and last failed mission. You haven't forgotten, have you?”

A flash of genuine terror, fear and shock crossed Dick's golden eyes, and he visibly flinched.

His limbs turned to ice, and the highest form of pure terror and fear blossomed in his chest.

For the first time ever since he became Renegade, nearly a decade ago, he was terrified to death for his own well-being.

And that said it all, since Renegade was never afraid for himself.

The mercenary swallowed hard as the unnatural gold in his eyes faded into the blue of shock and terror. “Don't tell me you mean…?”

Cobb pulled back and chuckled at the look on his great-nephew's face. “Exactly, Gray Son.” He released his grip on the younger Talon’s chin and turned, starting to walk away. “Follow me.” he ordered, never looking back.

Dick clenched his fists but couldn't help but follow, knowing that his children were still in mortal danger. As he followed the eldest Talon, the last Flying Grayson felt as if a leaden weight had settled in his chest.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only minutes, the two Talons reached the room Dick feared more than any other.

His blue eyes darted frantically from one tomb to the next, absentmindedly memorizing the names engraved on their plaques. The two stopped suddenly, and when Dick shifted his gaze to what was in front of them, his heart immediately sank.

They were standing before one tomb in particular.

The name engraved on it was this:

Gray Son.

The mercenary's palms began to sweat nervously as the realization of what was about to happen became more and more real, a shock that hit him harder than anything he'd ever experienced.

Cobb pressed a button, and the tomb, a sort of vertical sarcophagus, opened.

"Enter."

Dick swallowed, and if it had been possible, his heart would have threatened to burst out of his ribcage. His feet were glued to the floor as if made of lead, preventing him from moving even an inch. He hesitated. “I-I-“

“Don't make me say it again, Gray Son.”

The acrobat flinched at the cold, emotionless voice. His gaze shifted from Cobb's unyielding golden eyes to his tomb, which seemed to be inviting him in.

His shoulders slumped in defeat.

I can't do anything. I'm completely helpless and at their mercy.

It was a tremendous physical effort to force his legs to function, despite every instinct screaming at him STOP STOP. He turned and walked backward until his back hit the gravestone. Cobb pressed a button on the side of the tomb, and devices at the top corners of the tomb began to spray and emit a wintry chill.

"Sweet dreams, Gray Son."

The tomb closed.

Relegating Dick to total darkness.

Despite his enhanced vision, which gave him excellent night vision.

The mercenary shivered as the cold increased and expanded in the limited space available.

And here was the most atrocious, terrible and cruel punishment a Talon could ever receive, and one that the Court of Owls did not hesitate to mete out.

To be hibernated in your own tomb with little room for your muscles to move. To remain trapped there, knowing that time was passing but not knowing for sure how much. All this while the cold, rapidly expanding in the limited space, penetrated every inch of your body, weakening you, but not to the point of freezing you but rather forcing you to be unable to sleep, remaining awake until the Court decided to deem you useful and therefore release you.

It could be days.

Weeks.

Months.

Years.

Even centuries and millennia.

And yet you can never know for sure how much time is passing.

You are no longer aware of the real world.

And that would drive literally any living entity mad.

Until they become an empty shell of themselves, a mere tool and weapon at the Court's disposal.

And Dick knew, with every fiber of his being, that even he, the mighty Renegade-

Sooner or later, would succumb.

And it was only a matter of time.

I'm definitely not feeling the aster right now.

Chapter Text

Talia Al Ghul turned when she heard silent footsteps landing soundlessly on the roof. “Found anything useful?”

Lady Shiva was the first to shake her head in obvious frustration.

“This is like the fifth time we’ve searched Gotham from top to bottom and found nothing useful!” Cheshire blurted out angrily. “I’m starting to believe those bastards have moved on to another city!”

"I doubt it." Katana intervened, absentmindedly swinging her signature weapon, the tip of which was soaked in fresh blood. "The heroes have ransacked the entire city of Bludhaven numerous times and still no sign of them. We know the Court takes a pretty strong pride in its secrecy, which is why Cobb didn’t destroy the camera and clean up his blood in Renegade’s house."

Cheshire snarled as she pointed an accusatory finger at the three older women. “How the hell are you guys staying so calm? It almost seems like you don’t care about Dick’s disappearance!”

As soon as Jade spoke, it was as if the already low temperature in Gotham dropped even further. Three furious gazes shot toward the younger assassin, who couldn't help but flinch at the deadly expressions.

Lady Shiva took a step forward and Jade unconsciously took one back. "Don't you ever say such bullshit again." the deadliest woman in the world growled in a low, menacing voice, her masked eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her shiver. "You know damn well that we love Ren more than anything in the world and that we would do anything for him."

"You're not the only one suffering, you know." Tatsu added coldly as she placed her bloody katana on her back. “We all miss Dick. We all miss his sunny, bright presence. We all miss the most wonderful, cool and badass person to ever walk this planet.”

Talia crossed her arms, giving Sportsmaster's daughter a disappointed look. “We're doing our best to find him.” Her eyes softened slightly. “We will find him, Jade. Even if it's the last thing we do.”

Cheshire let out a pained sigh. “I’m sorry, girls. I didn’t really mean it.” she admitted, looking away awkwardly. “It’s just…” She couldn’t find the right words and left the sentence hanging.

Sandra placed a hand on the younger assassin’s shoulder. “We’re endlessly worried about him, too. How can we not be when we haven’t heard from him since-”

She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, a leaden weight forming in her chest as she struggled to get the next words out.

“-more than two months.”

A heavy, tense silence hung in the air.

More than two months had passed since Dick’s kidnapping at the hands of the Court of Owls.

And still, no one had found anything useful.

Literally the entire community of heroes, anti-heroes and former supervillains were scouring Gotham, Bludhaven, and the surrounding cities for any kind of clue, no matter how trivial, but they found nothing.

Now everyone realized and better understood how not even Batman, the world's greatest detective, had been able to find any leads on Dick's first disappearance, over a decade earlier.

The Court of Owls was very skilled and expert at leaving no trace and literally disappearing into thin air.

Not that any of them would have expected anything less from an organization so secretive that it had remained unnoticed for centuries, so much so that the only clue about them was a damned nursery rhyme.

The four assassins exchanged uneasy and uncertain glances, countless doubts and fears that had been tearing them apart for some time.

Dick was the glue that held the League of Assassins together.

Dick was the reason the League of Assassins had gone from being a supervillain organization to a more morally ambiguous and gray one.

Dick was the reason the League of Assassins was more of a cohesive family than a cold and emotionless organization.

Dick was the reason ninja assassins were able to freely express their emotions and thoughts without fear of punishment, or even death, for what would once have been considered transgressions.

None of them could ever forget how an eleven-year-old Renegade managed to organize and plan a coup against the League of Assassins, aiming to eliminate Ra's al Ghu, the former Demon's Head, and his closest allies and loyalists, and place Talia herself in charge.

How Renegade managed to kill Ra's and several of the world's best assassins at just eleven damn years old.

And that's exactly how, from that moment on, the League of Assassins reached its peak since its founding centuries earlier: not only did it transform into a true, united and cohesive family unit but its mission success rate increased dramatically, almost reaching 100%.

Almost exclusively thanks to Renegade -famous for never failing a contract or a mission in his decade-long career as a professional mercenary- and, to a lesser extent, other elite assassins of the League such as Lady Shiva, Katana and Cheshire.

However, the last few months had been testing the League of Assassins.

Even the ninja assassins missed Renegade -who had always been so cheerful, welcoming and caring to all of them, just as he was well-liked by them all- because they recognized that it was thanks to the mercenary that their lives had improved so much.

Not to mention the children.

To say that Cass and Damian were devastated by the sudden disappearance and kidnapping of Dick, their older brother and the closest thing they'd ever had to a father figure, was the understatement of the century.

And the four assassins were nearing their breaking point as the days went by without any news from Dick.

Jade's little brother.

Talia, Jade and Tatsu's nephew.

Their lives hadn't been the same since the disappearance of the world's most dangerous mercenary.

They were no longer bright, shining and brilliant.

Not without the acrobat who served as the sun, illuminating their lives with his sunny demeanor, his jokes and pranks, a dazzling smile, warm and welcoming blue eyes, his presence that exuded loyalty, protectiveness and comfort to the highest degree with every fiber of his being that loved them.

He was the first person who saw the good in all four of them and he never gave up on them.

For which they could never thank him enough.

The assassins were so tired and worn out, especially emotionally and mentally.

But they couldn't give up.

Giving up wasn't even an option.

They would do anything to save one of the most important people in their lives.

They would continue to search every damn corner of this godforsaken city for as long as it took.

Hell, they would start looking for him across the whole damn world if it meant anything.

They would never give up.

Never.

Not with Dick.

They would find him.

It was the only acceptable outcome.

Talia was leaping from one rooftop to another when suddenly a loud bang sounded, startling her slightly. She turned and looked down at the ground.

Despite the distance, she immediately realized that a pedestrian had just been involved in an accident and the car involved had fled.

Not that I would have expected anything else from Gotham.

The Demon's Head was about to ignore the whole thing and leave it in the hands of the local police, since she had far more important things to do than a trivial car accident, but she stopped when a small voice, sounding suspiciously like her nephew's, buzzed in her head, buzzing about how the right thing to do was to help the civilian.

She sighed.

Damn you, Richard. Even while you're gone, your humanity is contagious.

With a disgruntled grunt, the woman took a few minutes to descend from the building and approach the scene of the accident. She glanced at the victim, absently noting that the person -a young man, probably no older than eighteen- was covered from head to toe in mud and dirt and that his fingernails were bleeding.

“B-B-Bruce… D-D-Dick… A-Alfred…”

Talia's eyes widened in shock and the next second she found herself kneeling in front of the victim, gently cradling his head. She flinched as if physically struck when she found herself staring into blue eyes that, though currently vacant and distant, were quite familiar to her.

No! This is impossible! He should be dead!

Talia didn't hesitate to put a hand to her ear, connecting directly with some of her most loyal and trusted men.

“Get to my position and bring the helicopter with you! We're returning to Nanda Parbat immediately!”

“I miss Baba.”

The small but lethal arms of Cassandra Cain -but Grayson in her spirit!- tightened further around her little brother’s figure. She placed a tender kiss on the top of the ten-year-old’s head and nodded. “I miss Dad so much, too.”

The sixteen-year-old had improved greatly in her verbal communication, thanks largely to Dick, who, armed with immense patience and unconditional love, had been a fundamental support to her.

Her heart clenched painfully, and a pang of agony shot through her chest as she remembered that Dick, their older brother and father figure in everything but blood, had been kidnapped by a very dangerous criminal organization.

Cassandra didn’t know all the details, but she knew it was the same organization that had gravely injured her dad many years before and the reason he was the most dangerous and lethal weapon in the world, infinitely greater than the reason she was born.

She wanted nothing more than to hunt down the bad guys who'd hurt Dickie so many times and make them pay, no matter if she had to use the training of that monster David Cain.

At least it would have served some purpose.

However, Cass knew she was more needed to comfort little Damian, who was still shaken and inconsolable over Dick's disappearance -they both were, but she was better at hiding it- and, despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to go to Gotham and kick the asses of those who had dared to hurt her dad again, she remained in Nanda Parbat to try to console and comfort her little brother.

Damian's fists clenched on her shirt, and his whimpers broke her heart.

Cass, too, felt lost and shaken, as if a part of her had ceased to exist and would remain so until they saved Dickie.

They had to save him.

The mere thought of her never seeing her dad again was unthinkable and painful enough to make her sick.

But she remained strong.

For Damian.

For her mother.

For her aunts Talia, Jade and Tatsu.

But most of all-

For Dick.

Her father in everything but blood.

The first person who taught her the true meaning of love and family.

Cass was abruptly jolted from her thoughts when a series of frantic footsteps sounded in the distance. She stiffened and leaped to her feet, bringing her little brother behind her and raised her fists in a defensive stance.

She had received training not only from David Cain and Lady Shiva but also from Renegade himself and she wouldn't hesitate to use it fully if it meant keeping her family safe.

The sixteen-year-old relaxed her muscles when she realized the footsteps belonged to Aunt Talia. She frowned, easily noticing the feelings of Confusion, Surprise Disbelief Hope emanating from her body. She gently grasped her little brother's hand and followed the woman.

Cass's lips pursed slightly when she realized they had finally reached the room containing the Lazarus Pit: a room rarely used in recent years. She and Damian approached Talia, who was frantically barking orders to her men for preparations, and a gasp escaped her body as she recognized the figure being carried by the Demon's Head.

She heard a gasp from beside her, followed by Damian's surprised and confused voice.

“He’s-”

He was interrupted when, once the preparations were complete, Talia gently lowered the figure into her arms in the green waters of the Lazarus Pit.

I hope this works.

Talia watched with growing concern as the body still hadn't surfaced. She barely restrained herself from impatiently stamping her foot on the ground in a typically childish manner.

Come on! What's taking so long?

As if on cue, a figure suddenly emerged from the green waters, radiating confusion, madness and bewilderment.

“Guards! Don't let him hurt himself or anyone else!”

As her men began to obey her orders, Talia cast an apologetic look at the figure, her heart leaping painfully.

“Are you feeling better?” Talia asked the new guest softly after escorting him to his makeshift room.

Jason Peter Todd nodded and gave her a confused look. “So… you told me earlier that you found me catatonic and half-conscious… that I was hit by a car-”

Just my luck to be hit right after I was resurrected.

“-and you threw me into this Lazarus Pit in the hopes that it would heal my physical wounds and my catatonic state?”

“In short, yes.” She nodded. “Do you remember anything?”

Jason swallowed hard as flashes of maniacal laughter, crowbar, bomb and explosion flashed through his mind and he managed not to vomit on the spot. “After… you know, my death…” he began fidgeting nervously with his hands as the familiar feeling of fear, desperation and dread settled in his chest. “I remember waking up in my coffin… I don’t even know how I managed to get out of it.” he admitted.

“Your nails were bleeding and covered in mud. You probably dug your way out of your grave.” she informed him gently.

Jason bit his lip and shuddered as more traumatic memories came flooding back. He simply nodded and changed the subject, trying not to think about it again. “What happened to the Joker?”

For the first time, he felt hope well up in his chest at the thought of the fate of the psychopathic clown.

Dick, his older brother, his idol and hero, was Renegade, the most powerful and coolest person on Earth, and the thought of what he would inflict on the Joker was almost enough to quench the thirst for revenge that kept whispering in his mind.

"Renegade tortured and killed him for days on end. He dismembered him and chopped his corpse into pieces so brutally that, even though several months have passed since his death, his pieces are still found scattered around Gotham."

Jason whistled in awe before bursting into a cathartic laugh.

The thirst for revenge, fueled by the aftereffects of his Lazarus Pit bath, instantly subsided, and his muscles relaxed at the thought that that son of a bitch couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

Thank you so much, Dick. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, that you'd avenge my death and that you'd outdo yourself in torturing and killing that bastard. I bet you even managed to break him mentally: after all, there's nothing you can't do.

"By the way, where are Bruce and Dickie? I thought you told them the prodigal son returned from the dead?" Jason joked with a small smile.

Take that, Dickhead! You're not the only one capable of rising from the dead! Although I know mine was a one-off, since neither I nor Talia know how the hell I managed to wake up in my grave, details are useless for now.

"They don't know yet."

Jason noticed the way Talia's muscles tensed at the mention of Dick and a bad feeling began to form in his chest. He forced himself to shake it off because, you know, Dick was literally the most unstoppable and powerful person on Earth and there was literally nothing that could take him down. "What aren't you telling me, Talia?"

Talia stared at him for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. "I didn't want to tell you. At least not so soon after your resurrection because I'm afraid how you might react and-"

Now Jason was genuinely worried.

Nothing could have happened to my older brother. Not to him. Right?

"Get to the point."

"Richard was kidnapped by the Court of Owls. He's been missing for over two months."

Jason felt like he was being sucked back into the oblivion of death.

The world around him began to spin.

Breathing had just become more difficult.

His vision became blurry and hazy.

His ears began to ring painfully.

His heart pounded in his ribcage.

N-Not Dick! Not him! N-Not my older brother!

Jason only had general knowledge of Dick's past because no one wanted to give him the full picture -and that alone was enough to underscore how broken his older brother had been- but it didn't take a genius to figure out that the Court of Owls had traumatized a defenseless seven-year-old boy immediately after the death of his parents, turning him not only into a living zombie -apparently they both were now, Jason thought bitterly- but also into the world's most dangerous and lethal assassin and weapon.

The thought of Dick being forced to relive the horrors and inhumanity of the Court of Owls once again was enough to make the Pit coursing through his veins sing with rage.

Jason wanted to return the favor to Dick by killing all the bastards who had traumatized him for the rest of his life.

Jason took a breath, trying to banish the blinding green from his vision.

He was only partially successful.

“Train me.”

“W-What?”

“I want the League of Assassins to train me. In hand-to-hand combat. With weapons. In fighting this damned green haze and EVERY OUNCE OF MY BODY SCREAMING WITH RAGE TO BREAK THOSE BASTARDS WHO ARE HURTING MY OLDER BROTHER!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“P-Please, Talia. I want to be useful. I want to save Dickie. Please.”

A sigh.

Breath held.

“I think it can be done.”

Chapter Text

“I-I already told you! I-I don't know anything!”

Deathstroke The Terminator let out a low growl as he pressed the blade of his sword against the man's throat. “You belong to Gotham's elite. You have a history of corruption. You must know something about the Court of Owls.”

“I-I've never h-heard of it before! I swear!”

“Bullshit!” Deathstroke snapped angrily as he slammed his free hand into the wall beside the man's head, blasting a massive hole. The man's face, already pale, drained even more color at the demonstration of the assassin's superhuman strength. “Everyone who's from this filthy city has heard of the Court of Owls! There's even a fucking nursery rhyme about it, dammit!”

Small drops of blood began to drip from the shallow cut on the rich man's throat, and he whimpered in terror. "I-I only know that! N-Nothing else!"

The mercenary gritted his teeth, his grip never faltering on his weapon. "Last chance. Otherwise, I'll slit your throat."

The man winced and curled further against the wall behind him, as if wishing he would disappear. "I swear! I-I know n-nothing about the Court-"

The super soldier, true to his promise, cut the man's carotid artery with a clean, expert slash. The wealthy Gothamite upper-class citizen's eyes widened in shock as blood spurted violently from his fatal wound, and he fell to the ground, choking on his own blood.

Slade watched indifferently as the blood gushed from his throat like a fountain, and listened to the man's heartbeat, as well as his breathing, stop after a few seconds. He placed his weapon on his back and turned, not the least bit surprised to stare at the scowling figure of the local vigilante who had just entered the room.

"You shouldn't have killed him."

"No, but I wanted to."

Batman clenched his fists at his side, his menacing white eyes staring directly at the older man. “He was innocent. He knew nothing about the Court.”

The second-best mercenary in the world sneered. “I wouldn’t have believed you so naive. It’s obvious that bastard had ties to the Court. Not only does he belong to Gotham’s elite, but he’s been tried multiple times for corruption.”

“That doesn’t mean it was necessarily true. It’s just circumstantial evidence.”

“Circumstantial evidence, my ass.”

The Caped Crusader crossed his arms stiffly. “If you’re so sure of your opinion, why did you kill him instead of torturing him for information?”

“I know people. I can sense the fear they exude. There are people whose lips will always remain sealed, no matter how inhumanely tortured you try. Unfortunately, this man was one of those people. He was probably more terrified of the Court itself than of me. Torturing him would have wasted precious time I could have used to further investigate other leads.”

“You are killing people in my city.”

“They were all bastards. Besides, you haven't complained to Renegade since you learned the truth about him.”

“Because he kills the worst criminals.”

“So do I.”

“You killed not only petty thieves but innocents too!” Batman snapped angrily. “Their lives are not a game!”

“Just because you didn't have solid evidence against them doesn't mean they were clean.” the mercenary replied coldly. “Right now, I don't give a shit about my victims.”

“Even if they're innocent?”

“Let's get one thing straight, Batman.” Deathstroke took a menacing step forward, looming over the vigilante by a few inches. “Before I took Renegade in, I killed countless innocents. I haven't killed an innocent since I took him in. But now it's a whole different story.

“I would kill the Pope himself if it meant getting my son back safe and sound. I would burn the entire world down if it meant getting my son back safe and sound. For Renegade, my kiddo, there's nothing I won't do to get him back safe and sound.”

“Renegade would be disappointed in you when he finds out what you're doing.”

It all happened so quickly.

The millisecond after those words were spoken, Deathstroke pinned the Dark Knight against a wall, his forearm pressed against the vigilante's throat. The mercenary increased the pressure slightly, cutting off further oxygen from the hero, and with a growl, brought his masked face closer to the other man's.

“Don't you dare speak of my son again. You don't know him like I do. He might be disappointed by what I'm doing, that's true, but I also know that even he would do the same if the roles were reversed. Especially when one of his family or loved ones is in mortal danger.”

“R-Renegade would never kill an innocent.” Batman spoke between gasps.

“Renegade doesn’t. But Richard Grayson does.”

The mercenary abruptly released Batman, who fell to the ground with a gasp, and stepped back, staring coldly at the vigilante.

“He already has innocent blood on his hands, even though it's obviously not his fault. And while Dick would hate killing innocents with every fiber of his being, he would do it if it meant keeping the people closest to him safe. Sure, he'd carry that guilt with him until his permanent death, but he'll never be able to fully regret it, not if he actually saved the lives of his loved ones. He's already lost his family once: he won't let that happen again.

“Dick is no longer human, Batman. Not physically, and especially not mentally. He lost a part of his humanity when he was tortured, trained, and killed daily for three years, when he was just a fucking child, in the most inhumane, cruel, and bloody ways possible by the Court of Owls. When he was reduced to nothing but an empty shell of himself, devoid of free will and any form of independent thought. When he was forced to kill innocents. When he was forced to kill children.

“A part of his humanity was lost in those three years of pure horror. And there's nothing anyone -not me, not you, not Wonder Woman, not anyone else- can do. Frankly, it's a fucking miracle Renegade retained the rest of his humanity and didn't go so mad with insanity and grief that he would have razed the entire planet. Not that I could really blame him after the hell he was forced to go through. Hell, I would have helped him if that was what he truly wanted.

“The world isn't just black and white, Batman. And gray isn't as simple as you might think. Now stop lecturing me about what the fuck is right and get your damn ass moving and find my son.”

Batman stiffened as the super soldier began walking toward him, but the older man didn't even glance at him as he walked out of the room, leaving the vigilante alone with his thoughts and musings in the darkness.

Batman let out a long sigh and, plunged into the darkness of the room that reeked of death and blood courtesy of Deathstroke, lowered his cowl. He leaned wearily against a wall, his eyes slowly closing.

Dick, his nephew, literally the only reason Bruce was alive physically, mentally and emotionally, his ray of sunshine, the boy he wanted to adopt over a decade ago after the Flying Graysons died trying to help him-

He had been kidnapped by the Court of Owls.

Again.

It was as if the nightmare was playing out a second time.

Bruce had literally searched for Dick every single day when he first disappeared, and this time was no different.

He wouldn't give up this time either.

Giving up wasn't an option.

Not now, not ever.

Bruce would do anything to find his chum.

Tim and Stephanie were saddened and shaken by the news of the young mercenary's disappearance and both were suffering immensely.

Tim was quieter and more lifeless than usual, seeming more like a ghost than a real person, while Stephanie had almost completely lost her sunny demeanor as time passed, the light in their blue eyes completely extinguished.

They both admired and loved Dick infinitely, who, despite being Renegade, was still their idol, their hero, their coolest older brother ever, and the most important person in their lives.

Bruce was doing his best not to fall back into old habits lonely, silent, pushing everyone else away, sunk into a dangerous darkness that would consume him forever since he now had children to care for.

Even though Stephanie didn't recognize herself as his little girl, they both knew she was lying.

Bruce knew Dick would want Bruce to do his best not to neglect Tim and Stephanie, which is why the vigilante was trying.

The Dark Knight put his cowl back on with a sigh and began walking toward the exit, one thought in mind.

I’ll find you, Dickie. Even if it’s the last thing I do. I’ve already let you down once. I won’t let you down again.

That’s a promise, chum.

“Did you find a lead, Dad?”

Slade stiffened, his mask in his hands, and his gray gaze fell on the sad but hopeful expressions of Rose and Joey. His attention briefly shifted to the worried looks of Adeline and Wintergreen for a few seconds before returning to his children.

He felt his throat tighten as a pang of pain shot through his chest. He swallowed as he knelt down to level with his children and gazed at them softly. “Still nothing.”

Then, more quietly:

“I’m sorry.”

Slade hated with every fiber of his being how his children's looks instantly turned dejected and devastated. He wrapped them both in his arms, and they melted almost immediately.

"I miss Dickie!"

Joey just nodded frantically against the mercenary's shoulder and both children huddled closer to the former soldier's chest. Slade closed his eye, trying not to let a stray tear roll down his face.

Seeing his little fourteen-year-old princess and his sixteen-year-old sunshine so devastated, no longer smiling and bright and radiant because of their older brother's disappearance, was tearing every inch of Slade's body apart.

He hated being so helpless in the face of the pain and suffering his children had been experiencing over the past few months.

He hated how there was nothing he could do to make them feel better.

And the only thing that could make his children happy, that was finding his eldest son…

Slade was disappointing all three of his children.

With a lump in his throat, the mercenary stood up, his heart breaking at the sounds of his children's protest. He buried the enormous guilt that was eating away at him as he ignored Rose's desperate pleas and screams and Joey's broken gaze as he walked out of the room.

I can't stay with them. Returning to New York was a colossal mistake. I don't even know why all of them are here in my house. I have to return to Gotham and continue the search.

The super soldier was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and he remained still.

"You'll find him soon, Slade."

Slade gritted his teeth and spun around, pushing his best friend's hand away from him. "Don't lie to me, Wintergreen." he declared coldly. "You can't know for sure."

"It's not your fault, Slade."

God, I'm in such a bad way if Adeline fucking Kane, my ex-wife who until a few years ago wanted nothing more than to finish the job she started decades earlier, is trying to reassure me.

Slade fixed them both with a hard look and started to walk away again when the other man's voice stopped him again.

"You can't go back to Gotham. You just got back."

“And it was a mistake to come back here.” Slade bit out. “I can’t stay here. I don’t know why I even came back here in the first place when my son needs me, damn it!”

“You have two other children who need their father.” Adeline reminded him, narrowing her eyes.

“And I have another son who is currently in the hands of the same organization that made him the most traumatized person in human history.” Slade stated in a hollow, emotionless voice. “I can’t afford to leave Gotham for even a damn second. I don’t even know why I didn’t stay there.”

“Your body needs rest and nourishment, Slade.” Wintergreen stated softly. “How long has it been since you slept and ate a hearty meal?”

The silence was more than enough answer.

“You have to—”

“Nothing you have to, dammit!” Slade snapped angrily, taking a step forward, towering over the other two adults. “I don’t have the luxury of resting and eating five-star food! Not when Dick is with those mentally ill bastards!”

“Dick is Renegade, the most dangerous person in the world. He wouldn’t surrender to the Court again.” Adeline pointed out. “He’s too strong not to resist torture.”

“It’s not the physical torture that worries me. I know physical torture isn’t a thing for Dick. It’s the mental and psychological torture that worries me.” Slade snarled. “Those bastards have already destroyed part of his mind irreversibly. A part of him died years ago because of them. And I know they know it and will bet everything on permanently breaking his psyche. And the longer they have Dick in their clutches, the greater their chance of success.”

“You won’t be of any help if you’re not 100%. You need to rest.”

“And comfort your other children.” Adelie added in a low voice. “Can't you see how much they're suffering? You haven't seen them since Dick was kidnapped, practically temporarily moving to Gotham for how long he was there. Tonight's the first time you've seen them in over four months, and you-”

“AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THEM THAT DICK WILLINGLY GAVE HIMSELF TO COBB! HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO PROTECT THEM!”

Slade's eyes widened, shocked by his own liberating outburst, and he immediately regretted the words that escaped his mouth without his permission. Adeline and Wintergreen mirrored his shock and horror, and the three adults' attention shifted to the children, who immediately began crying.

“It-It's our fault that Dickie was kidnapped and is suffering!”

Rose and Joey's blue eyes revealed the immense amount of pain, suffering, guilt, and shock, and their expressions were pure torment and devastation. The two turned and ran to their rooms, ignoring the adults' pleas.

Slade saw Adeline's slap coming at him.

However, he made no move to avoid it and remained still, knowing he deserved any pain.

His head snapped sideways at the force of his ex-wife's slap, though the burning sensation on his cheek was nothing compared to the guilt that was eating away at him.

I can't seem to do a damn thing right these past months. I'm a fucking disappointment to everyone, damn it.

"You vile, disgusting, piece of shit bastard." Adeline spat venomously, glaring at her ex-husband with nothing but contempt and hatred. "Not only are you making no progress on saving Dick, but now you're hurting your other two children, too?"

Slade flinched almost imperceptibly. "I-"

“You have two options, Slade Joseph Wilson.” The woman approached him menacingly, her eyes burning with anger and hatred. “Either you go apologize for being such a jerk to your children as usual, or you return to Gotham on your futile search.”

The pain and guilt in Slade’s eye vanished, replaced by a spark of anger. “Futile search?” he thundered angrily. “Is that what you call the whole damn world’s attempts to find my son?”

“Don’t you dare play the victim here, asshole.” Adeline snarled back. “Go apologize to them. Now.”

The mercenary’s gray eye flashed dangerously. “I have more important things right now.” he stated coldly. “Like saving my son. Since I’m apparently the only one who’s worried about him.”

“Don’t you dare go there, Slade.” Wintergreen said, narrowing his eyes. “Dick is like a nephew for me, and you know I'd do anything for him. Don't you dare say none of us care about Dick.”

Slade stared at them sternly for a few moments in silence and then turned away. "As I said, I have more important things. Don't expect me to return here. I'll stay in Gotham as long as necessary."

Before Adeline and Wintergreen could express their displeasure, the mercenary slammed the front door, leaving an uneasy, tense silence in his wake.

Slade knew he'd been acting like a heartless, bastard son of a bitch.

He didn't really mean what he'd said.

And he also knew that when Dick found out about how the super soldier had treated his little siblings that's a when, not an if he'd kick his ass so hard the man wouldn't be able to sit down for over a year.

The ex-soldier felt like complete shit.

In every possible way.

He felt like the worst person in the world and an even worse father for the way he'd just treated his younger children, failing to offer them the reassurance they needed from him.

Slade didn't really mean what he'd said.

It wasn't Rose and Joey's fault that Cobb had threatened their lives to force Dick to surrender to the Court.

Not in thousands of years.

It's just that his mind had decided to do whatever the fuck it wanted.

Slade let out a pained sigh and rubbed his temples. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion and disorientation hit him with the force of a Kryptonian, and he staggered sideways, barely managing to avoid falling to the ground like a damned sack of potatoes.

Wintergreen was right about one thing.

He hadn't slept or fed properly in practically over four months.

That is, since his eldest son was kidnapped.

Fuck. It's already been four months.

Four months without seeing or hearing from his kiddo.

Without ever hearing one of his stupid puns or mangling of the English language.

Without ever being the victim of one of his pranks, which were the worst in the entire world.

Without ever seeing the most beautiful shade of blue in all of creation.

Without ever feeling the warmth of his kiddo's hugs and smiles.

The most important person in his life.

His greatest pride and achievement.

His entire universe.

His ray of sunshine.

His everything.

The reason Slade maintained his sanity and didn't sink into a pit of darkness from which he would never emerge.

The reason Slade had a second try with his family, whom he was once again close to and constantly present in his children's lives.

The reason Slade was able to experience the wonderful feeling of being a parent again, something he never thought he'd experience again.

His son in everything but blood.

His kiddo.

Slade wasn't ashamed to say that ever since his kiddo was kidnapped, he had been sinking into a darkness that grew deeper as the days passed without finding any trace or useful lead.

That he slept only a few hours a week and ate little to nothing each day.

That he was falling back into his old habits before taking Dick in.

More violent.

Darker.

Colder and more distant.

More angry and furious with life, the world, the universe, and every divine entity in existence.

More regardless to whether the victims were innocent or not.

He knew his body was begging him for proper rest and nourishment, and that it was on the verge of collapse at any moment.

And that was saying a lot, given his metahuman status.

But he couldn't afford it.

He would have to go through Gotham from top to bottom again, and he would do it another hundred times, if necessary.

Why would Slade allow himself the luxury of rest when his kiddo was enduring who knows what physical, emotional, mental and psychological torture?

He hadn't accepted a single contract since the investigation began.

Since his son's kidnapping, it was as if a part of Slade had been gradually dying.

The same part of himself that had been reborn thanks to the kiddo and his radiant presence that chased away all darkness.

Raising Dick and being his third parent had been the most wonderful and important experience of his entire life.

He had supported Dick through every relapse he had suffered due to the traumas of the Court.

He had watched him go from an empty shell of himself devoid of free will and rational thought to a deeply traumatized child to the best man and mercenary alive.

And Slade knew that part of that was thanks to him.

Which is why the only time he could feel proud of himself was when he stared into his kiddo's face.

But now?

Now Slade felt like the biggest failure on Earth.

He hadn't just failed Joey and Rose.

He'd especially failed Dick.

Slade hadn't kept his promise.

All those years ago, when Dick was still an adorable child with baby fat on his cheeks -God, Slade sorely missed that version of his son- after a bad nightmare about the Court, he'd sneaked into the super soldier's room.

Slade had done his best to reassure his little boy -he was still a fledgling at the time and had just become a parent again, something he didn't think would ever happen again- and had explicitly promised him that the Court would never hurt him again, not while Slade was still around.

What a way to break a promise.

Slade had failed.

Just as he had failed and disappointed Grant, killed because he wanted to be like him.

He'd never told his son, his firstborn, out loud that he loved him and was proud of him just the way he was.

Now he'd never get the chance again.

Just as he'd failed and disappointed Joey, who was permanently mute because of him, and Rose.

He'd hurt them both and been a total asshole.

He'd never forgive himself.

Just as he'd failed and disappointed Dick, kidnapped and tortured again by his greatest living nightmare aka literally the only thing in the entire world capable of scaring Renegade for his own well-being.

Slade had failed the most important people in his life.

He deserved every pain he could get.

But he wouldn't just despair.

No.

Slade wasn't just absolutely terrified and scared at the thought of what his kiddo had been going through these past few months.

Deathstroke the Terminator was so fucking pissed off, he was ready to burn and raze the entire world to save his kiddo.

The Court of Owls had sealed his end the moment they kidnapped his son.

Deathstroke would brutally and cruelly destroy and annihilate every Talon and Owl, starting with William fucking Cobb.

And this time, he wouldn't break his promise.

The Court of Owls has signed its own death warrant. I will not let a single one of them live. They will experience the true meaning of pain, suffering and terror firsthand.

They will suffer the most ferocious and dangerous wrath of Deathstroke the Terminator.

Dick couldn't tell how much time had passed since he'd been locked in his coffin. Every second, minute, and hour blurred together and he'd lost all sense of time.

It could have been days.

Months.

Years.

Or it could have even been just hours.

He didn't know anymore.

The only thing he knew was that his muscles ached from being stuck in the same position for who knows how long, and that every fiber of his being felt stiff from the damned cold that had penetrated every inch of his body.

He'd tried to strike the grave but every attempt was futile, as the cold was weakening him greatly.

Slade. Diana. Rose. Joey. Cass. Dami. Jade. Talia. Sandra. Tatsu. Wintergreen. John and Mary. Bruce. Alfred. Tim. Steph. Louise. Conner. Harley. Pamela. Selina. Bane. Killer Croc. Enchantress. Mr. Freeze. Zatanna. John Constantine.

Dick was forced to mentally recite the names of his loved ones to prevent him from forgetting any of them.

To his horror, he discovered that his mind had become more confused as time passed, which seemed so prolonged and interminable. Furthermore, the subzero temperatures were not helping his brain at all but were actually slowing his thinking processes.

The worst kind of torture he had ever suffered.

What's Joey and Rose's mother's name? Did it start with an A... or was it an L?

Aunt Talia is the leader of... what was the organization still called? And what's her title as leader?

Wintergreen is Uncle Billy... but what's his full name?

Conner... what were his parents' names? If I'm not mistaken, they're both politicians... or were they journalists?

What was Jade's younger sister's name? Could she have been named after some Greek goddess, or am I confusing her with someone else?

I founded two superhero teams a while back... what were their names? Were they Justice Forever and Young Titanium? No, I don't think so. They had other names.

Dick knew that as time inexorably passed, his mind would become even more confused and disoriented, causing him to forget other crucial details of his life.

I can't afford to forget anything else. I know I'll be able to recall the forgotten details once I'm out of here, but I also know it will be a long time before that happens. The Court has managed to hide in the darkness of Gotham for many centuries without arousing suspicion, so I'm not surprised no one has found me yet.

The acrobat had a way of not forgetting other things, but at the same time it was risky because it involved his already damaged psyche.

If I continue to remain myself, it will only further damage and break my mind and psyche.

If I give up control of my body and mind to it, I risk never being able to regain control of my body. The first and only time this happened... honestly, it was a miracle that I didn't hurt any innocent people, only the scum, and that I was able to regain control of myself. Sure, if I leave everything in its hands, I will be able to save myself but would it be worth it?

Finally, the mercenary decided that the pros outweighed the cons. He let out a deep sigh and slowly closed his eyes.

He let the darkest, most dangerous and sinister part of himself surround him.

He freed his mind of all thought and awareness.

He let his body become even more immobile than it already was.

He lost control of his body, locking the most human part of himself away in the remotest part of his mind and giving complete control of his body to his coldest, most detached, indifferent, darkest and most emotionless part.

I only hope that my other self doesn't destroy the entire world.

Darkness enveloped him, and Dick let himself be drowned in it.

Dad...

Diana...

Please, hurry and save me.

And forgive me for what I'm doing.

Talon-Renegade slowly opened its golden eyes.

It stared impassively and indifferently at a spot in the tomb where it was locked.

It would wait patiently for its former Masters to open the tomb and release it.

Talon-Renegade was in no hurry.

It could have waited another few hours.

Days.

Weeks.

Months.

Years.

Centuries.

Even millennia, if it had to.

Talon-Renegade would wait as long as it had to.

After all, it was the most lethal, dangerous, ruthless, deadly, cruel, efficient and feared weapon of the Earth.

Court of Owls. Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death.

Chapter Text

More than six months had passed.

The equivalent of more than half a year.

It had been more than half a year since Diana had last seen his beautiful smile that sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

It had been more than half a year since Diana had last seen his blue eyes, so bright that the sun was nothing compared to them.

It had been more than half a year since Diana had last enjoyed the warmth of his arms, so strong and secure that, every time they held her, they reminded her that he was her home and vice versa.

It had been more than half a year since Diana had last tasted his cold yet soft lips, to which she had become addicted.

It had been more than half a year since Diana had last cuddled with him.

It had been over half a year since Diana had last heard his voice, his puns, his jokes, and him destroying the English language.

Zeus, she missed him so much it was impossible to put into words.

Over half a year without seeing, hearing or touching Dick had been the worst torture she had ever endured in her entire life of hundreds of years.

The Amazon hadn't slept well in months, if at all.

She barely ate.

She almost never rested and spent most of her time in Gotham trying to find a clue, no matter how small, but it was always futile.

She had even taken temporary leave from her job at the UN for family reasons to devote every single second of her time to finding her boyfriend.

Despite her divine heritage, physically she felt like a total mess like she had never felt before.

Every time the demigoddess saw her reflection, she could barely recognize herself.

Her eyes had lost their sparkling blue, full of life, and had been replaced by gloom, emptiness and confusion. They were surrounded by heavy dark circles and were heavily reddened, the only evidence of her constant bouts of crying. Her hair, usually neat, was always disheveled and messy.

She looked very much like a zombie from one of those apocalyptic movies she and Dick occasionally watched together.

The more time passed without making any progress in her research, the more it seemed as if the life energy in her body was gradually being sucked out, leaving behind an empty shell.

Diana would never have imagined she could feel so tired and physically drained, but the last few months have proven it was possible.

Her limbs felt heavier, as if they were made of lead, pinning her to the ground.

But the worst part was emotional.

If physically she felt like total shit, emotionally it was a thousand times worse.

It felt as if her heart had been ripped straight from her chest and burned, frozen, destroyed and torn into a thousand pieces, then run over by a multi-ton truck.

The mere thought of Dick was enough to make her burst into tears.

The mere thought of what Dick was going through in that hell, which most likely consisted of a combination of physical, emotional, mental and psychological torture, was enough to make her vomit what little she could stomach.

Their home in Bludhaven hadn't been the same since his kidnapping.

Every time Diana looked around, it was as if Dick's presence was there with her, almost as if to taunt her and remind her of what she'd lost in the past few months.

Diana no longer even slept in their bed but had chosen to doze off on the living room couch.

The bed was too cold and empty without him.

The house itself was too cold and empty without him.

Every room was too cold and empty without him.

It was so wrong to walk into the kitchen and not feel strong, reassuring arms wrap around her from behind.

It was so wrong to wake up without him by her side.

It was so wrong to notice her personal items that had been unused for over half a year.

It was so wrong to look at Renegade's gear and remember that he hadn't worn it in over half a year.

It was so wrong to walk into the house without being greeted by a warm voice or a kiss so deep and full of unconditional love that it always left her pleasantly dazed.

Zeus, she missed Dick tenderly caressing her hair.

Zeus, she missed Dick holding her tightly in his arms whenever she needed reassurance.

Zeus, she missed Dick, who always knew the right thing to say or do.

Zeus, she missed Dick and the dates he regularly took her on.

Zeus, she missed Dick and his competitiveness every time they played video games together.

Zeus, she missed Dick and the soft touch of his fingers on her skin.

Zeus, she missed Dick and the way he always looked at her as if she were the only woman in the entire universe, as if all the others didn't even exist.

Zeus, she missed Dick and the way he always looked at her as if she were the only woman in the entire universe, as if all the others didn't even exist.

Zeus, she missed Dick and how little it was enough for him to make her heart beat faster, to make her face turn redder than a tomato faster than Flash, to make her have fun and laugh like never before, to bring a huge smile to her lips, to make her eyes sparkle.

Zeus, she missed Dick and how every single touch of his was enough to make her melt.

Zeus, she missed Dick and hearing him talk about his workday in the gymnastics gym with the kids, his missions and contracts and his childhood with his parents at the circus and with Slade and his little siblings.

Zeus, she missed Dick and the most beautiful, wonderful shade of blue she'd ever seen, where she could stay trapped in that well of blue for hours without ever getting tired.

Zeus, she missed Dick and their daily sparring sessions where he mostly kicked her ass, and how almost all of them turned into heated, impromptu make-out and lovemaking sessions.

She missed everything about Dick.

She missed Dick.

Every fiber of her being was torn, mangled, destroyed and shattered by the most intense form of emotional pain she'd ever felt in her entire life.

It was, hands down, the worst kind of pain she didn't even know existed, let alone experience.

This form of pain, however, was also accompanied by the purest and most elevated form of ferocious anger and rage.

Diana had never been so pissed off in her entire life, and her hatred for the Court of Owls was so visceral and unconditional that it far surpassed her hatred for her greatest enemies like Circe, Darkseid, and others.

The princess of Themyscira had sworn to herself that when they rescue Dick -when, not if. If wasn't even an option- she would annihilate the entire Court and ruthlessly kill every Talon, Cobb first and foremost, and every Owl. Even if the Owls were normal human beings, they were still rich, corrupt bastards, and she wouldn't hesitate to kill them, since they were the masterminds of the entire organization.

That, and because they had hurt the best person on Earth, aka the most important person in her life, to the point of traumatizing him in the worst, most inhumane way possible.

Even if the Justice League would oppose her killing the Owls, she didn't care.

Wonder Woman had already gone up against the entire JL several times, and she would go up against them again if it came to that.

They wouldn't stop her.

For Dick, this and much more.

He had improved her life immeasurably since they'd gotten together, and she knew with all her heart that the reverse was also true.

Diana knew that Dick, once they saved him, might never be the same again.

That he would almost certainly accumulate further emotional and mental scars.

And she was fine with that.

The Amazon would stay by his side and never, ever abandon him.

Not when he needed her most.

Not when he'd always been there whenever she needed him.

She would be extremely patient and attentive with him and would ensure that her boyfriend got everything he needed.

Starting with unconditional love, loyalty and care.

Together, the couple would overcome this too.

Their love was too eternal, strong and true to be broken.

They were both too powerful, strong and resilient.

They would overcome this too.

Together.

As a couple.

oOo

Diana sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly, and a yawn escaped her lips.

How long has it been since I last slept? It must have been a few weeks… Zeus, before this whole situation, I never thought I could get so physically tired.

She got up from the couch and stretched, wincing slightly at the sound of numerous bones and joints audibly creaking.

At least the couch is comfortable. I could never sleep in bed without him. I'm not used to it anymore.

The demigoddess grabbed her phone, her heart twisting painfully as she received a message from Cynthia, Dick's secretary at the gym, asking again when they would see the gym instructor again.

The excuse Diana had to use to cover up Dick's prolonged absence was that he had been forced to return to the families of his deceased "fake" parents because they needed him but they were in a remote area with no internet service at all, which is why he neither texted nor called his secretary and other colleagues.

She knew she'd been pretty vague on the details, but it was better than revealing that Dick was actually the world's most dangerous and lethal mercenary and assassin, and that the same organization that had kidnapped and traumatized him as a child had kidnapped him a second time, and no one could find a damn lead.

Yeah, it was pretty messed up.

Unfortunately, the gym was going through a rough patch and had lost some of its members, mainly because no one could even begin to match Dick's level of acrobatics, agility, and lightness, no matter how good the other instructors were.

Diana texted her friend apologetically and sighed, putting the phone down.

I should get back to Gotham to continue my research. I can skip eating anything right now. I'll save more time for my research.

Her phone's ringtone suddenly rang throughout the apartment, making her gasp in surprise. With mechanical, automatic movements, Diana reached out again to grab her phone, noticing Slade's name.

I can't allow myself to hold on to hope like I have before. Every time I hope they've found something, I'm disappointed, and another part of me dies. I don't know how much longer I can continue like this.

She answered the phone. "Slade. I was just returning to Gotham."

"We found their base."

For the first time ever in over half a year, a genuine feeling of happiness and hope blossomed in the demigoddess's chest.

There wasn't a trace of doubt in Slade's words.

So, it was the truth.

They had found the Court's base.

Diana smiled her first real smile in over six months, all weariness instantly melting from her body, replaced by renewed energy and determination.

“Send me the location. I'll be there in three minutes.”

Hang on a little longer, my beautiful warrior. We're almost there. Soon you can return to all of us. To me.

I will save you, Dick. Even if it's the last thing I do.

Chapter Text

William Cobb stopped in front of the casket bearing his great-grandson's name. He opened it and stepped back, his muscles stiff and ready for action in case of a fight.

However, it was unnecessary, as the first thing the centuries-old Talon noticed were Gray Son's emotionless, golden eyes. The younger Talon landed on his feet and stared blankly at the older Talon, who returned it with equal intensity.

Finally, after a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, The Talon knelt and bowed his head respectfully.

"I am The Talon, The Gray Son of the Court of Owls. I am not a person, but the ultimate and most dangerous weapon that will lead the Court of Owls to conquer Gotham. My only purpose is to obey the Court of Owls without question. To do whatever my Masters want. Carry out all their orders. Kill all the targets they will assign me and accomplish all their goals."

Cobb gave a sinister smile, his golden ones glowing with satisfaction.

Perfect. Everything went according to plan. I knew this torture method would work, and that not even Renegade himself could withstand it.

The fact that the words his great-grandson spoke were exactly the same as when the Talonization process first occurred didn't escape him, and he was satisfied.

"Follow me, Gray Son."

“I’m glad your plan worked, Cobb, and that The Gray Son is back under our control.”

Cobb returned the smile of the Owl-masked woman who had just spoken. “This time, rest assured, it will never escape the Court again.”

“Speaking of Gray Son,” another Owl interjected. “where is it now?”

“In its room, guarded by other Talons.” Cobb replied. “I gave him some time to recover from the cold, so we could have him at his full efficiency.”

The excited and satisfied murmur of the Owls was abruptly interrupted when a door slammed shut, and the next thing Cobb knew, every Owl in the room was on the floor, soaking in enormous pools of blood pouring from their heads, where several knives were embedded with surgical precision.

There was only one person in the entire world who was capable of killing over thirty people with as many knives -at least four in each hand- in barely three full seconds with such lethal precision.

Cobb whirled around, and just as he expected, the menacing figure of The Gray Son stood at the head of the door, clad in trademark Talon armor -except for his gold goggles- spattered with dark blood. The severed heads of Talons assigned to guard him lay at his feet.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” he roared furiously.

The Talon stared back coldly, his golden eyes blank and indifferent. His mere presence radiated the most dangerous, menacing and lethal aura Cobb had ever seen.

“William Cobb. Court of Owls.

“Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death.”

Cobb's eyes widened, genuinely surprised and taken aback.

Talon-Renegade? What the fuck is that?

The elder Talon didn't know what the hell was going on, or why his great-grandson had started speaking in the third person, referring to himself as Talon-Renegade, but he knew enough that, whatever it was, it was without a doubt the most lethal, dangerous and ruthless thing Earth had ever witnessed.

I can't believe Gray Son literally killed all the Owls in not even three full seconds. This is a huge blow to the Court.

“Talons!” Cobb shouted at the top of his lungs, and instantly hundreds of Talons appeared from every entrance. He pointed toward the figure that now looked more like the personification of War and Death. “Take him down!”

All hundreds of Talons immediately rushed toward The Gray Son and Cobb smirked.

Not even you can survive against the entire army of Talons of the Court of Owls, dear great-grandson.

Talon-Renegade fearlessly charged into the fray, careless that he was vastly outnumbered.

He severed the head from a Talon with a vicious kick while simultaneously ducking, dodging several blows, and immediately rose with a double uppercut that severed two more heads from the rest of the bodies.

The mercenary grabbed the three severed heads and, with all his superhuman strength, threw them in three different directions. They pierced and shattered the necks of three Talons and all the others behind them, permanently killing over thirty Talons in a single move.

The expert assassin grabbed two knives from his armor and began swinging them left and right, decapitating every single Talon in his sight.

Black blood sprayed violently over him, coating every inch of his armor.

He ignored all the blood, including that splashing onto his face.

His movements became increasingly automatic, mechanical and fluid.

Every single blow was aimed at a precise purpose: to decapitate his enemies.

He moved and killed without mercy like the war machine he had been trained to be.

Like the most dangerous, lethal, deadly and efficient weapon in the world, which he was.

Every time he absorbed a blow, they didn't make him flinch even an inch, and he responded brutally with numerous, efficient attacks that fatally ended the lives of the other Talons, leaving behind only decapitated bodies, severed heads, and copious amounts of dark blood.

Renegade dashed with superhuman speed toward twenty Talons, and in less than seven seconds, their severed heads lay at his feet. The mercenary turned and swung his knives again and again, decapitating and mutilating every single Talon that lunged at him.

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again-

It wasn't long before the Talons' numbers began to decrease.

Until only one remained, at the center of what could only be described as a bloodbath, extermination and massacre.

Hundreds and hundreds of severed heads lay at The Gray Son's feet in the middle of the room covered in hundreds of liters of dark blood, decapitated and mutilated bodies. He was unperturbed by the carnage he himself had committed, his golden eyes blank and emotionless.

His gaze fell on William Cobb's genuinely incredulous, terrorized and shocked expression. He began walking slowly but menacingly toward the elder Talon, the mortal wounds inflicted by the Talons army already fully healed and his golden eyes never leaving those of his great-grandfather.

"William Cobb. Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death."

Cobb narrowed his eyes, a low growl escaping his throat. “Do you dare turn against the Court of Owls, Gray Son? Against your Master?”

“The Court of Owls will cease to exist today. Talon-Renegade has no Master. Talon-Renegade is a free weapon and always will be.”

Two knives whizzed through the air toward the mercenary, thrown by the elder Talon, but Renegade wasted no time dodging them: one sliced ​​through the layers of armor and pierced the younger assassin's heart, emitting sounds of tearing flesh, while the other lodged itself in the center of his forehead, spraying blood and brain matter in every direction.

However, this did not slow Renegade’s advance in the slightest: he didn’t even flinch from his mortal wounds. With deadly calm, he removed the knife from his forehead and heart and let them fall to the ground with a metallic clang that reverberated throughout. He stared with empty, haunting, cold golden eyes at his great-grandfather and former mentor, his mortal wounds already fully healed.

“Talon-Renegade has been trained to fight death. Talon-Renegade has been trained to evade death. Talon-Renegade has been trained to prevent death from affecting it. Talon-Renegade has been trained to resist any form of pain. Talon-Renegade has been trained to ignore any form of pain that exists.

“Talon-Renegade has been trained to survive any type of injury inflicted on the body. Talon-Renegade has been trained to continue fighting even without limbs, heart or other organs. No matter how severe the injuries, Talon-Renegade is capable of continuing to fight in any state.

“Talon-Renegade is the most dangerous, lethal, deadly, ruthless, cruel and efficient weapon in the world. Talon-Renegade cannot be stopped. Talon-Renegade's thirst for blood and vengeance is relentless. Talon-Renegade will break anyone who dares stand against it. No one is Talon-Renegade's equal, and no one can match it. Every living creature, human or otherwise, is inferior to Talon-Renegade.

“Talon-Renegade is superior to you in every way. Talon-Renegade has no time to waste on inferior beings than it. And you are wasting Talon-Renegade's time.

“William Cobb. Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death.”

With superhuman speed, The Talon hurtled toward his foe.

Cobb's eyes widened, shocked by his great-grandson's speed -which was far superior to his own- and he leaped to the side just in time to dodge the blow, whipping around with a kick aimed at the acrobat's throat.

The mercenary easily parried the blow and retaliated with a hard kick to the stomach that sent his great-grandfather flying dozens of meters away, the crack of broken ribs echoing around him.

With a grunt, Cobb turned his fall into a somersault and landed on his feet, quickly aiming his gaze forward.

Only to be met with a brutal uppercut that shattered his jaw with a resounding crack of bone.

The elder Talon's body fell to the ground, his head slamming hard into the pavement. He immediately jumped up with a backflip, massaging his broken jaw, and his eyes fell on the still figure of Gray Son who returned his gaze with an eerie, cold look, the shadows behind him partially obscuring him in a way that made him look like an Angel of Death.

With a snarl, Cobb lunged at him with a rapid combination of kicks and punches. Renegade deflected the kick and blocked the punch: first, he snapped his wrist, then, in a swift motion, twisted his arm 360 degrees, breaking it, and finally, with his free hand, he punched the other assassin hard in the face, all in the space of barely a second.

Cobb staggered back, wounded, dark blood flowing like a river from his broken nose, and let out a cry of agonizing pain as Renegade, with all his superhuman strength, tore off with his bare hands his right arm with a sickening crack of flesh, torn ligaments, and shattered bone.

The elder Talon recoiled again and glanced quickly at his missing limb, where a massive amount of blood was gushing out, as well as protruding bones and brutally torn ligaments.

The next thing Cobb knew, a vicious right hook struck him squarely in the face, making him spit out several teeth bloodily, followed by a hard knee to the chest that broke more ribs. This last blow automatically snapped his head downward, and Renegade grabbed it to brutally collide with his knee.

The Talon then delivered a vicious 360-degree spinning kick to his great-grandfather's neck, sending his body flying over thirty meters.

Cobb fell to the ground in a broken, bleeding and mangled mess, blood filling his mouth and pouring copiously from it and his head.

A strangled cry echoed in the silence as Renegade grabbed Cobb's body, lifted it above his head, and then lowered it in one swift motion while simultaneously raising his knee.

The result was The Gray Son's knee colliding brutally with Cobb's back, breaking not only his back but also, and more importantly, his spinal cord.

Renegade then threw his enemy's body, now temporarily paralyzed, to the ground, earning another cry of pain. He drew a knife from his armor and knelt level with the older man.

“Enough. Please, stop this.” Cobb pleaded, his voice breaking, mirroring his current physical state.

“You have turned Talon-Renegade into the most dangerous weapon in the world. You have permanently traumatized Talon-Renegade in the most inhumane, cruel and horrific way possible.

“Now it's Talon-Renegade's turn to return the favor.”

Renegade knew that Cobb's healing factor, though significantly slower than his own, would do its job within ten minutes, which is why he had to hurry.

And he did.

First, the acrobat cut out Cobb's tongue and forced him to swallow it, then did the same to both of his eyes. After cutting off every finger and toe, The Talon chopped off his left arm, followed by both legs.

Then, the mercenary literally blasted a massive hole in Cobb's chest, piercing and tearing his flesh, snapping bones and ligaments with excruciating sounds. He then removed his kidneys, lungs and heart.

Finally, The Gray Son pointed the knife at Cobb's broken neck and, with a single, expert swing, decapitated him. His head rolled sideways a few inches and was caught like a soccer ball by Renegade's foot.

The next second, his head was flattened against the ground, exploding into hundreds of pieces of human flesh, brain matter, and blood that flew in all directions.

Drawing another knife, Renegade cut up Cobb's remaining body.

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again-

In the end, literally nothing remained of William Cobb but thousands of pieces of flesh, organs and bones, torn, mangled, and destroyed with violence and brutality.

It was finally over.

The Owls…

The Talons…

William Cobb…

All brutally destroyed, exterminated, killed without mercy.

The Court of Owls had been completely razed.

Renegade's golden eyes were brighter than ever.

"Talon-Renegade has completed its mission."

Chapter Text

Apparently, it was Killer Croc who found the Court of Owls' secret base. The enormous mutant crocodile was currently leading the large contingent of superheroes and antiheroes through Gotham's sewers, turning various corners.

Honestly, the city's sewers looked like a real labyrinth.

It wasn't a surprise that Killer Croc was the one who ultimately found the Court's base, given that he was probably the most knowledgeable of all when it came to the city's underworld.

"Oh, come on! We really had to go through the sewers?"

"I hear you, man. It's going to be so fucking hard to get the smell of piss and shit off our clothes."

Diana ignored the background voices and murmurs, as the smell of the sewers was the last thing on her list right now.

The most important thing right now was saving her warrior.

Diana was already prepared to literally walk through Hell if it meant getting her amazing boyfriend home safely: the sewers of Gotham were nothing compared to that.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably just over twenty minutes of walking, the long line of heroes and villains stopped in front of a brick wall that looked normal: exactly like the many others they'd seen as they walked.

Killer Croc approached it, running his enormous paw over it for a few seconds before seemingly finding the right spot where he increased the pressure. Diana and the others heard a soft click and a noise behind them. They whirled around and watched as the wall behind them opened, revealing a secret door.

I honestly don't know how Killer Croc found that button, given that it was so well hidden, but I'll be forever grateful.

The Amazon was the first to approach the door and easily forced the lock, opening it. She entered cautiously, her friends and allies following immediately, and they froze at what they saw.

Numerous owl statues filled the room, accompanied by numerous display cases containing owl feathers.

“Okay, am I the only one who finds their obsession with owls a little disturbing?” Beast Boy commented, breaking the silence.

“Are you just now noticing their obsession with owls?” Raven replied in a monotone voice. “Were the owl masks and the Court's name not enough for you?”

Wonder Woman ignored the green shapeshifter’s indignant retort, focusing on her surroundings. The first thing she noticed were the several corridors connecting to the room they were currently in, which made her frown.

I wouldn't be surprised if their base is some kind of labyrinth that's easy to get lost in.

“It’s so quiet. Too quiet.” Deathstroke the Terminator muttered softly at her side.

“I think it’s normal, considering it’s the Court.” the demigoddess pointed out. “The Court of Owls has always been one of the most secretive and mysterious organizations ever.”

“I know that, but…” the mercenary paused, choosing his words. “I would have expected an ambush by several Talons or something.”

“Slade’s right.” Katana agreed, approaching them. “Knowing the Court’s style, I would expect them to keep us as far away from their base as possible and attempt to kill us immediately. But still, no Talons in sight.”

“Could it be a trap or something?” Green Arrow asked, gripping his bow slightly.

Slade tilted his head slightly. “Maybe.” he acknowledged in a murmur. “Superman, can your super-hearing pick up anything?”

The Metropolis hero was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Nothing at all. Just absolute silence.”

Supergirl nodded in agreement with her cousin. “It’s quite disturbing, actually.”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious, given that Talons have no heartbeats?” Miss Martian asked in confusion.

“Actually, no, because the lack of heartbeats implies that there are no Owls, aka the rich corrupt bastards of Gotham, right now.” Slade reasoned easily.

Cheshire twirled her daggers deftly for a few seconds, thinking hard. “So that means either there’s no important meeting going on right now among the Court Owls, or-”

“Or something happened to them,” Batman concluded in an emotionless voice, immediately going into detective mode. “And if something happened to the Owls, it means that maybe Renegade somehow managed to rebel.”

The Dark Knight’s words lit a small spark of hope in the hearts of everyone present, who exchanged smiles of relief.

“Maybe. It’s just a possibility.” Lady Shiva intervened, cracking her neck loudly. “It’s also possible that that bastard Cobb got fed up with the Owls and exterminated them to gain complete control of the Court.”

“It wouldn’t be out of character for that asshole, as far as we know.” Harley Quinn agreed with the deadliest woman on the planet, absentmindedly twirling her enormous, signature hammer.

Superboy took a step forward, drawing the attention of several people flanking him. “There’s no point in us standing here speculating on hypotheses without even a shred of evidence.” he growled, crossing his arms with a frown.

“Superboy’s right.” Hawkgirl nodded, the white slits in her mask becoming even more menacing. “We should explore this damned secret base and rescue Renegade from those bastards. The longer he stays with the Court, the worse it will be for all of us, Dick first and foremost.”

The Thanagarian’s words elicited numerous mutters of agreement and nods.

Deathstroke quickly took command of the situation. “Since there are five corridors, we’ll split into five teams. Titans: you and Supergirl will go to your left. Young Justice: you take the upper right corridor. Justice League: you, except Wonder Woman, will take the one in front of you. Former Gotham Rogues Gallery: you take the lower left corridor. The rest of the people -aka assassins, mercenaries, antiheroes and Wonder Woman- we’ll go that way.” he ordered carefully, indicating the various teams and their respective routes.

After getting all the nods, the second-best mercenary continued. “If you encounter some Talons, take them down permanently. Unfortunately, they are no longer people, but merely empty shells serving corrupt and diseased people. Killing them is the best thing for them.

"Also, if you encounter Renegade and he's not in control of his own actions but actually tries to attack you, you must do two things: immediately contact the rest of us and don't go easy on him. You must not hold back at all against him: I'm not kidding when I say that he, at 100% with no restrictions whatsoever, is literally capable of killing every member in this room, even at our 100%, in less than half an hour.

"The good thing is that Renegade currently doesn't have his typical equipment. The bad thing is that he doesn't need his typical equipment at all to exterminate all of us, although that will put him at a significant disadvantage.

Mark my words well: if you see Renegade, take him down by any means at your disposal. Even killing him will do, since death is only temporary for him. I know it's easier said than done, especially for me because he is my son, but this is for his own good, and he will bear no grudge against us: in fact, knowing him, he would thank us.

"Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded solemnly and decisively, and Slade smirked behind his mask.

"Then let's go put an end to the Court of Owls once and for all and save our Renegade."

“I don’t understand why Talia stayed in Nanda Parbat.” Cheshire muttered as she and the rest of the team paced the base. “I mean, we’re so close to saving Dick! Why would she stay with the League of Assassins? Isn’t Nyssa already there?”

“We don’t know.” Katana admitted reluctantly, as displeased as she was.

“Maybe something happened at the last second that forced her to stay there.” Sportsmaster suggested.

His eldest daughter just shrugged.

“The only things that matters are that we defeat these assholes and save the luv.” John Constantine stated as he lit a cigarette. He sighed in relief after inhaling and exhaling the smoke, ignoring Deadshot’s coughs and curses as the smoke fell more heavily on him. “Assuming the luv doesn’t kill us first, of course.”

“Do you really think Ren is under the Court’s control?”

The occult sorcerer took another drag and glanced at Lady Shiva. “As strong as the luv may be, his biggest and only weakness is the Court. These sons of bitches have been traumatizing him in the worst ways possible since he was a damned child. And now these assholes have had him in their clutches for over six months.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, the asshole is right.” Slade grunted, ignoring the sorcerer’s curses at him. “It's highly likely we'll find Renegade out of control and have to fight him, so start mentally preparing yourself already.”

“As you said before, easier said than done.” Killer Frost grumbled, knowing that she, along with Mr. Freeze, Superman and Supergirl -and probably some Batman’s gadget- would have to play a major role in taking down Renegade, given his primary weakness to the cold.

The mere thought of hurting her ex-boyfriend, her first -and so far only- true love, pained her deeply.

But Slade was right.

They had to stop Renegade at all costs, for his own good.

It would literally be the only way to save Dick.

Wonder Woman remained silent, anxiety and worry threatening to overwhelm her and consume her from the inside. However, these negative emotions were coupled with fierce determination and willpower.

We will save you, my beautiful warrior.

No matter what.

I will not allow you to be hurt any further.

I promise you.

Young Justice stopped abruptly when Superboy suddenly extended an arm. He tilted his head slightly to the side. “I hear something.”

The young heroes tensed and got into fighting stances.

After a few tense seconds, the Titans appeared from a corner, causing them to immediately relax.

“Oh. We didn’t expect our paths to cross.” Donna Troy commented, blinking in surprise.

Artemis Crock nodded, slightly relaxing her grip on her bow. “Yeah, neither did we.”

“No Talons?”

“No Talons.” Cyborg confirmed, answering Aqualad’s question.

“That’s weird. Very weird.” Tempest muttered, receiving several nods. “I thought we were going to be ambushed by Talons or something long ago.”

“But it’s quiet. Too quiet, even.” Wonder Girl agreed with a sigh, absentmindedly running a hand through her long blonde hair.

Beast Boy shivered. “And that scares me a little, honestly.”

“We just have to stay focused and stay together.” Starfire reassured her friend, earning a small smile from the shapeshifter.

“The only viable route we have left to explore is that one.” Raven said, nodding in front of them all.

“At least we’ll all be together.” Miss Martian smiled. “A little luck!”

“How lucky.” Raven replied impassively, causing the Martian’s smile to falter slightly.

The demi-demon’s teammates snorted in amusement, accustomed to her temper. “Come on, everyone. Let’s move forward and be careful.” Donna stated, quickly taking control of the situation.

The two teams of heroes headed toward the only remaining available path and after about twenty meters reached a door. Donna glanced back, making sure all the young heroes were ready for a possible fight, and finally opened it.

The heroes froze as soon as they entered the room.

The room was, for lack of a better word, a bloody bloodbath.

A carnage.

A massacre.

Hundreds of severed heads and decapitated and mutilated bodies, brain matter, bits of human flesh, and hundreds of liters of dark blood were literally strewn everywhere, painting the room as the most objectively terrifying, horrific and inhuman scene the young heroes had ever seen.

And the stench of death, blood and mutilated flesh didn't help at all.

Beast Boy and Impulse vomited almost instantly at such a gruesome, nauseating, and brutal scene. Miss Martian's skin turned even greener, while the faces of Artemis, Supergirl, Cyborg, Aqualad and Tempest grew noticeably paler. Even heroes who had received intense warrior training from a young age, like Starfire and Donna, faltered in the face of such intense horror. Trigon's daughter herself, Raven, felt nausea wash over her like never before.

The only one who somehow remained stoic was Superboy, even though his heart was painfully tight inside him and he, too, was close to throwing up yesterday's lunch.

This is definitely Renegade's doing. Only he could be capable of something like this.

And indeed, the clone was right.

Quickly, the attention of all the heroes fell on the motionless figure in the center of the room, his back to them: the only thing they could see was armor similar to that of the mercilessly slain Talons.

It didn't take a genius to realize who that figure could be and soon hope blossomed in every hero's chest.

"Renegade?"

The mercenary showed no sign of having heard Superboy's voice, something everyone knew was impossible, and after a few tense seconds, he slowly turned away.

The heroes gasped when they saw Renegade's appearance: what frightened them most wasn't the enormous amount of dark blood, brain matter and bits of flesh strewn across his armor -though that was disturbing and frightening enough- but the cold, empty look in his golden eyes.

“It's us, Renegade.” Donna spoke softly, as if speaking to a wounded animal. “Your friends. Your protégés. The teams you founded.”

The Talon stared at the young Amazon for a few seconds in complete silence, not even blinking, making her nervous and tense.

“Talon-Renegade has already quenched its thirst for blood and revenge. Talon-Renegade has no interest in killing others. However, Talon-Renegade will not hesitate to break anyone who disturbs it.”

The young heroes exchanged confused and frightened glances, the same questions swirling in their minds.

Why does Dick refer to himself as Talon-Renegade and in the third person?

Why does Dick refer to himself with the pronoun it, as if he were a damn thing and not a human being?

“W-We should contact the o-others.” Beast Boy stammered in a terrified whisper, his eyes darting nervously across the carnage in the room.

No one could blame his state of pure terror.

Right now, their Renegade wasn't at all in his usual friendly state he always was with them, and no one, literally no one, wanted to deal with a Renegade on their bad side.

“We probably should.” Impulse quickly agreed.

All the heroes turned to Donna, who rolled her eyes when she noticed all the eyes on her and put a hand over her ear.

Only to let out a scream as she dove to the side, narrowly dodging the knife that lodged in the wall behind her.

The Amazon slowly brought a hand to her cheek, feeling a trickle of blood drip from the cut a few centimeters long. She turned, quickly examining the knife stuck in the wall, the golden hilt with the owl symbol glowing menacingly, before returning her gaze to her Wonder Twin, who was not currently himself.

The young heroes stiffened when they noticed the menacing, dangerous glint in Renegade's gold. He took a slow step forward toward them, forcing them to simultaneously step back.

"Donna Troy. Raven. Victor Stone. Koriand'r. Garfield Logan. Garth. Kara Zor-El.

"Kaldur'ahm. Conner Kent. M'gann M'orzz. Artemis Crock. Cassandra Sandsmark. Bart Allen.

"Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death."

There was a single, collective thought.

We are all dead.

Chapter Text

“Alright, teams. Mark Slade’s words.” Donna declared as she and the members of the Titans and Young Justice got into fighting stances. “Give your 100% and don’t hold back a bit. Renegade can resurrect, but we don’t have that luxury.”

The Amazon received determined nods, and she smirked.

“Titans and Young Justice GO!”

And with those words, a full-blown bloody fight broke out.

Renegade leaped past the green rhino's onslaught, landing in a somersault and then somersaulting forward. He twisted his body to the left, dodging Tempest's massive wave of water, and he slid across the ground, twisting his back in an unnatural, almost inhuman way, skimming the floor, thus dodging Cyborg's cannon blast.

The mercenary used the momentum to his advantage to leap onto Starfire's shoulders, who had lunged at him, and used his full body weight to knock her to the ground. He performed a double somersault in midair, twisting his body several degrees to dodge several arrows, and finally landed in front of a stunned Artemis Crock.

The assassin struck her with a hard punch to the chest, breaking several ribs, followed instantly by a brutal kick to the jaw that sent her body flying over twenty meters until her head crashed into a wall. The archer's body collapsed against the wall, blood spraying the wall while more dripped profusely from her temple.

Renegade backed away, dodging Aqualad's water swords, and exploited the defenses left open by the Atlantean, landing a hard kick to the chest, sending him flying.

He didn't have time to do anything else when there was a sudden shift in the air and the scene changed to Supergirl crashing into him. The Kryptonian slammed The Talon's back into the wall, but despite her massive physical strength that snapped several of his vertebrae, he didn't let out a sound of pain.

Kara, not wanting to waste time, opened her mouth to release her ice breath that would freeze her opponent, but Renegade threw himself to the side, dodging it, and ducked under Raven's powerful beam of pure dark energy which instead ended up hitting Supergirl behind him, who didn't notice it, and she let out a cry of pain as the magical blast hit her violently, sending her flying and crashing into a wall that caved in and fell, burying her alive.

The heroes waited for the debris to be thrown across the room, but when it didn't, they turned to Raven in concern. "How the hell powerful was that magic attack?"

"...Enough to knock out even Superman." she responded with visible shortness of breath, presumably because her physical energy had been partially drained by that powerful magical blast.

"...Fuck."

The mercenary jerked to the left and extended his right arm horizontally, toward where he had been standing a moment before, and a millisecond later, a red blur slammed into it violently. The sounds of breaking bones rang out, but Dick didn’t flinch even a millimeter, merely blinking slightly, his golden eyes remaining blank and cold as usual.

He lunged at the speedster Impulse, lying in pain on the ground with blood pouring from his nose. The assassin leaped over several starbolts and, after a midair somersault, landed on his feet on Bart's stomach with all his weight, breaking several ribs.

The young hero let out a cry of pain, spitting up blood, and his head automatically snapped up. Without ever looking back, Renegade swung his right leg back, striking Bart hard in the face and sending him into unconsciousness.

Renegade lunged forward, jumping over the corpse of a Talon surrounded by dark magic, but as he was in midair, he was struck hard by Donna. The blow sent him crashing hard against the wall, and the mercenary quickly ducked, narrowly dodging the Amazon's punch, which blasted a massive hole in the wall just millimeters from his head.

The Talon took advantage of her defenses and landed a hard knee to her stomach. The blow snapped her head back, and the assassin delivered a vicious uppercut to her jaw, knocking her flying.

The assassin spun around and blocked the green gorilla's paw as he charged toward him. He threw a swift right hook at the shapeshifter, but he dodged it by transforming into a fly and flying away. This caused the acrobat to stagger slightly forward due to the missed blow, right toward Miss Martian, who had strategically teleported behind Beast Boy's previous position.

The Martian blocked his punch, her eyes blazing, intent on penetrating his mind with all her might. Unfortunately for her, while she was busy attempting to penetrate his mind, The Talon struck her with a vicious roundhouse kick to the chin, sending her flying.

“M'gann!”

Superboy caught his girlfriend's body in midair and cradled her tenderly. Her eyes snapped open, utterly horrified. "I can't get inside his head." she whispered in disbelief.

"How the hell is that possible?" the clone hissed in concern.

"It's like his mind doesn't exist. Like he has no thoughts in his head in this 'Talon-Renegade' state or whatever it is." she stated frantically, wincing in pain.

Superboy quickly moved them both out of the way, dodging the bodies of Starfire and Wonder Girl as they crashed into the wall behind them.

Renegade appeared out of nowhere and lunged at the couple, startling them.

Only to be grabbed by the leg and thrown the other way by Donna.

Renegade twisted his body backward in midair and used the wall he'd been thrown toward as a springboard to launch himself sideways, dodging the Cyborg’s missiles.

He landed in a somersault and leaped over Cyborg's blast, landing on his massive shoulders, and lunged forward, simultaneously swinging one leg backward and slamming his boot into the back of Victor's head.

As he was in midair, he was struck by a powerful starbolt, knocking his body away, his back slamming violently into the ground. He turned his fall into a backflip but was suddenly struck in the chest by a brutal punch from Donna, breaking some of his ribs and sending him flying straight at Starfire.

The Tamaranean balled her hands into fists and with both brutally slammed Renegade's back, sending him plummeting to the ground at supersonic speed and creating a massive crater that swallowed several corpses and limbs of the nearby Talons.

A huge amount of dust rose around the crater, and the heroes moved closer for a better look. Miss Martian waved a hand and the dust quickly dissipated.

However, there was no trace of Renegade in the crater: only the remains of the other Talons.

"Where the hell did he go?" Wonder Girl growled in fear, looking around frantically.

The heroes looked around in a tense silence.

Raven's eyes lit up as she tried to locate him when suddenly, fingers were placed on the pressure points between her neck and shoulder. The half-demon didn't have time to scream as the pressure increased, and immediately afterward, her body fell limply to the ground, unconscious.

The noise caught everyone's attention, and there was a collective gasp when they saw Raven unconscious.

"Fuck! He managed to eliminate our most powerful members with his damned ninja stealth skills!" Cyborg cursed.

Renegade performed several back flips, easily dodging the numerous starbolts. He again used the wall as a springboard to launch himself toward Starfire, who was following him in mid-air.

The mercenary twisted his body in mid-air, narrowly dodging more starbolts, and kicked Starfire's head with a violent kick. She snapped to the side, spitting blood. His body crashed into hers and they fell to the ground, with him on top of her.

The acrobat managed to punch her face three times, causing her to spit blood several times, before he was struck by a dead Talon thrown at him by Miss Martian.

Renegade rolled and did a back flip, landing in a crouch. He jumped up and spun back with a vicious uppercut that caught Superboy in the jaw as he tried to sneak up on him, sending him flying.

The mercenary dodged Kaldur's water blade and retaliated with a hard punch to the stomach, shattering several ribs, quickly followed by a vicious roundhouse kick to the Atlantean's temple. Aqualad's head slammed hard against a wall and his body slid against it, unconscious, a trickle of blood dripping from his temple.

Miss Martian suddenly teleported in front of Renegade and landed a hard punch to his chest, shattering several ribs. The assassin staggered back automatically due to her superhuman strength, soundlessly, and managed to block the Martian's next punch. He broke her right arm in one fluid motion, eliciting a scream of pure agony that abruptly increased in volume when The Talon plunged one of his knives into her left leg, followed by a brutal 360-degree spinning kick to her chin that silenced her scream.

The Martian's body flew over thirty meters, then rolled several meters across the floor, until it came to a stop, motionless and unconscious in the fetal position.

A powerful scream of rage resounded throughout the room and Superboy sprinted with superhuman speed toward the acrobat, whose back was turned toward him.

Only to be blocked and violently knocked to the ground by the mercenary.

The clone grunted as his back hit the ground painfully, but he didn't have time to do anything else when his world quickly went black due to a violent kick to his temple.

A blast shot from Cyborg hit Renegade hard, sending him flying straight at Cassandra Sandsmark, who, in mid-air, slammed a vicious punch into the acrobat's stomach, breaking several ribs and likely causing severe internal bleeding.

The mercenary brutally slammed his head against the wall, dark blood spraying violently across it, but despite his serious injuries he managed to land in a crouch.

“Oh, come on! I know his pain tolerance is practically infinite, but this is getting ridiculous!” the blonde Amazon groaned.

There was a quick rush of air, and immediately afterward, Donna appeared in front of Renegade. She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall, not even making him flinch, but she didn’t have time to do anything else when he landed a hard knee to her stomach.

The blow loosened her grip on him just enough for him to slide away, then grabbed her head and slammed it brutally against the wall. Donna staggered back, bleeding, and Dick swept her legs, knocking her to the ground. The Talon ducked, dodging the starbolts that hit the wall, grabbed the Amazon by the legs, and threw her into the air, toward Kory, who was flying toward him.

Starfire veered to the right, narrowly avoiding her leader's body, but lost sight of Renegade. She paused in midair for a brief moment and screamed in agony as she felt the muscles in her right leg being brutally torn.

Kory fell to the ground with a pained grunt, and through her blurry vision she could see a knife protruding from her leg. Her world suddenly darkened as a violent kick struck her temple, sending her into unconsciousness.

Renegade rolled under the gigantic blast from Cyborg's cannon and slid under the hero's legs. Simultaneously, as he continued to roll, he swung his right leg back, striking him behind the left knee. Victor fell to his knees with a grunt, and the mercenary spun, leaping into the air and kicking him in the back of the head.

As the cybernetic hero's body hit the ground with a thud, Renegade moved just in time to avoid a massive wave of water. The assassin spun and grabbed the green bull by the horns as he lunged at him. The animal's charge knocked him back a few steps, but the acrobat physically overpowered the shapeshifter and threw him toward Cyborg, who was just getting up.

Beast Boy's body slammed into his teammate, and the two rolled several meters in a bloody mess.

Renegade lunged at the only Atlantean left standing, dodging all his blows, and landing a hard punch to the stomach. The blow doubled him over, and The Talon grabbed his head and smashed it violently into his knee, breaking his nose and causing him to cry out in pain.

Suddenly, the assassin lunged to the side, and a millisecond later, Wonder Girl's fist, aimed at him, instead landed in Garth's stomach, emitting the sound of cracking ribs. The full force of the blonde Amazon sent Tempest flying over forty meters, causing him to spit out a worrying amount of blood, before crashing brutally against the wall and falling forward, unconscious.

Cassandra froze as she realized what had happened. "W-What have I done?" she stammered, terrified of herself.

"WONDER GIRL! BEHIND YOU!"

Donna's warning cry fell on deaf ears as Renegade, taking advantage of the blonde Amazon's moment of self-loathing, pressed the pressure points. Wonder Girl's body stiffened before falling limply to the floor with a thud.

Renegade turned to the last three heroes standing: all of them of the Titans.

Cyborg and Beast Boy, both staggering and injured, approached their leader. “What should we do? He took out practically all of us.” the shapeshifter whispered, aware of their opponent’s enhanced hearing but risking it nonetheless.

“I managed to send out an SOS signal to the rest of our allies a few minutes ago.” the Amazon replied softly. “They should be here any minute. We just need to hold out as long as we can.”

Renegade grabbed several knives from the uniforms of several Talon corpses and threw them at the heroes, interrupting their conversation. This forced them apart, and the assassin lunged at the green hero. He attempted to punch him in the face, but Beast Boy managed to transform into a bee and fly away.

Unfortunately for him, Deathstroke’s former apprentice turned and managed to land a resounding slap on him. The hero fell with a grunt of pain to the ground, involuntarily reverting to his human form, and a strangled scream escaped his lungs as Renegade lifted him by the throat.

The shapeshifter transformed into a snake and attempted to slither away.

Keyword: attempt.

Renegade grabbed the green snake by the tail and threw him away.

Right into the five enormous missiles Cyborg fired, aimed at the assassin.

There was a violent explosion as the missiles struck Beast Boy's body, creating a huge cloud of smoke.

"NO!"

Cyborg leaped forward and pushed away the smoke, revealing the shriveled, charred and bloody form of Beast Boy. His robotic eye scanned his vital signs, and he sighed with relief when it revealed that his best friend was still alive: just unconscious.

"CYBORG! LOOK OUT!"

Cyborg whirled, transforming his right arm into a cannon, but Renegade blocked it and aimed it upward so that the supersonic blast would hit the ceiling above them. With his free hand, the mercenary punched the hero hard in the stomach, doubling him over, and threw himself to the side, dodging huge pieces of ceiling that fell on Cyborg, burying him alive and knocking him out cold.

Renegade spun 360 degrees, dancing around Donna's fist, and attempted to kick her in the stomach. However, she caught his leg and flipped him over, his back slamming hard. The Amazon pinned him to the floor and struck him with several brutal punches to the face, snapping his head left and right and causing him to spit out a lot of dark blood.

The anti-hero wrapped his legs around the Amazon's neck and slammed her head hard into the ground, undoubtedly giving her a nasty concussion. Now the tables were turned, and it was Renegade who pinned the Titans' leader to the floor.

"I know you're still in there somewhere, Dick." Donna spoke in a choked voice, her teeth clicking together harshly as he plunged one of his knives into her right leg.

Cold, emotionless golden eyes met blurry, pained blue ones.

"I know you're still in there because, despite this 'Talon-Renegade' state of yours, you're still holding back, even though we're giving our 100%." ​​Donna continued, screaming as The Talon twisted the knife. "E-Every wound you've inflicted on us… none of them were lethal or fatal to us…

“You could have ended the fight in a matter of minutes if you’d truly wanted to kill us… instead, you dragged it out because you were aiming not to kill or maim but to neutralize.”

Renegade remained silent, staring at her with cold, empty eyes.

“Dick… my Wonder Twin… you’re stronger than this. You can regain control of your actions.”

Donna spotted a glimmer of blue in Dick’s gold: small and almost impossible to see, but it was there.

“D-D-Donna?”

Though his grip on her didn’t loosen in the slightest, she gave a small smile. “It’s me, Dick. Fight yourself to regain control.”

Before the acrobat could say or do anything, heavy footsteps echoed in the room, and they both turned their heads, meeting the horrified, shocked and terrified expressions of the entire Justice League, minus Wonder Woman, and the former Gotham Rogues Gallery, who arrived at the exact same moment.

"What the fuck happened here?"

"Jesus Christ, what a massacre!"

"I'm not feeling well."

Donna returned her gaze to Renegade, but the blue sparkle had completely disappeared from his golden eyes.

"NO!"

The mercenary slammed her head hard against the floor, and her body went limp.

The noise drew the attention of the heroes and former supervillains, and they all paled as they saw Renegade advancing menacingly toward them, his golden eyes cold and indifferent.

“Bruce Wayne. Kal-El. Barry Allen. Hal Jordan. Arthur Curry. J’onn J’onzz. Oliver Queen. Dinah Lance. Shayera Hol. Zatanna Zatara. Billy Batson. Carter Hall. Red Tornado. Kent Nelson. John Stewart. Guy Gardner. Captain Atom. Ted Kord. Patrick O’Brian. Firestorm. Mari McCabe. Michael Carter. Icon.

“Bane. Waylon Jones. Pamela Isley. Harleen Quinzel. Victor Fries.

"Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death."

The Justice League and the former Gotham Rogues Gallery had one thought.

Fuck. We're all screwed.

Chapter Text

Wonder Woman and the other antiheroes and assassins reached their allies' location as quickly as possible once they received Donna's SOS signal.

And by quickly, they meant within two hours, since the damn place was more like a fucking maze with no way out.

They didn't know what the hell they were expecting, but they definitely didn't expect a room filled with hundreds of severed heads and decapitated and mutilated bodies, brain matter, bits of human flesh, and hundreds of liters of dark blood literally strewn everywhere. And they expected even less their allies -aka Titans, Young Justice, JL and former Gotham Rogues Gallery- to be unconscious.

Violently beaten and bleeding, but still alive.

Diana glanced at the perpetrator of this brutal massacre, and her legs nearly gave out when her eyes met the love of her life for the first time in over half a year.

Sure, said love of her life was not in control of his actions, having single-handedly exterminated the entire Court of Owls and violently knocked down her allies and teammates aka his own friends, but the most important thing was that he was still alive.

Diana's eyes fell on his utility belt of a familiar yellow and she frowned. She scanned the room until she saw Batman, his body slumped against a wall with a nasty stab wound on his right leg, and the first thing she noticed was that his utility belt was gone.

The Amazon then looked down at Superman, unconscious on the floor, and to her little surprise she noticed a piece of kryptonite lodged in the Metropolis hero's stomach, creating a bloody hole.

It was clear and obvious that Renegade had stolen the Dark Knight's utility belt and used it to his advantage, since Batman's and the mercenary's were very similar, and Dick probably knew the Gotham vigilante's numerous compartments by heart.

Only Dick could be incapable of controlling his own actions and still retain his extraordinary strategic skills completely intact.

“Fuck! How the fuck are we supposed to be able to take down Renegade when he easily defeated single-handedly the Titans, Young Justice, the former Gotham Rogues Gallery and the entire fucking Justice League?” Sportsmaster exclaimed in disbelief.

Diana pursed her lips as she looked around.

Let's do a headcount to see if everyone's there. For the Titans, we have Donna, Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Tempest, Starfire, Supergirl… yes, they're there.

For Young Justice, we have Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Impulse, and Wonder Girl… there they are.

For the former Gotham Rogues Gallery… there they are: Bane, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze.

Finally, for my Justice League teammates, we have Batman, Superman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Hal Jordan, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Dr. Fate, Shazam, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Captain Atom, Plastic Man, Firestorm, Vixen, Booster Gold, Icon and Ted Kord.

Zeus… how the fuck did Renegade defeat literally the entire Justice League in such a short time after Donna sent the SOS signal? Not to mention the other heroes and former villains. And the fact that they all fought at 100% while he held back just below the non-lethal threshold, which includes maiming and killing. And also that he wasn't even equipped with his usual weapons and armor… Zeus, I don't even want to think about that.

"Renegade, while clearly not in control of himself, is still holding back." Deathstroke revealed with a grunt. “And a lot, too.”

Several pairs of heads stared at the world's second-best assassin with looks of disbelief and shock, their faces pale and terrified.

“How the fuck can you say that?”

“Because all of them are still alive.” Diana realized slowly in a whisper, answering Killer Frost's question. “And not brutally mutilated and murdered.”

“That's true… but I think I speak unanimously when I say none of us actually want to fight Ren.” Cheshire stated. “And I don't mean emotionally, but physically.”

Everyone's gaze roamed the room that reeked of blood and death, particularly the brutally mutilated Talons and their unconscious allies.

Just to name a few, Flash had both legs bent at an unnatural angle –clearly broken–, Killer Croc had his tail twisted in a position that looked very painful, Shazam had an arm bent unnaturally, Red Tornado was missing several pieces, Hawkman had at least two stab wounds, and more.

“Cheshire and her father are right.” Lady Shiva grunted in displeasure. “We don’t stand a chance against Ren. Not even with Wonder Woman on our side. No offense.” she quickly added, glaring at the Princess of Themyscira.

The Amazon waved a hand dismissively at the world’s deadliest woman. “None taken.”

After all, Sandra is right. If I couldn’t take down Dick when I was mind-controlled by the Light years ago, forcing me to fight at 100% with no restrictions against a Renegade who still held back a lot, well… I’m sure it won’t take him long to knock me out.

“So what the fuck are we doing here?” Constantine hissed irritably. “What the fuck is our plan, besides avoiding getting our asses kicked by the world’s deadliest mercenary and, preferably, staying alive with every fucking limb glued to our bodies?”

“The only option left to us is to try to appeal to his humanity.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

Slade shot Deadshot an irritated look for interrupting him before elaborating with his allies. "Right now, Renegade is out of control and likely in his 'Talon-Renegade' state, as he was years ago when he exterminated the Light."

Diana instantly perked up at the mercenary's words. "I remember it!" faced with the confused looks of some of the antiheroes, she continued. "In this state, Dick is not himself mentally and psychologically. It's as if he's locked away in some remote corner of his mind while his body is being controlled by the most dangerous and lethal part of himself, demonstrating how there's literally nothing left of the Light's supervillains and these Talons.

"Fortunately, in this case, he seems to be holding himself just below his lethal threshold, perhaps because subconsciously he knows we don't pose a real threat to his well-being, unlike the Court, but he still can't regain control of his mind. Or something like that, I don't know. This is only the second time Dick has fallen into his "Talon-Renegade" state."

“How did you manage to bring him back to his senses the first time?” Katana asked, a hint of hope in her tone.

Diana cleared her throat slightly and avoided any gaze directed at her. “Well, I was the one who brought him back to his senses, to be hones.” she muttered, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

“In any other situation, I’d mock you and your sappy love, but this time I’m avoiding it because, honestly, those damned golden eyes, colder than fucking Cocytus from Dante’s Inferno, are making me want to lock myself in the same room with Satan for the rest of my life rather than stay here.” Constantine stated bluntly, pointing a finger at the menacing figure of Renegade, who hadn’t moved a millimeter since they’d entered the room and was watching them like a hawk watches its prey. “Seriously: I've dealt with a lot of bullshit in my shitty life, but that guy is the scariest thing ever.”

Diana couldn't blame the sorcerer.

Even she was a little intimidated and frightened by the cold, emotionless golden glow of the love of her life. Besides, she was pretty sure Dick hadn't blinked a damned time since they'd been there.

"Why hasn't he attacked us yet?" Killer Frost whispered, aware of her ex-boyfriend's heightened hearing. "I would have expected a bloody, painful fight for us and a one-sided one for him."

"He remained more still than a statue." Sportsmaster agreed with her. "It's fucking creepy."

"Maybe because Renegade subconsciously recognized us as his family." Deathstroke theorized with a grunt. "After all, he's known most of us since he was a child and, in general, longer than his other allies. Literally, most of us are his family."

Cheshire snorted. "Well, that explains why we're still alive and unharmed." she said with a sarcastic laugh. “But that brings us back to the starting point: what the fuck are we supposed to do?”

Then, almost as if bound by some sort of mortal connection, several pairs of eyes were simultaneously fixed on Diana, who frowned slightly. "What?"

"So... you're the only hope of salvation for us and Renegade?" Katana asked slowly, obviously referring to the Amazon's previous explanation.

The demigoddess blinked before shrugging helplessly. "I don't know... I can try again." she stated, recognizing the glimmer of hope that blossomed in her allies' eyes. "But I can't guarantee it'll end as well as the first -and only- time." she added quickly, earning several nods.

Little pressure, huh?

Wonder Woman pushed away the bitter, sarcastic thought that hovered in her mind and, after taking a deep breath, glanced at Renegade, not surprised that he still hadn't moved an inch, but that he was still staring at them with those cold, emotionless golden eyes.

A stark contrast to that beautiful golden color that held all the love, passion, and adoration Dick felt for her.

Zeus, she missed seeing that kind of golden again so much.

She raised her hands peacefully in the air, hoping not to appear threatening, and took a step forward. Her eyes softened, and despite the tension in the air that could be cut with a knife, she couldn't help but look at him with anything but love.

"Dick. It's me. Wonder Woman. Diana Prince. Your girlfriend."

The young assassin simply tilted his head to the side without making a sound and without even blinking.

His lack of action or words didn't discourage the demigoddess, who instead took it as a small victory that Dick hadn't made any signal indicating he was going to attack her.

She took another step forward, satisfied that he hadn't thrown a knife at her yet.

"Young warrior. My beautiful warrior." she whispered softly, ignoring the stares that burned her back. "It's me."

Several seconds passed until suddenly a glimmer of blue broke through the gold. "P-Princess?"

A huge smile of excitement automatically spread across the Amazon's face. She resisted the overwhelming urge to lunge forward to hug, kiss and simply enjoy her boyfriend's warmth, knowing that doing so might undo this great progress.

"Yes. I am your Princess." she stated tenderly, not losing sight of the fact that these were the exact same words of years before. "I know you're in there somewhere, Dick. Fight to regain control of your body and mind. You're the strongest person I know. I know you can do this."

The young mercenary's gaze flickered under the intensity of Diana's blue eyes, and she saw him shiver, a myriad of emotions flashing through his eyes in the space of a few seconds.

At that exact moment she knew that Dick was fighting his Talon-Renegade state with all his might, and she hoped he would win, otherwise she didn't know what the hell she could do to bring him back to his senses.

“She is right, kiddo.”

Surprising everyone, Deathstroke took a slow step forward, standing beside the Amazon. He removed his mask, revealing the black patch over his right eye, his short white hair and his light beard.

The older mercenary fixed his intense gray gaze on his son, his heart warming at the sight of him after so long.

My son is right here in front of me. My kiddo is no longer in danger from those bastards of the Court of Owls.

“I’ve missed you so much, Dick, it’s impossible to describe in words.” Slade revealed softly, watching his son with nothing but sweetness, tenderness, and love in his gray eyes. “Come home, kiddo. Please.”

To hell with my pride. Nothing means more to me than Dick.

Those present held their breath, waiting to see how Dick would react.

To their surprise, the gold shimmered briefly in the blue as Dick stared at his father. "D-Dad?" he rasped softly, as if pronouncing the word was an enormous effort for him.

"It's me, kiddo. You can let go. You're safe with all of us."

The Talon stared at him for a few seconds, and then he let out a loud, hoarse cry of pain as he bowed his head, placing his hands on his head. His cry echoed loudly throughout the room, causing the acrobat's friends to flinch in concern and exchange worried glances.

Diana couldn't resist any longer and gave in to her impulse. Then she leaped forward until her boyfriend was in her strong arms. The demigoddess cradled him tenderly as she gently ran a hand through his hair, whispering words that conveyed all her love, adoration, and reassurance.

However, as soon as Wonder Woman wrapped her arms around the antihero, Slade immediately noticed abrupt changes in his son's posture that set off alarm bells in his head.

It all happened so quickly.

The spark of blue instantly disappeared, leaving only emotionless gold.

His body tensed at the Amazon's physical contact.

A screech rang out along with the metallic shimmer.

“DIANA! ATTENTION!”

The warning cry reached the demigoddess's ears too late.

Diana felt a sharp pain explode in her chest and stared at Dick's expressionless face with shocked, disbelieving eyes. Then she slowly lowered her gaze, staring in shock at the knife protruding from her right side, which had penetrated her armor.

Dick had stabbed her.

"Diana Prince. Slade Wilson. Jade Nguyen. Sandra Woosan. Tatsu Yamashiro. Louise Lincoln. John Constantine. Lawrence Crock. Floyd Lawton.

“Talon-Renegade has sentenced you to death.”

Chapter Text

Immediately, chaos erupted in the room.

Several gunshots were fired at Renegade but he was faster and managed to dodge every single bullet. As the acrobat performed several somersaults, dodging bullets and moving away from the Amazon he had stabbed, he pulled a smoke bomb from Batman's utility belt wrapped around his waist and threw it to the floor, filling the room with smoke.

Several curses rang out as the smoke hindered the antiheroes. "We're fucking lucky Dick stole that damn utility belt, shit!" Sportsmaster cursed.

John Constantine waved a hand at the smoke, which immediately dissipated thanks to his magic. Unfortunately, The Talon was gone, causing the sorcerer to frown. He looked around suspiciously but saw no sign of one of the few people he considered a genuine friend. "Well, I guess we're all screwed." he stated frankly.

The second after he uttered those words, Constantine felt his body suddenly stiffen and then he fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious. The sound of his fall attracted everyone's attention, and they noticed Renegade looming over the defeated sorcerer.

"I trained that damned son of Satan too well in his pressure points." Deathstroke, who had already put back on his half-black, half-orange mask that he had removed earlier, grumbled disgruntledly, though a small note of pride involuntarily rang in his voice.

In fact, I trained him well in literally everything he knows, and Dick has surpassed every fucking mentor he's ever had for years.

"Did I seriously detect pride in that?" Deadshot exclaimed in shock, glaring at the other mercenary. "I don't know if you realized this, but that boy is about to kick our fucking asses!"

The world's second-best assassin simply shrugged. "Still my kiddo."

Despite everything, he was still his kiddo, no matter what.

“Not to ruin your little moment, but our chances of defeating Satan’s spawn, already damned low to begin with, are now close to zero.” Lady Shiva intervened, slightly tightening her grip on her sword. “Constantine, probably the only one who had any chance of defeating Dick, is lying on the floor while our other trump card, aka Wonder Woman, has been stabbed in the side,” she pointed out in a flat voice, gesturing first to the unconscious sorcerer and then to the Amazon who was busy bandaging her wound with the bandages Cheshire had offered her.

Katana let out a deep sigh. “We’re about to get our asses kicked, aren’t we?”

“Still, we should still fight him at 100% if we’re going to have even a one-in-a-million chance.” Deadshot stated, though his tone held a hint of uncertainty.

No one could blame him, though.

Killer Frost shot an ice blast at The Talon who dodged the shot by rolling to the side. As he rolled, several bullets were fired at him, which he dodged with somersaults. When he landed on his feet, he danced around the hail of bullets, catching one between his index and middle fingers, then whirled around and threw it with all his superhuman strength back at its original sender.

The bullet, caught with his bare hands and thrown by Renegade, pierced Deadshot's right leg, and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Blood began to flow rapidly from the wound, and the wounded sniper absentmindedly noted that the bullet hadn't fatally struck any arteries.

It's honestly fucking disturbing and scary how that guy, while clearly not aiming to kill or maim, is still kicking our asses.

"How the fuck is it possible that Dick managed to catch a bullet with his bare hands and throw it back at Deadshot?" Cheshire screamed hysterically, shocked by her younger brother's skill.

Renegade dodged more ice blasts fired by his ex-girlfriend, rolling under the spiked ball swung by Sportsmaster, and lunged at Killer Frost, who let out a yelp of surprise as his weight hit her like a freight train. She grunted as her back hit the floor with force, but she didn't have time to reach out and turn her ex-boyfriend into an icicle as the young assassin violently smashed the back of her head into the floor several times.

Killer Frost's body went limp as blood began to flow from the wound at the back of her neck. Renegade, without ever looking back, reached back and blocked the spear thrown at him by Sportsmaster.

"How the fuck-"

The Talon turned and threw the weapon at the other mercenary, who let out a choking sound as the spear pierced his armor, landing in his left shoulder.

"Dad!"

Renegade lunged at Sportsmaster but was stopped abruptly when Wonder Woman flew toward him, sending him crashing violently into a wall that gave way under the force of the impact. The acrobat rolled over the rubble of the wall, but the Amazon grabbed his ankle and hurled his body across the room with all her superhuman strength.

At a speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour, Renegade's body slammed brutally into another wall, echoing with the cracks of breaking bones. His head hit the wall with a sickening thud, spraying a large amount of black blood, and the acrobat fell flat on his stomach.

Wonder Woman landed slowly on the ground, bandages covering her right side, and the other antiheroes glanced at the fallen form of the young mercenary.

"Is he out?" Deadshot asked with a pained grimace, struggling to stay on his feet and having to rely on Slade for support.

As if the universe wanted to send a signal of hatred towards the sniper, Renegade rose with a forward somersault and landed easily on his feet, as if he didn't feel the numerous broken bones, ribs and back in his body, nor the bleeding wound from the back of his neck.

"Fuck me. I knew it couldn't be that easy."

Wonder Woman lunged toward The Talon, but he ducked at the last moment, dodging her punch, which blasted a massive hole in the wall behind him. Exploiting the defenses left open by the demigoddess, the mercenary landed a brutal punch right in Diana's injured side. She let out a muffled sound of pain as she doubled over, coughing up blood. More blood continued to pour from the now-opened wound, further staining the bandages. The acrobat quickly followed with a hard roundhouse kick to her jaw, sending her flying several meters.

Renegade lunged forward, rolling under Lady Shiva's sword strike and sliding to his knees as he flexed his back in a nearly inhuman manner, dodging Cheshire's dagger, which landed harmlessly in the wall. He leaped over Katana's shoulders, his weight knocking her to the ground with a thud, and performed a double somersault in midair, landing in front of Sportsmaster.

The metahuman struck the older man's sternum, doubling him over in pain and knocking the wind out of him, followed by a vicious uppercut that shattered his jaw with a cracking sound. Jade and Artemis's father fell to the ground with a thud, out of the picture.

Renegade spun and deflected Deathstroke's punch, which slammed into the air. The former apprentice attempted to sweep his former mentor's legs, but the man leaped and spun 360 degrees to deliver a roundhouse kick. However, the younger man caught his leg in midair and violently knocked Slade to the ground.

Several shots rang out and The Talon staggered back as the bullets lodged in his skull. He whirled around, his emotionless golden eyes staring coldly at Deadshot.

The sniper faltered when he realized that even the bullets to the head weren't enough to momentarily kill the young assassin. He swallowed hard and shivered under the golden eyes, especially at the enormous, bloody hole in Dick's head. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

The acrobat threw a batarang that hit Floyd's hand, knocking his gun to the ground, and lunged at him, who couldn't dodge the young assassin's assault due to his leg wound. The two fell to the ground, with the world's deadliest mercenary on top, and he brutally bashed the man's head repeatedly until he was unconscious.

Renegade spun around, a batarang in hand blocking Lady Shiva's sword. Taking advantage of those few hundredths of a second of surprise from the world's deadliest woman, The Talon landed a hard knee to her chest, fracturing several ribs, followed by a leg sweep, sending her to the ground with a painful grunt, her head hitting the floor.

The mercenary, without looking away, threw the batarang he was holding to the side, and immediately afterward, Slade's grunt rang out, followed by his curses and the sound of a pistol falling to the ground. He spun and grabbed Cheshire's arm, and in one fluid motion, he broke it. Jade cried out in pain as her bones cracked, forcing her to release her grip on her dagger. The Talon headbutted her, breaking her nose and sending her reeling back in a daze, before delivering a hard kick to her chest that sent her flying.

Renegade leaped back, dodging Lady Shiva's sword thrust, and she charged him swiftly without giving him even a second's pause. The meta-human blocked the blade with both palms, pressing down with all his strength on either end of the sword, which remained suspended mere inches from his throat. The mercenary used his remarkable superhuman strength to easily overpower Lady Shiva and thrust the sword backward. The hilt of the sword slammed violently into Sandra's face, her head snapping painfully to the side as she coughed up blood, and she fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

The young assassin deftly swung the sword and shifted the blade to his left, parrying Deathstroke's sword thrust while simultaneously shifting his body to the side, dodging Tatsu's katana. Renegade blocked every blade swing from the other two assassins who attacked him at the same time until suddenly the younger one leaped aside, narrowly dodging Wonder Woman's attack. The Amazon whirled and threw a punch at her boyfriend, but he blocked the blow, raised her body, and threw her backward.

The Themyscira princess's body flew several meters before slamming hard into Cheshire, who had just stood up. The two women tumbled in a painful, confused tangle for a few seconds, and when Diana stood up in pain, she glanced at the younger woman, groaning inwardly when she noticed Jade was unconscious.

Meanwhile, the three remaining assassins were engaged in a sword and katana duel that was proving to be fairly even, despite Renegade's numerical disadvantage. At one point, the acrobat ducked, dodging Slade's horizontal sword swing, and he delivered a hard kick to the older mercenary's right knee. He fell to his knees with a grunt, while simultaneously The Talon raised his sword, blocking the katana's blade.

Renegade leaped over the tip of Deathstroke's blade and kicked his former mentor in the chin. He staggered backward, while the acrobat simultaneously leaped forward into a double somersault in midair, dodging the katana's strike and landing behind Tatsu. Wasting no time, he struck the back of her knee, forcing her to fall to her knees with a grunt, and Renegade spun with a brutal 360-degree spinning kick that struck Katana's temple.

Tatsu's body flew several meters until her head slammed painfully against the wall. She fell to the ground on her stomach, unconscious.

Renegade spun to block Deathstroke's blade just in time, but he didn't have time to do anything else when Wonder Woman's body slammed hard into him at supersonic speed, sending him flying. The young assassin transformed his fall into a somersault and landed on the ground in a crouch, never losing his grip on his weapon.

"There's only the two of us left." Diana grumbled, drawing her sword and moving to the ex-military man’s side.

Slade grunted. “Close your eyes and cover your ears for about five seconds.” he ordered.

The Amazon did as she was told as the super soldier pulled two stun grenades from his utility belt and threw them at his son. They fell to the ground several meters away from the young mercenary, and as soon as the stun grenades hit the floor, they exploded in a violent, blinding white light accompanied by a deafening, thunderous noise.

When they both opened their eyes, they saw Renegade on his knees, his hands clasped to his ears, a stream of dark blood pouring from them, his sword lying on the floor a few centimeters away.

Wonder Woman decided to seize the opportunity and flew at supersonic speed toward her boyfriend, swinging her sword toward his chest. At the last moment, however, with superhuman speed and a movement invisible even to highly trained eyes like the Amazon's, Renegade grabbed the sword and brought it defensively in front of her, narrowly parrying the demigoddess's blade.

Diana's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, incredulous that the acrobat could overcome the daze caused by his sensory weaknesses so quickly.

Her surprise left her vulnerable for less than a second, but unfortunately for her, it was more than enough for The Talon.

With his free hand, Renegade grabbed the Amazon's right wrist and in one fluid motion broke it, causing her to cry out and release her grip on her sword. The mercenary then pulled her toward him, sending her staggering forward, and struck her with a brutal elbow to the neck. The blow brought her to her knees with a choking sound of surprise, and it was quickly followed by a vicious left hook that snapped her head painfully to the side, sending her flying several meters.

Suddenly, a shuriken struck The Talon's right hand. Without making a sound of surprise or pain, he was forced to drop his sword to the ground with a clang of metal. He took a step back, barely dodging Deathstrole's sword thrust, and spun around with a 360-degree roundhouse kick, aiming for his right hand.

With his free hand, Slade grabbed his foot and slammed him violently to the ground, causing his back to crash hard into the floor. He then quickly attempted to drive the sword into his chest. The younger mercenary began to roll backward, but when his legs were spread in the air and his back was arched enough to shift his body slightly backward, narrowly avoiding the blade that grazed his chest armor, he stopped mid-roll and kicked hard into the hand holding the sword.

The super soldier dropped his weapon with a curse and barely managed to block the kick aimed at his face as his son used his momentum to land. He stepped back to create as much space as possible from his former apprentice, then suddenly charged, unleashing a punch with superhuman speed that was deflected.

The two engaged in a no-holds-barred hand-to-hand fight that, to the human eye, looked more like two blurs. The fight seemed fairly even for a little over a minute when suddenly Renegade dodged a punch and dropped to the ground. When his hands touched the ground, he used the momentum to catapult himself over Slade in a double somersault in midair, landing behind him.

The former military man whirled with a kick aimed at his son's stomach but The Talon danced around the blow, dodging it, and then landed a hard punch on the older mercenary's chest. Slade felt the air cut off for a brief moment as the fist connected with his right kidney, and he let out a strangled sound that turned into a pained grunt as he was struck by a right hook so violent and powerful it knocked his mask away, revealing his bruised face and blood pouring from his mouth.

He staggered back, dazed, and attempted to punch his former apprentice in the face. Renegade blocked it with one hand and with his free arm landed a brutal elbow strike on a precise spot on Slade's arm, which bent at an unnatural angle and broke with a resounding crack of bone.

Fucking immortal zombie assassin son of Satan-

Slade's stream of insults was abruptly interrupted by a hard knee to the chest, cracking several ribs, quickly followed by a vicious punch to the solar plexus that knocked the breath out of him for a moment. The blow caused his head to flop forward in an automatic motion, and Renegade exploited it: he grabbed his head and smashed it violently against his knee with all his superhuman strength.

Slade's vision blurred with the sensation of pure pain and agony and he literally began to see stars around him.

The acrobat's knee broke the older assassin's nose, causing blood to rapidly gush from it, and the blow was quickly followed by a vicious roundhouse kick to the super soldier's jaw, sending him flying. Slade landed hard on his back and rolled several meters across the floor. Every inch of his body was fucking sore and he was struggling to breathe, courtesy of his son's shots which hurt like hell.

I'm just now realizing that the kiddo has always held back against me in our sparring sessions while I haven't. This hurts my ego as much as my body currently hurts, damn it.

The super soldier got to his feet with a grunt, staggering to the side as his vision blurred from pain and difficulty breathing.

Damn. I still see those damn stars from before. Fucking concussion.

He glanced to his side as Wonder Woman came up beside him, and for lack of a better word, they both looked like shit.

We're fighting at 100% while the kiddo is clearly holding back and still kicking our asses, without even his full gear. I'd be embarrassed if we weren't facing the most dangerous and lethal weapon on this planet that was capable of making Darkseid and Trigon run away with their tails between their legs, so I'm so fucking proud of my son, even if he's beating us so badly.

It's so hard being the father of Renegade, even if it's still the best feeling in the world that I wouldn't trade for anything.

…

…

…

The concussion made me more tender. Damn.

“What the hell are we supposed to do?” Wonder Woman whispered as they watched Renegade’s slow but menacing advance toward them. “We’re both on the verge of passing out at any moment, barely able to stay standing from all the wounds inflicted on our bodies, and Dick hasn’t slowed down in the slightest: all his wounds, mortal and otherwise, healed in seconds, and he doesn’t seem the least bit fatigued, even though he’s been fighting nonstop for at least two hours, probably three now.”

“I don’t know.” Slade answered honestly with a grunt as he absentmindedly kicked the remains of a Talon at his feet, shoving it away. “Maybe we should try appealing to his human side again, just like-”

Deathstroke was abruptly interrupted when, one moment, Renegade was over twenty meters away, and the next, he had zeroed in on his remarkable superhuman speed, finding himself face to face with the older assassin.

The Talon slammed a hard punch into Slade's throat, catching him off guard by his son's speed and causing him to fall to the ground, making strangled noises. At the same time, his leg snapped out, kicking the Amazon's left knee. She fell to the ground with a painful grunt. The young mercenary swung his left arm back, landing a vicious elbow strike on the demigoddess's face, while simultaneously jerking his right leg up, kneeing his former mentor in the chin with a violent clash of teeth.

The princess of Themyscira and the super soldier fell to the ground, crumpled and exhausted by the pain. Both of them tiredly opened their eyes, barely able to see through the fog that clouded their vision as Renegade loomed over them, a knife in each hand, their blades reflecting in a play of light that showed the owl symbols that adorned the golden hilts of the weapons.

The Talon stared at them for a few seconds, his cold golden eyes betraying no emotion. Then, he raised both knives in the air and quickly directed them at their bodies.

The blades came closer and closer to slicing through Deathstroke and Wonder Woman's flesh when they suddenly stopped in midair.

A second passed.

Two.

Three-

Renegade whirled around, quickly throwing the two knives at the two new figures who had entered the room. The figures barely managed to dodge the weapons as they lodged in the wall behind them.

"You want to send me back to the dead already, Dickhead?”

Chapter Text

Renegade barely blinked his golden eyes, continuing to stare at the two newcomers with his usual unreadable, emotionless gaze.

The female figure was none other than Talia al Ghul, the Demon's Head of the League of Assassins, wielding a sword and carrying numerous knives and who knows how many other weapons hidden within her green armor.

The taller, more massive figure, clearly male, wore a red helmet, which completely obscured his face -and therefore his identity-, and armor -probably made of klevar- with a red bat in the center, accompanied by a brown motorcycle jacket. At least two holsters carrying pistols were visible, but there were likely many more, along with a black utility belt containing who knows how many other weapons and gadgets.

The mysterious figure looked around and at the horrific, bloody scene his eyes showed him -the blood-curdling carnage of brutally exterminated Talons, not to mention all the violently knocked down heroes, antiheroes, and former supervillains-, he simply whistled in awe.

“Geez. I see you've held back less than usual, Dickhead. Not that I expected less from you, but still.” he observed with an amused tone, his voice slightly robotic due to the voice modulator, presumably built into the helmet.

The Talon tilted his head slightly to the side, his merciless golden eyes never leaving the mysterious figure. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking in his characteristically hollow, monotone, and unyielding voice.

“Talon-Renegade doesn't recognize you. Who are you?”

The man with the red bat in the center of his armor burst into a laugh distorted by the voice modulator, echoing throughout the room. He shook his head, clearly amused. “Come on, Dickhead. I know you haven't seen me in almost a year and you're not exactly yourself right now, if your friends and family that you kicked in the ass so hard they'll remember it for the rest of their lives isn't a clear sign.

“You really don't remember your little brother?”

As he spoke these words, he reached for his red helmet and, in one fluid motion, removed it, revealing a face that was young -more so than anyone could have imagined- quite familiar: blue eyes with a dark green undertone, black hair with a white streak in the front, and a mischievous grin unlike any other.

“Little Wing reporting, Dickhead.”

Jason Peter Todd-Wayne ignored the shocked, disbelieving gasps from Wonder Woman and Deathstroke, who were trying to get to their feet but failing, and instead kept his gaze fixed on his older brother. He noticed how the mercenary's golden eyes widened, clearly shocked, and he mentally cheered.

It was the first human reaction he'd glimpsed in this scarier version of his older brother, and he hoped it was an important step toward regaining the normal self he so desperately missed.

The acrobat involuntarily took a step back, his eyes flickering for a few seconds until a spark of blue appeared in the gold. "J-J-Jay?"

Jason gave him a soft smile and nodded. "It's me, Dickie. I'm here."

The assassin stared at him for a few seconds, as if struggling to understand what the hell was happening.

Jason couldn't blame him.

It was probably quite shocking to see his little brother, brutally murdered by a crazy, homicidal clown, after almost a year.

Jason opened his mouth to utter some comforting words when suddenly there was a rush of air around him. One moment Dick was over thirty meters in front of him, the next Jason found himself slammed hard against the wall, his older brother pinning him with an iron grip on his throat, gradually depriving him of oxygen.

The spark of blue was immediately gone, and now it was cold, clearly pissed off gold again.

Huh. Another human emotion: first shock, now anger. I'm making progress.

Jason saw movement behind Renegade, but the mercenary, without ever looking back, with superhuman speed unsheathed a batarang and threw it behind him. The weapon lodged in Talia's right leg and she let out a cry of pain as she fell to her knees, releasing her grip on her sword, and The Talon, still keeping his icy gaze fixed on the younger boy, reached back, grabbing the sword by the blade and pushing it back, the hilt of the weapon hitting Talia's head violently. Her head snapped painfully to the side, spitting blood, and she fell backward to the ground, unconscious.

…I probably shouldn't be surprised that Dickhead defeated one of the world's most dangerous assassins without even looking at her once, but I still am.

“How dare you mock Talon-Renegade like this? How dare you impersonate Talon-Renegade's deceased younger brother?” the world's most dangerous mercenary hissed in a low, menacing voice that exuded danger in its purest, most absolute form. “Now Talon-Renegade will make you suffer in the worst possible ways imaginable, so much so that you'll want to beg for mercy but won't be able to because you'll be too terrified to even utter a single syllable.”

Jason felt a shiver of fear run through every inch of his body at The Talon's words, and his heart began to beat so fast he wouldn't have been surprised if it burst out of his ribcage. He felt the pressure on his throat increase enough to begin obscuring the corners of his vision.

"M-M-Months ago, you took me to a public library and read me 'The Prince' by M-Machiavelli and masterpieces from other cultures!" he blurted out. The newly seventeen-year-old felt the grip on his throat immobilize, and he met the golden eyes of his older brother, who was staring intently at him with a gaze that could have delved into the deepest recesses of his soul. "D-D-During that d-day, you argued with B-Barbara G-Gordon because she was talking nonsense about D-Diana!"

The boy absently heard a sound escape from the Amazon's lips but ignored it. Even though the grip on his throat was quite firm and made it difficult for him to pronounce each word, it had stopped increasing the pressure, so he recognized it as a small victory and continued.

“The f-first thing I did when I saw Wonder W-Woman was to a-ask her for an a-autograph. I-I also have your a-autograph, and b-both of them are hanging in my bedroom at home. W-When I was fourteen, you h-helped me plan a prank on B-Bruce, and I managed to color his hair bright pink with a special dye that would only come off twenty-four hours later, forcing B-Bruce to go to work with pink hair, and it even made the papers.”

A small spark of blue broke through the gold again, staring directly at Jason with a look of pure wonder, shock and disbelief. “J-Jay… I-Is that really you?” he whispered, his voice cracking.

Despite the pain, Jason nodded and smiled tenderly. “It’s me, D-Dickie. In the flesh.”

“B-But… you were d-d-dead!” the acrobat choked, barely managing to get the last word out.

Jason managed to shrug and flash him his signature shit-eating grin. “What can I say? I-I’ve gotten better.”

Dick continued to stare at him in a silence that was growing increasingly tense. With an almost robotic movement, he reached out with his free arm and, after a brief hesitation, placed his hand on Jason's soft hair, beginning to play with it just as he had done when the younger boy barely reached his mid-torso.

And now Jason was taller and more muscular than him.

Jason couldn't help but lean into his older brother's touch: he'd missed the feel of his fingers in his hair so much it almost made him cry.

“Jay… Little Wing…”

“It's me, Dickie.” Jason repeated softly. “I-I'm not going anywhere.”

Dick stared at him for a few more seconds until winced in pain. He released his grip on Jason's throat and staggered back a few steps, placing his fingers on his temple, wincing again.

The seventeen-year-old gave him a worried look. "Dick?"

The anti-hero's body stiffened, and immediately afterward, he fell to the ground with a thud.

"DICK!"

Jason frantically ran forward and knelt in front of his older brother's unconscious form, staring at him in panic.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine."

The seventeen-year-old looked up and watched as Wonder Woman levitated toward them, followed by a limping Deathstroke the Terminator.

“It happened years ago. Dick will return to his normal self as soon as he wakes.” the demigoddess continued, earning a sigh of relief from the younger man. She landed on the ground and, with a pained grimace, sat on the floor in front of her boyfriend, casting him a look of love and concern. The Amazon carefully moved his unconscious form so that his head rested comfortably in her lap. “My beautiful warrior.” she whispered, tenderly caressing his face and enjoying the familiar sensation of her touch on his cold, yet still warm, skin.

Zeus, she had missed touching the love of her life so much.

The princess of Themyscira couldn't resist any longer and softly kissed the acrobat's forehead, her lips lingering for several seconds on his skin.

It's impossible to do justice and describe in mere words how much I missed touching and kissing Dick and, in general, enjoying his presence.

Slade arrived at their side, still limping, and knelt beside his son, barely suppressing the pang of pain that shot through his body with that simple movement.

And it wasn't old age, obviously.

Although Dick probably would have given that as an answer.

The super soldier reached out and brushed back a strand of hair, just as he had done years before, when his son was still a kid. His chest filled with warmth, and his lips lifted a few inches in a small, genuine smile at the familiar sensation of touch against his son's cold skin.

It was finally over.

The nightmare was over.

The Court of Owls no longer exists and would never exist again.

His kiddo would forever be safe from those bastards who had traumatized him in the most inhumane ways imaginable.

His son wouldn't have to be paranoid anymore -or at least more than he already was- every time he set foot in Gotham City, and he could sleep easier, knowing those bastards could never harm him in any way again.

"What should we do now?"

Slade glanced at Jason, who had just asked the question, and a few seconds later, his gray gaze returned to his son and his utterly relaxed expression, something he had rarely seen before, as the acrobat felt as if he were carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

Which, in a way, was true.

“We’ll wait for the others to wake up and then we’ll all head home.” the super soldier replied, nodding vaguely at the unconscious figures of heroes, antiheroes and former supervillains scattered throughout the room, which reeked of pure, unadulterated death, blood, and extermination.

Jason blinked a couple of times, fixing the ex-military man with a strange look, before shaking his head. “I wasn’t referring to them but to Dick.”

“Oh.”

Diana let out a small, amused giggle at the exchange between Slade and Jason. “We’ll all take care of him, of course.” she replied, her arms wrapping protectively around her boyfriend.

The demigoddess and the mercenary exchanged a knowing look.

They both knew that, now more than ever, Dick would need them to overcome the trauma he'd recently endured at the Court of Owls, which had forced him to relapse into his Talon-Renegade state, and the guilt the acrobat would feel when he discovered he'd hurt all his friends and family.

Not that it was his fault, of course, but it would be very difficult for Dick to accept that he'd hurt everyone he cared about, no matter if the blame actually lay solely with Cobb and the other Owls.

Whatever they did to him would further burden the young mercenary's already irreversibly damaged psyche.

However, Dick wouldn't face this challenge alone.

Absolutely not.

No matter how long this healing process would take, Diana and Slade would never abandon the most important person in their lives.

They would accompany Dick every step of the way and would always be by his side, no matter how difficult it would be for all of them.

The others would also be by Dick's side: Dick's honorary family, who had known him since he was barely in his double digits -aka, the League of Assassins-, his children -Rose, Joey, Cass, Damian, Jason, Tim and Steph absolutely needed him as their big brother, father figure and guide-, the entire community of heroes -after all, most of the Justice League was made up of people who were honorary uncles/aunts to him, not to mention the fact that he had founded two teams of young heroes who looked up to him as a mentor and older brother- and the antiheroes and former supervillains -who considered him a great friend/nephew and who respected him infinitely-.

All of them could never abandon him.

Diana and Slade first and foremost.

Dick had always been there for them.

And it was damn right to return the favor.

They knew they had a lot to deal with: beyond Dick's mental recovery, not only would they have to clean the room they were currently in before some unfortunate person stumbled in there by mistake -practically impossible, given that we're talking about the Court's hideout, but it was better not to tempt fate- but they would have to talk about Jason's resurrection -Slade and Diana were still reeling from the fact that the young boy was right there in front of them, and they would have to be careful with Bruce and Alfred to avoid having a heart attack when they saw him again-, Slade had to resolve the situation with Joey, Rose, Adeline, and Wintergreen, everyone present would have to heal from the injuries -not fatal, but still quite serious- that Dick had inflicted on them, and much more.

But these weren't important for now.

Not when compared to Dick's safety.

For the first time in over six months, a sense of peace and serenity settled in Diana and Slade's chests at the knowledge that the most important person in their lives had finally been saved.

Dick was and would be safe.

That was all that really mattered.

Chapter Text

Four years had passed since Dick's last kidnapping at the hands of the Court of Owls, followed by the total destruction of the secret organization at the hands of the mercenary himself.

The acrobat had been having nightmares for many months, and besides the recurring ones of losing Diana, Slade, his children and all his loved ones, most of them focused on the enclosed space where he was in his own coffin, unable to even move a muscle, frozen, with the cold penetrating every inch of his body, weakening him and forcing him to be unable to comprehend how much time was passing, to the point of making him completely mad and an empty shell.

This was the Court's goal.

And they would have succeeded if Dick hadn't had the idea of ​​locking himself away in the furthest corner of his mind, surrendering control to the most dangerous part of himself, devoid of any shred of humanity aka his Talon-Renegade state.

Of course, it had been a very risky move, and besides the upside of having brutally exterminated the Court permanently and the downside of having seriously -but not fatally, thank God- hurt all his loved ones, at least he hadn't forgotten the names of his family and friends.

Diana had truly been a saint to him.

The Amazon had never complained when most nights for months, Dick would awaken from his nightmares with a bloodcurdling scream of pure terror, waking her up too. Nor did she complain when he continued to blame himself for hurting her and everyone else, then burst into tears of overwhelming guilt and fear while he lay in that damned coffin.

The demigoddess always held him tightly in her arms, reassuringly stroking his hair, gently scratching his scalp, murmuring tender words of love and comfort, kissing every inch of his skin, thus showing him her unconditional and eternal love for him, and he leaned into her every touch, mesmerized by her and completely at her mercy.

The Talon had been a fucking emotional wreck for too many months, and he hated himself for it.

Especially since Diana had temporarily put her work at the UN on hold, citing serious family issues, to primarily take care of him every day.

However, Diana continued to reassure him that it wasn't a problem for her at all and that he came before everything else, including her job.

As mentioned previously, Diana had truly been a saint, and Dick couldn't help but fall even deeper in love with her, something he hadn't even known was possible.

Jason also played a significant role.

Especially because he was somehow still alive.

It still wasn't exactly clear how the hell Jason could wake up in his own grave months after being beaten with a crowbar by the Joker and then blown up in a warehouse, only to wander around in a catatonic state and finally get hit by a car.

And the driver, being a good citizen of Gotham, obviously hadn't stopped.

The only clear part was Talia, who took Jason to Nanda Parbat and then threw him into a Lazarus Pit in the hope that it would awaken the boy from his catatonic state and heal all his wounds.

Fortunately, it did.

After four years, Dick still couldn't believe that his little brother, his Little Wing -even if he wasn't so little anymore, to the acrobat's displeasure- was with him again.

He honestly didn't know which deity to thank for giving him back his little brother, he didn't know why such a miracle had happened, and he didn't care.

All that mattered was having Jason back.

Speaking of Jason, since he was trained for months by the League of Assassins, he had the bright idea of ​​becoming an anti-hero vigilante under the alias of Red Hood -ironic, considering it was an old alias of his mad clown assassin- who operated mainly in Gotham where he killed the scum of the city: serial killers, pedophiles, rapists, human traffickers and more.

This was because he was inspired by Renegade himself and wanted to pay a sort of homage to the person he considered not only his older brother but also his hero, idol and inspiration.

And he also learned the drama of Renegade, as Red Hood debuted in Gotham with a duffel bag full of the severed heads of Carmine Falcone's top members and the mobster himself, before killing other mobsters like Black Mask just to send a message to the city's underworld.

Neither Dick nor Bruce were very happy with the young man's career choice and much preferred him to become an English literature teacher or anything else that didn't involve being an anti-hero vigilante in the most dangerous city in the world. So, as the good older brother and father they were, they decided to train Jason to prevent him from dying a second time.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to change Jason's mind. Despite being later legally brought back to life with a long, dramatic cover story, and having subsequently graduated high school and earned a degree in literature -to the immense pride of Dick, Bruce, Alfred, Diana and the others- Jason decided to continue his life as an anti-hero vigilante, since being an anti-hero mafia boss allowed him to have an extremely profitable income.

Dick remembered the conversation he had with his little brother shortly before leaving for his contract in Italy where he was busy exterminating Italian mafias instead of being there for Jay when he needed him most when he told Jason that he couldn't become a mercenary because he was too nerdy.

The irony of it all.

In a way, the acrobat was right, since Jason wasn't a mercenary but a mafia boss, but the whole thing was still pretty funny.

In any case, it was mainly thanks to the presence and comforting actions of his girlfriend, his father, his children, the League of Assassins, and, to a lesser extent, everyone else, that Dick was finally able to overcome his guilt.

But not all the terrible things the Court had done to him.

Even before Cobb's second kidnapping, Dick still had frequent nightmares about the torture and killing he'd endured at the hands of the Court of Owls, and his empty shell state forced to do their bidding for nearly three years.

Children.

Dick had been forced to kill pure, innocent children.

He had the blood of innocents, of children, on his hands, and they would forever remain there.

He could never forgive himself.

Not even in a hundred more lifetimes.

Even resuming his career as a gymnastics instructor and dealing with other children helped.

Furthermore, it helped that he was able to legally adopt Cassandra Cain -now Cassandra Wilson, but in spirit, she's also a Grayson!- shortly after the whole Court kidnapping episode.

It was impossible to describe in words that extraordinary feeling when he legally became Cass's dad.

Dick will never forget the sparkle of pure joy, love and happiness shining in Cass's brown eyes when he asked her to legally adopt her.

Most importantly, though, returning to the role of Renegade helped him overcome the entire trauma even more, as being the world's best mercenary and assassin gave him a kind of power and control he desperately needed.

Even though Dick had managed to come to terms with the fact that he had gravely hurt everyone he loved and that it wasn't his fault -even if, secretly, he still slightly thought so. Not that he would have told Diana: she had already been a saint to him- even after years had passed, he still had nightmares about the Court of Owls.

Sure, the frequency had gradually decreased over time, but they continued to regularly torment the mind of Earth's most ruthless and dangerous mercenary.

This indicated how badly and irreparably the Court had screwed up The Talon's mind.

No matter that the Court had been definitively destroyed and exterminated by Renegade himself, and no matter how many years would pass, there would always be a part of the acrobat terrified of Cobb and the Owls.

But enough about the bad news.

Because, in recent years, some very good and positive things have also happened.

Dick placed a tender kiss on her lips. "I love you." he murmured into the kiss.

Diana hummed happily as she returned the kiss. "I love you too."

The acrobat wrapped his arms around her neck as her hands roamed up and down his acrobatic yet muscular frame. She playfully bit his lower lip, drawing a small moan from him, and her tongue entered his mouth, eagerly exploring it. They both moaned loudly at the familiar sensation of love, lust and heat, and his hands moved down her chest, gently squeezing her breasts.

The Amazon moaned into his mouth and she grabbed the back of his neck to further deepen the kiss, which grew more and more passionate and fiery. She closed the distance between them, her breasts slapping against his chest, and she began to grind sensually against him, loving the guttural growl that escaped his throat.

They broke apart after what seemed like an hour when in reality it was only minutes, and they exchanged glances filled with love and joy. The assassin tenderly caressed her face, his lips curving into a sweet smile as she leaned into his soft touch.

“I will never tire of calling you Mrs. Wilson.” he murmured softly, glancing fleetingly at the diamond ring -a perfect match for her beautiful eyes!- glittering on her left ring finger.

That's right.

Two years earlier, Dick had proposed to her at sunset during their romantic beachside vacation in Hawaii, and his speech had been so sweet and touching that, combined with the unexpected proposal -maybe Diana should have expected it, given that it had been more than six years since they'd been together- it had managed to bring tears of pure happiness to the demigoddess's eyes.

After frantically saying yes several times, Diana, no longer able to control herself with pure happiness and joy, had hugged him so tightly that she lost control of her strength and accidentally broke his back and several ribs.

Of course, it was no problem at all, since the wounds had already healed after barely ten seconds, but the memory of this little incident was one of the best in Dick's mind and he could not help but, good husband as he was, affectionately tease his wife by reminding her of it.

Not that she could ever forget it, of course.

Since Dick was Christian, Diana easily agreed to get married in a church in New York despite her religion -they wanted to avoid some asshole from Bludhaven ruining their perfect day. Which, knowing the city, could very well happen- where obviously all their loved ones attended, even some of the new bride's Amazon sisters.

They were very few, excluding Donna and Cassandra Sandsmark who had already been in Man's World since they were very young, and her mother Hippolyta wasn't among them since the queen still hated the fact that she was with a man, let alone marrying him, but that didn't bother Diana too much since she was already used to her mother's bullshit.

Diana had chosen Donna as maid of honor and Dinah, Shayera and Zatanna as other bridesmaids, while Dick had chosen Slade as best man, along with Jade, Joey, Rose, Cass, Damian, Jason, Tim and Steph as other witnesses.

Yes, Dick knew he had too many witnesses -on the most important day of his life, he wanted his father, who saved his life physically, emotionally and mentally, his older sister who has always been there for him and all his children, by his side- but honestly, tradition was sometimes boring.

By now, all his children were grown, and he couldn't be more proud of them all.

For their honeymoon, Dick and Diana traveled the world -thanks to a private jet donated by elite members of the League of Assassins!- visiting not only other US states but also, and above all, countless different countries and cultures -Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Russia, Japan, China, Croatia, and much more- that completely captivated the married couple.

It helped that Dick already knew and spoke with a perfect accent all the languages ​​of the countries they visited.

The honeymoon lasted a full four months -of complete and utter relaxation, fun, and hot sex!- during which they both took a well-deserved break from their secret identities.

It was just Richard Wilson and Diana Prince-Wilson, not Renegade and Wonder Woman.

It had been the longest time since Renegade had not accepted a contract and Wonder Woman hadn't been seen with the Justice League fighting alien invasions and other global threats, and both were content with that.

Being just the two of them on a world tour, away from the worries of carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, even for just four months, was exactly what they both desperately needed.

Their honeymoon had truly been the most wonderful time of their lives, but alas, like everything else, it too had to end, and they had to return to their daily routines.

Not that they minded, since Dick enjoyed being the world's best anti-hero mercenary -as well as a gym instructor for children!- and Diana enjoyed being one of the most powerful heroes in the universe, but still.

And about two months after their wedding, they were blessed with the amazing news that Diana was pregnant.

They were going to be parents.

Not only would their child have the most powerful demigoddess Amazon and the most lethal, dangerous and ruthless mercenary in the world as parents, but they would have countless honorary aunts and uncles -heroes, other Amazons, assassins and former supervillain antiheroes- and most importantly, Slade, Hippolyta and goddamn Zeus as grandparents.

Slade had been frozen for about a minute when he was told the news that he was going to be a grandfather, and it had been one of the funniest things Dick had ever witnessed.

Honestly, Grandpa Slade sounded really good.

The child would literally be the most protected person on the entire planet.

“We’re having a baby.” Dick murmured, still shocked, tenderly caressing his wife’s belly -she had been pregnant for about three months, according to Dr. Leslie Thompkins- with blue eyes filled with love, devotion, and joy so sublime that his own eyes began to glow a soft gold. “We’re going to be parents. I still can’t believe it.”

Diana smiled sweetly and intertwined their fingers. “The baby will have the best dad in the world.” she stated in a soft voice, her blue eyes reflecting all her love for him.

“And the best mother in the world, too.” the acrobat added with a kiss on her cheek, loving how her face had become brighter than the sun itself.

Husband and wife -God, how they loved those words!- looked at each other with smiles and tender, loving glances for several seconds.

…

…

…

“Our child will be born with godlike powers, likely combined with the superhuman abilities of electrum and healing factor, and will have the reflexes and instincts of an assassin.”

“Zeus. The child will give us gray hair, even though we both have eternal youth, which makes it impossible for us to age.”

Pause.

“If we want to avoid going mad, our child will spend a lot of time with Grandpa Slade. He was already used to my bullshit when I was a child, so he'll already know how to behave.”

“I like this plan. That's why you're one of the best strategists in the world.”

“Thanks. I love you infinitely, Princess.”

“I love you immensely, too, my warrior.”