Love in the Night | Dick Grayson

Ch 9: Asylum

I jumped through the portal as I flew through the sky. I threw a psionic ball to the ceiling of the building creating a hole. I landed on the ground looking around as people with lab coats quickly ran away. Walking down the hall I grabbed a person holding them against the wall.

"Where are they!" I yelled.

"I don't know!" The man said.

I created a psionic sword holding it up to his throat.

"Downstairs!" He yelled closing his eyes.

I threw him to the ground drawing a circle into the ground. I stomped on the circle revealing the level below. I ran around a corner bumping into a person.

"Rachel?" I said.

"You came" she said.

"I heard you calling to me" I said.

I followed her to a cell. She took a card from her pocket scanning the security system. As the door opened a frail woman sat on a cotton bed with her back to us. I grabbed Rachel's arm as she began to walk towards her. She looked at me with pleading eyes. I gave in letting her arm go, slowly.

"Are you Angela?" Rachel asked.

The woman turned around looking to Rachel then me.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Rachel" Rachel said quietly. "Your daughter."

"That's impossible" she said. "Go back to whoever sent you and tell them it won't work."

"No" Rachel cried as she took off the sweater revealing a mark on her back. "Look."

"Oh my god" she said getting up. "It is you."

"I know this is a big moment but we need to find the others" I said.

"No we need to run" she said.

"I'm not leaving them behind" I said.

"I'm not either" Rachel said.

I walked through a door to find Gar in a cage. Rachel walked towards him.

"I need to get you out of here" she said.

She grabbed a tool from the table. I walked towards the cage putting my hand on the lock. I focused on the matter turning the lock to water.

Rachel quickly opened the door helping Gar out. I turned my head to see Adamson walk in grabbing Rachel's mother.

"I don't think so" I said.

I focused on his mind slowly crushing it, I levitated his body throwing him to the wall. I helped Rachel's mother off the ground turning back around to see Gar in his tiger form. He began biting at Adamson who had gotten up ready to hit Rachel with a crow bar.

"I need to find Dick" I said.

Gar changed back as blood was all over his body dripping down. Rachel helped Gar recoup as I walked down the hall. I twisted my hand throwing a psionic ball to the door. I walked in to see Dick strapped to a chair. I ran towards him unbuckling the straps.

"We need to go" I said.

His face was emotionless as I tilted my head. His eyes were glassy and still.

"What's wrong with him?" Rachel asked on the other side of him.

"They must've given him drugs" Gar said.

I grabbed his face, looking into his cold eyes.

"They may have broken him, Rachel" Angela said. "They do that here."

"No" I whispered.

"Dick" Rachel said softly. "It's me. I need you to hear me. You are stronger than them. You're the strongest person I've ever met. Now we need to get out of here."

Rachel walked towards her mother as Dick did not move. I took ahold of his shoulder as tears filled my eyes.

"Remember when I turned twenty-one and you brought me to the highest building in California? And made a rooftop dinner?" I asked. "It was your first time actually cooking a real dinner. You told me one day we'd forget all this. Stop all the heroics and leave. It's not too late for that."

"He's not coming back" Angela said.

I held back tears as Rachel came back.

"Yeah" he whispered. "I guess I did."

I smiled as his eyes moved around. Gar and Rachel helped take the rest of the straps off, helping Dick off the chair. Gar helped a limping Dick out of the room as I looked around for Kory.

I opened the door as three people in lab coats surround Kory on a table. I began to walk towards them with Dick behind me.

"Keep your eye on the door" he said to Gar.

"Sound the alarm!" One of them yelled.

An alarm instantly began going off. Dick began punching the men as I took the straps off Kory.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you" I whispered.

Gar looked at the tube in her mouth.

"They incubated her. I know how to take it out" he said. "But it's going to be painful."

Kory nodded as he grabbed onto the tube. I looked away as Gar pulled into the tube, Kory began gagging. I turned back around to see her sitting up.

"Just relax" Gar said.

"You relax" she snapped.

"You okay?" Dick asked.

"Fuck no" she said hopping off the table.

Dick wrapped one of Kory's arms around him as he helped her walk out. Angela took the lead down to the tunnels.

"Come on. We can get out through there" she said. "Hurry!"

I looked around at the pipes as chatter was heard further down the tunnel. Two bodies appeared standing ten feet away from us.

"There they are" a man said. "You kids just stay right where you are."

"Kid?" I asked.

I twisted my hands as green psionic balls appeared. Dick placed his hand on my arm walking past me.

"I got this" he said.

He grabbed a bar from one of the pipes and began hitting the men as they charged at him. I watched as Dick repeatedly hit one of the men on the ground as blood sprayed onto his face. As we walked towards him he dropped the crow bar. I wiped the blood from his face as he grabbed my hand. I looked into his eyes before quickly walking away. He stopped Kory from walking past him as he put his finger to his lips.

"Listen" he said. "You got enough? All we need is a spark."

I walked behind Gar out of the tunnels and into fresh air. I grabbed Gar as fire exploded from the building.

"Holy shit" I said.

Kory walked out of the front doors with not a single scratch or sign of injury. I looked to my right to see Dick standing alone looking down. I walked towards him realizing he was looking down at his Robin suit being burned.

"Giving it up?" I asked.

"You did a long time ago, it's about time I do the same" he said.

"I shouldn't have given it up" I said. "The world needed me, you needed me. But it's your choice if you want to leave him behind."

He nodded looking over to me. Kory walked over pushing back her hair.

"You gonna watch till the bitter end or are you ready to get out of here?" She asked.

I walked away leaving Dick to say his final goodbye to Robin.