The Bat's New Protégé

Chapter 9

The second the door to the Manor opened, Dick's heart dropped to his stomach. "Dahlia..." He whispered in shock, his wide blue eyes scanning her. The team heard his whisper and their heads shot to face the now closing door.

Bruce led Dahlia inside the home with his hand on the small of her back and she didn't look up from the floor once. Dick spotted the blood dried on her shaking hands and he held his breath at the sight.

What happened to her?

The original boy wonder darted over to the girl, ignoring the look Bruce gave him. He doesn't take orders from him, not anymore.

He slowly grabbed Dahlia by her shoulders, not seeing a single reaction from her. His concerned gaze ran across her face, seeing the pain behind her eyes with a single look.

He led her upstairs to her bedroom, helping her take a seat on her bed. Dick quickly ran into his own, getting supplies to clean up the blood and whatever else she could potentially have.

Dick almost halts in his steps at that thought, is she injured? He clears his mind and goes back to Dahlia. He crouches down in front of her, gently taking her bloodied hands in his. He slowly started clean away at the dried blood, the only being whose blood this is.

His eyes flick up to Dahlia's face, who's watching him with a blank stare. "Dahlia." He whispered, turning her hands over as he continued to clean. "Are you hurt?"

Her head shakes before she could think about the answer. Her eyes squeeze shut and a quiet sob leaves her chapped lips. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Her voice raspy and whispery.

Dick leans up onto the bed, grabbing her in his arms. He didn't speak, not knowing how to console someone with a real issue. Her head buried into his chest, her body racking with sobs and tears ran like a waterfall down her face.

He laid his cheek onto the top of her head, rubbing his hand up and down her back to help comfort the obviously shaken girl. "You'll be okay." He assured her with a soft voice.

"I'm not going anywhere."