Parade of a Thousand Birds

Chapter Eighteen: The Dark Backstory

Dick slowly walked up the stairs of the manner, occasionally looking back to see if the other teen was following. "My room is just up here.." Dick walked into the dark room. No one other than bruce and alfred had stepped foot in here, and even then he was hesitant. He turned on the light and sighed a bit, trying to ignore the pounding in his chest. "Well..This is my room..."

Superboy looked around..there was nothing really out of the ordinary, even though the room was large, it was simple. There was a bed to the far wall and a desk in the corner. It looked more like a prison cell then a room..no real character whatsoever. Well, there was one thing that was an exception, an old poster hung on the wall, worn with age. "What is that? " he asked a bit, reading what the poster said. 'The Flying Graysons!'

"Oh.. yeah that..." Dick's voice looked unsure, which was unsettling to the Kryptonian.

"I was unaware you liked the circus." Superboy frowned at the thought, mind instantly going to the obnoxious assassin he had to share the same team with.

"Yeah about that.." The boy laughed weakly, sitting on his bed and staring at the poster "It is a long story.. You might not want to hear it."

Saying that only made the Kryptonian even more curious. "I have time." He said bluntly, sitting next to the raven-haired teen.

"Dick sighed, taking a few deep breaths. "My full name is Richard John Grayson"

"Grayson..As in the poster?" Connor frowned a bit, not sure how to process this new information.

"Yes..as in the poster. I used to be a part of Haley's Circus..It was a lot of fun..everyone was smiling, their acts their own piece of artwork.." Dick let out a strangled breath, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "My mother and father were the best there was, daring and graceful... They were the only ones in the trade who could do a quadruple flip..without a net no less."

Connor watched the boy give a reminiscent smile...but the voice he had; it was the one of heartbreak. He was too focused on hearing what happened, completely engaged that he did not even speak. Waiting for the other to continue.

"I was supposed to join them on the stage that night.." he whispered softly "But they said I was not quite ready." The teen ran his fingers through his hair, giving a shaky laugh. "Sometimes I wonder if I joined them that night, would all the pain go away."

Those words hit Connor like a rock, his eyes widened a bit. Dick sounded like he was in absolute pain..and he could do nothing about it. It made him feel useless. "Dick-"

"Please..let me finish..I need to get this off my chest." Dick interrupted, voice seeming to level out again, before continuing his story. "I was eight, and I was foolish, I should have stopped them from continuing the act, I knew something was off...I felt it in my gut." The teen's eyes narrowed, his eyes going cold. "During their act, the cables snapped."Connor's breath hitched slightly but Dick continued. He needed to continue. "They fell to their deaths leaving me as the last surviving Grayson." He stared at his hands, trying to will them to stop shaking, but it was no use, the memories flashed into his head, all the blood..the screams of the crowds..his parent's last screams. "I am all that's left..."

"Dick--" Connor tried again but he was cut off again by a small choked sob.

Dick was trying so hard to keep his emotions in tact, he really did. Assassins were trained to never show any form of emotion..it was a sign of weakness. Dick felt so weak, so helpless...he hated it. "I tried to tell the police it was not an accident...I heard a conversation before the show between a man named Zucco and the Ringleader Haley..." He forced out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He must sound like a madman..hell, he probably looks like one to at this point. But his mouth kept moving, he could not stop telling the story. "I saw zucco enter the big tent..I should've suspected that he tampered with something...He murdered my family in cold blood and he laughed as they fell..sick bastard." Robin hugged himself close, a smile forming on his face "That was when they took me in, I went willingly..I had nowhere else to go..I was blinded by rage and revenge."

"Who?" Connor asked hesitantly, not liking where this story was going.

"The League of Shadows." The boy shook his head, cackling a bit.

Connor knew that laugh, he heard it in battle..It was the laugh that pissed him off more than anything on missions"...Robin.."

Robin continued to laugh, shaking his head a bit. "I killed him by the way..dropped him off a building. I laughed just like he did when he fell and went splat!" Robin held his head in his hands, body still shaking. "The worst thing is, when I still think about it..I still feel the thrill..the satisfaction of his death. I am a monster Connor... I am trapped in this life and I cant get out."

The Kryptonian grabbed Robin by the shoulders, forcing the boy to look up at him. "Robi-- Dick..." Connor frowned.. a swirl of emotions were ripping at him..He was furious..Dick had lied about his identity, he was the person he did not trust, the person he hated..And yet he was feeling sorry for him. How dare Dick make Connor feel sorry for him!

Dick pulled away, still cackling a bit. "I never wanted to join the team..I always knew I would be a risk to you all... All I do is kill..I am a killer... Nothing more. I'm sorry...I am so sorry..I lied to you all." Dick stood up , throwing his arms out " You knew that from the very beginning though, didn't you!" He snapped at. "How does it feel, knowing that your assumptions were all correct!?"

That was a slap to the face. Connor did quickly judge the other, and because of it, he never went near the new member. He never wondered why he did what he did or why he became what he did..And why he was forced into this life. He was afraid of change..just like he was when the team first found him. And that scared Connor the most..that the boy he had learned to hate...

Was so similar to himself.