Bruce held the teen against the wall with a firm grip, yet the kid just smiled and kept his cocky composure.
"Did I hit a nerve?" He cackled slightly
The laugh took Bruce back a bit, it sounded familiar.. but it was too dark and twisted. He let go of the teen. "You will not insult the memory of my son, Are we clear?" He does not know the strain on the team do Dick Grayson's death. Everything was in shambles for weeks not only for the proteges, but for Wayne manor as well.
"Crystal" Dick chuckled again, slipping away from the wall, returning back to Damian's side. "Though he would not like to see how his place was taken by those who are not at all ready to take up the name." Dick jerks his way in the direction of Jason Todd. "A boy with no moral code..." And then a look towards Tim Drake. "And a boy who has been fed with a silver spoon his whole life."
"You act like you knew him"Jason snaps at, really wanting to punch the assassin in the face.
"Maybe I did." Dick crossed his arms a bit. It was not really a lie, after all he was still Dick Grayson. "And it sickens me that his death went unnoticed, replaced so the public would not know of his death." Dick started, but was stopped by a punch in the face by Jason.
"Shut up! We did it to honor him!" Jason scowled. Why he had the urge to defend the deceased Grayson troubled him, considering he was no longer in the roll... Still, this person had no right to bad mouth them.
"Now that's no way to treat a guest." Dick mused a bit. " you should treat me with more respect, Todd. If it weren't for me, you would not even be standing here."
"I could have dodged that bullet!" Jason snapped at. Was he really using the excuse that he pushed him out of the line of fire.
"Oh no, not that" Dick smirked, relishing this moment. It is about time he got a little appreciation around here.
"Shut up already!" Jason kicked at the teen who dodged effortlessly
"Tsk tsk. " Dick taunted. " I bring you back to life, and this is how you repay me?"
Jason froze at his words. "...What? What are you talking about?!"
Dick looked at his hands, pinching an imaginary speck of dust between his fingers. " I was the one who dragged your lifeless body to the pits. I was the one who convinced the league to give you a second chance. It's good to see that you are using it so well."
Horror crossed the other teen's face, is that why Shadow follows him all the time? "You were the one?"
"Definitely a waste of time and resources." Damian piped in, earning a glare from both Tim and Jason.
"Damian, enough." Dick ordered and the boy slunk back into line, earning a questioning look from Bruce. " Yes, I was the one. I saw...potential" potential to break Bruce's heart. Dick looked back at Damian, who had scoffed at the word 'potential' but froze again under his glare. "And now here we are. Though I never thought I would come back to this place."
"Come back?" Tim questioned, his mind racing. Come to think of it, Shadow seemed to know every square inch of the bat cave, plus their identities. Did he sneak in somehow? Surely not with all the security, there was no way.
"Mm yeah, been here many times, easy to hack into security." Dick lied smoothly. He never stepped foot in the cave after his revival. " now are we sparring or what? You got me all riled up with that punch, surely you wouldn't tease me like that." He cooed before pointing to the direction of the training room. " it's been far too long since I had a good spar."
Jason smirked a bit. Sure, Shadow was annoying as all hell with his cryptic sayings and tales of bringing him back from the dead, but this was an opportunity to bash his face in. There was no way that he would not take up this opportunity. " I'm game."
-----------------
Bruce watched the fight with close observation. The raven haired boy moved swiftly, but it seemed almost..robotic and stiff. He was holding back. Tim seemed to notice it as well, he's eyes focused as the two teens sparred. As Jason fought Shadow , his anger was increasing while the other teen used rudimentary maneuvers to dodge and counter. However, he was obviously beating Todd, mocking him the entire time.
Bruce cleared his throat. "Jason, That is enough."
"But--"
"I believe it is my turn ." The kid was hiding something, and he was going to find out what it was. He is purposely disguising his fighting style, it was far too thought out. "That is if you you are not afraid of getting defeated."
"Is that a challenge old man?" Dick grinned and got back into his fighting stance. He never could pass up the chance to spar with his old mentor, and recently, he had the urge to beat him to a pulp. A win win situation so it seems. "I won't go easy on you either."
They squared up, getting ready . Dick was the first to charge into the fight. This would usually be what Dick would tell Damian NOT to do. But it has been far too long, and his adrenaline was already pumping.
Bruce blocked the first punch with ease, returning it with a kick to the stomach. He needed to pressure the assassin into revealing what he was hiding. However to no avail. The teen dodged everything and even managed to get in a few hits. It was only when Bruce did a combo while Shadow was in the air. Bruce should have landed a hit, but instead the teen twisted in mid air, doing a graceful flip and landing.
Dick froze when he realized his mistake, his mind raced for a lie he could produce, but his mind went blank.
Bruce looked at the boy, his mind also churning...it has been a long time, but he knew that fighting style.
" Shadow, I thought you were told not to use the League's fighting technique unless on contracts." Damian piped in, hoping the lie would drive attention away from his mentor. Grayson's insolence has yet again got them in a sticky situation.
Dick paused a second but then gave a cocky laugh. " Sorry little demon, I got carried away." He looked back at the bat family, who gave them a questioning look of debating but seemed to have let his slip up go. His identity was safe for now, but he will need to be more careful.
Little did he know that Tim was not fooled.
