Fruition Of Lies

Nobody Important

"Who are you?"

His body goes rigid at the question. 'Who am I?' he thought. 'Who am...I?'

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~Flashback~

Deep underground, beneath the sewers of Gotham, a cry can be heard echoing off the stone walls. If someone were to follow the cry, they would discover a young boy curled into the fetal position deep within the bunkers. The young boy shivers as he lays upon the damp, mossy floor.

If you were to listen, you would be able to hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Sadly, the young boy's cries are to loud, and the footsteps remain unnoticed. The child's cries start to soften as he sees a man approach. Was he here to help? Was he here to rescue him? Perhaps the figure was Batman? The boy faintly remembers the story his mother told him, about how Batman will always save you, no matter what. The boy's eyes fill with hope as the figure gets closer. If someone had been watching the boy's eyes, they would have seen hope shatter, and bright blue eyes dim once more. For the figure that came was not Batman-no, it was his grandfather. His teacher. His handler. His master.

The blue-eyed boy swiftly stood and watched his teacher in dreading fear. He had been caught crying. Talons do not cry. Talons are tools, and tools show no emotion. The child's teacher stopped in front of him, and watched him with cold eyes as he looked down. Eyes that were cruel, calculating, lifeless. The man thrust his hand forward and grabbed the boy's neck, pinning him to the wall. The boy instinctively reached to pry the hand away to no avail. He would remain gasping and choking for breath until his teacher was satisfied. With his voice devoid of emotion, his teacher began to speak.

"Boy, do you know what you're training to be?"

Nodding the child choked out, "A Talon, Master."

"Wrong," his teacher replied, tightening his grip on the boy's throat. "You're training to be the Talon. The Gray Son of Gotham. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded again and the grip around his throat loosened a bit. His teacher began to speak again.

"Once you complete your training, you will be the Gray Son of Gotham. That means you will be our most important asset. A tool that does not fail. The most important Talon. If you do happen to fail, you will be punished far more severely than the others. The Court would need to set an example, after all, to make sure the others don't fail." he spoke smoothly while releasing his grip on the boy's throat.

Collapsing, the child began to cough and sputter as he struggled to regain the much needed air. His teacher, however, was not finished as he began to walk away from the boy as he spoke: "It would be wise to rid yourself of emotion now, rather than face what the Court has planned later, should you disobey. Remember, you're important, and the Court wants you. The Court never fails to get what it wants." 

The boy watched his grandfather's back as it faded into the dark, new tears forming in his eyes. They did not fall however, now that he knew what would happen if they did. Had his mother lied, was Batman really going to save him? It's been a year. That's plenty of time, right? He should be coming soon ...right? Right?

His back slid along the wall as he sat down, wrapping his arms tightly around his legs. The boy sat there in the dark, listening, waiting...hoping for something, someone. But all he got in return was unanswered silence.

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Snapping out of the memory, Dick gave the woman an apologetic wave. She'd seen him zone out from the question, and appeared to be unnerved by the silence.

"Who are you?" she repeated again, slightly louder than the first time. "Are you...okay?"

Dick fished through one of his pouches for a pen and paper. Upon discovering the items, he scribbled a response and handed it to the woman. Putting the items away, Dick scaled the fire escape, turned and gave the woman a thumbs up before making his trek back to the warehouse. He had a knife wound to take care of, after all.

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The woman, abandoned in the alleyway, read the crumbled paper in her hand.

"Nobody Important"

'Huh,' she thought. Looking up at the night sky, she thought once more: 'We'll see about that ...we'll see.'

Well here is another chapter!! If any of you are ever confused about what is going on, just ask me. I'll try my best to explain. I'm in the process of writing the fourth chapter, so it won't be long before that's up. Til next time

-Rachel