Nemesis (A Speeddemon Fanfiction)

Three

Dick Grayson knew better than to believe in coincidence. But he found it even harder to believe in anything else.

Two of the most skilled young heroes had been attacked, following the same pattern, in the short span of barely a couple of days. He found it harder to believe that such dark souls would come after a bunch of unexperienced teenagers. But then again, hadn't they come after him and his own team before, when they were young and naïve?

He looked down at the unconscious Damian Wayne, laying surprisingly peacefully in the middle of the Bat Cave, a thousand monitors connected to his body and he thought, maybe they really had been attacked. Maybe someone wanted something from them. He also knew better than to look for a villain's motives.

"Is he getting any better?", he asked Bruce, who was constantly switching between screens.

"He's stable", the oldest Bat answered, his voice still as always, "I'm looking for something else"

Dick raised a dark eyebrow, "A drug?"

"A trace", Bruce remarked. Dick didn't need any further explanations. How could that detail have slipped through his fingers? Of course, whatever might have attacked him may have left something behind.

Then, it hit him, "Are you going to test Iris as well?", he questioned him, seeing as an almost invisible tab about the girl had been opened on the right corner of his screen.

"No", the man answered, his eyes still glued to his work, "Her metabolism is too fast. It would've already dispersed it", he pointed out.

Damian's eyes were shut, but he felt wide awake. He felt the cold metal of his sword wrapped around his bruised hand. Its blade cut deep into his flesh, the feeling of fresh blood awakening ancient instincts within him. He saw his mother. He saw his grandfather. And he saw the entire army of assassins that had once trained him, and that he had once defeated. And he saw his reflection on the blood-covered weapon; he was one of them.

As if he had been drowning and brought back to the shore, Damian gasped and sat up abruptly, taking both men by surprise. Dick hurried to his side but didn't say anything until the boy started breathing properly again, "How are you feeling?", he asked him.

Damian looked at his father first, who was eyeing him from his seat. He couldn't remember. He didn't recall a thing, "I don't know", he confessed, feeling embarrassment taking over him.

"I might have the slightest idea", the Bat spoke firmly, yet calmly.

Damian eyed him carefully. He concentrated, yet nothing came to his mind. He spotted the hundred wires attached to his body, and he panicked. He panicked ever so slightly that Dick could not recall one time he had looked so vulnerable, "You don't remember, do you?", he questioned him, knowingly.

The young boy shook his head, corroborating the answer he already knew. He then directed his gaze at Bruce, who seemed to be waiting for the right time to speak, "We seem to be facing something, or someone, who enjoys mystery", he finally stated.

"What?", Damian snapped, suddenly getting up from the medical bed and detaching everything from his sore body. Yet he didn't flinch. He stood tall next to his father's computer, scanning through the screens without really understanding a thing, "Are we being attacked?", his voice was rushed, unsteady. He felt dizzy from his sudden movements.

Bruce ignored the nervousness that had seemed to take over his son, "Whatever did this to you, Damian, did leave a trace", he said, calmly. He spun his chair around and pressed a few keys. A new tab was opened, showcasing a few formulas and some scientific names Damian did not recognize.