The Last Talon

Chapter Three

The golden eyes stared up, unfocused and unseeing. Then the pupils shrank, adjusting to the light and Dick blinked. A moment later he was off the table, flipping himself backwards and away from them. His body stood in a defensive position, his eyes alert. They looked over Jason, Tim and Damian. A low hiss came out of his mouth.

'Grayson?' Said Damian, watching Dick's movements. There was a look on his face, somewhere between defiance and fear. At the use of his surname, Dick coiled in on himself even more.

'Richard.' He whispered. 'I am Richard, I am not your Gray Son.' He repeated this over and over under his breath. All the while his legs began to shake, the extensive hibernation appeared to still be hindering him and he was already wearing his body out.

'Dick?' Bruce came forward, raising his hands so the boy could see he wasn't armed. 'It's ok. You're not with them anymore. The Court is dead. You're safe.'

Dick's eyes focused on him, although his body was still shaking, it began to relax slightly.

'Bruce?'he whispered.

'Yes, it's me.' He came closer but realised his mistake. The closer he got to the boy the more the boy could see the changes of time in his father. Dick stepped back, his body hitting a wall which he proceeded to shrink down, his legs no longer able to hold him up. He looked over each person in the room, the fear growing more evident of his face. He didn't recognise any of these people. Some of them looked familiar, but they were older. Much older.

Superman could hear Dick's heart beating faster and faster.

'We need to calm him down.'

Diana stood forward, like Bruce she raised her hands. Being half immortal, her appearance had changed very little over the last twenty years. Dick seemed to cling to this when he saw her. She was familiar, she was unchanged.

'Diana.' He whispered.

'Yes, it's me, Dick. Can I come closer?'

He nodded and she sank to her knees in front of him. Tenderly she took his shaking hands in one of her own, raising the other to the side of his face. He was cold to touch as the other Talon's had been, but his eyes were different. The others had been expressionless, even as they had laid there in agony, their bodies shutting down there had been very little emotion in their eyes. But Dick's were wide, the pupil dilating in the centre of the gold. She could tell he was terrified.

Dick's body seemed to finally give up and he sank forward, exhausted. Diana sat and held him practically on her lap. Cradling him to her.

'I don't understand.' Dick mumbled, half asleep.

'Don't worry Dickie, we'll explain when you wake up.'

'Don't put me in the ice.' His mumbles were even more slurred.

'We won't. Never again.' Diana said, her grip tightening on the boy as went limp in her arms. She looked up at the others, their faces were a mixture of sadness and pity. What kind of life was this child going live?

They picked Dick up off the floor and settled him into one of the beds in the med-bay. Against the white sheet, he looked pale and his body stilled again in sleep.

'What the hell just happened?' Asked Jason, eyes fixed on the boy who an hour ago had been a corpse. 'I thought you said he was dead?' He turned to Superman, who looked just as shaken.

'There were no vitals, no signs of life until just before he woke up.' Superman said, rubbing his hand through his slightly greying hair.

'Bruce?' Diana caught sight of Bruce's expression. She had never seen her friend look so old.