Sick Bird.

79. Lights Out

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"Aliosum?" Bruce repeated the word as though it was foreign to him, like it was the first time he had ever heard of it. "I can't say that I have."

Dick had watched for a change in his mentor's expression the moment the question had been asked but found none. Bruce didn't so much as twitch his eyebrow and if it wasn't for the fact that Dick had been trained by him, the thirteen year old would have assumed that his guardian had gotten amnesia.

Dick looked back at Sebastian, whose face now carried a more natural smile as he replied, "I didn't think so. It is not as popular as AIDS or Ebola."

He felt as though he was trapped behind the scenes of a movie where the actors were in a competition to fool on another and he was the only one aware of it.

He knew what Bruce was after but he didn't know how his mentor wanted to handle Sebastian.

On the other hand, he didn't know Sebastian quite so well but he knew that for some reason his kidnapper wanted the antidote just a badly as Bruce did.

"Why bring an obscure disease to my attention then?" Bruce asked, leaning forward by a nearly unnoticeable margin.

Dick picked up on it immediately. His father was eager to know what Sebastian knew but he was trying to hid it as long as possible.

"Though unknown, Aliosum is deadly and kills before most can realize that they are infected." Sebastian started. "Few have survived the way it ravages the the immune system."

"So it is survivable." Bruce said coolly.

"Don't get me wrong, Mr Wayne, when I say survive," Sebastian smiled. "Those few have long lost consciousness and are on constant life support. There is no cure."

Dick bit into his lower lip. He didn't need more people saying it for him to understand that his chances were inexistent. He didn't want to think about it any more than he did already.

"If there is no cure, why would I want to invest in its research?"

"Oh," Sebastian snatched the document back so fast that Dick almost doubted his eyes. "Since that is the case, I suppose we have nothing to discuss after all."

He turned to leave, dragging a reluctant Dick along with him.

When they got to the door, Sebastian started to speak again. Hope appeared in Dick's heart. Maybe he wouldn't have to leave...

"Don't mistake my want for cooperation between us as desperation just because I came to you first. I can get a cure with or without Wayne Enterprises, it is just a matter of years before I get a breakthrough. I have all the time in the world. Do you?"

After saying that, Sebastian looked down at Dick and smiled. "I'm leaving you here kid, can't babysit much longer."

"But," Dick whispered even though that was what he wanted. His gaze shifted to Bruce whose expression remained blank. "You said I shouldn't let go of your hand."

Sebastian ruffled his head. "I'll only take you if you want to come with me. Do you?"

Dick didn't take his eyes off his father. "I have better chances if the both of you work together..."

"Goodbye Richard," he said quietly and let go of the boy's hand.

Dick watched in confusion as his kidnapper walked down the hall. With each step that Sebastian took away from him he felt a pang of pain. Soon he was gasping for air, unable to breathe as every bruise he had forgotten about reminded him of their presence without warning.

When Sebastian finally rounded a corner and disappeared from his line of sight, Dick collapsed to floor from the overwhelming pain.

Then everything went dark, and not because the lights went out.

He didn't feel himself hitting the ground.

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