Befriending The Enemy

Why?

Everyone was still processing the ball that had been dropped, especially Wally and Batman who seemed the most affected by this reveal. Dick walked over, placing his mask on the table. "I never meant for you to find out." Says Dick.

  "Why?" Asked Batman, his voice no longer harsh.

  Dick looked over at Batman, who had dropped his cowl. Dick put his lips In a straight line, not ready to face Bruce. He looked uneasy. "On the mission, Artemis left me on the roof. Abandoned me to save herself." Dick spat out bitterly. "Because of it I was injured. I never wanted you to know who I really was."

  "But... you said you lost him on the battlefield." Says Wally, looking over at Artemis.

  Artemis gulped, her face contorting into hurt. "I never meant to leave you. I was stupid and ignorant to leave you."

  Dick chuckled. "5 years too late for an apology." He said. "Plus if you hadnt done it I never would have lived my best life."

  "A life of crime? Sounds delightful." Wally snaps, sarcastically. "Why didnt you come home?! Why did you stay with him?"

  Hearing this made Dick snap. He scoffed, feeling tears start to fill the waterline of his eyes. "I stayed with him because I felt safe!" He barked, stepping forward. "That day we were on the mission, everyone was treating me like shit. I was being scolded and talked down to. Artemis left me to fend for myself and later all of you did! The mind link grew weaker, which meant you guys were no longer in the area! Do you know how much it hurt? To feel like you've been abandoned by the people you once called a team?" He felt his tears start to fall, making him shake his head.

  "We were going to come back for you. We didnt know what to expect. We all ran in different directions." Says M'gann in a low whisper.

  Dick chuckled, hysterically. "I was shot. Twice." Dick spoke sternly.

  "And we looked for you after." Says Wally. "We never once stopped. I never believed you were dead because we never found anything. If you would have told us we could have saved you from Deathstroke."

  Dick shot back, his eyebrows up in surprise. "Saved me from Deathstroke? Hes the only reason I'm alive!"

  "And on the bad side." Artemis snapped.

  "When I was on Deathstrokes door, he could have killed me or used me as leverage, instead he saw a broken teenager and took me in. He nurtured me back to health and when he found out my interests, he trained me. For a year I trained with him and never once did he scold me for slipping up or failing." He looked at Batman who was still having trouble processing the news. "As a team whenever we failed, we got scolded. Me worst of all because I was your ward. When I failed in Deathstrokes presence, he never once scolded me. He told me my mistakes and had me work on them. He acted like more of a mentor than you ever did. You may have rescued me and trained me as well as made me your son, but never once did you make me feel like I didnt have to be on your level." Dick snapped, his tears falling down once again. Saying all this hurt Dick alot, be he knew it needed to be said.

  Everyone was silent for a long minute letting some of the tension air out. "Deathstroke is not your mentor. Hes your capture and your the captive." Says Kaldur.

  Dick shook his head wiping the tears off his face. "Deathstroke is my mentor. He is my family, more than any of you have ever been. I dont want to answer any more questions or talk. I'm done. Get out." Dick barked, turning away from them to lean against the wall.

  Batman was hurt by these words, but he didnt show it. Instead he turned away and left the room. Everyone else shared a hurtful scold Dicks way before they left as well. Once the door close, Dick slammed his fist into the wall, his tears now flowing uncontrollably as he slid to his knees. He never pictured their reunion to hurt as much as it did. Especially seeing the hurt on Batmans face. All he wanted to do was go back to when he didnt see their faces. He wanted to go back to doing missions with Deathstroke, but he was trapped. Now all he could do, was wait.

*A few hours later*

  Dick was sat in the chair, one knee to his chest while the other dangled. He was staring at the white table, thinking back at the words he said. That is until he heard the voice he was waiting for.

  "Grayson, can you hear me?" His earpiece said. For being a prisoner, the Leagues didnt really search or take much from him.

  He looked up, trying to see if anyone was watching him, before bringing up his watch. "I hear you." He said, his voice cracking.

  "Good. Listen carefully. There is a vent above you that leads to the main corridor. Once there, stay in the vent until you see the sign. When it goes off, jump down the vent and make your way to the southeast exit. I will be waiting behind the complex. Get a move on. We dont have much time." He explained.

  Dick smirked. "Understood." He said, grabbing his helmet, he put it on, finding that the clasp was difficult with cuffed hands. Once it was on, he glanced up, seeing the vent right next to the window. Standing up, he pushed the table over to the vent, lining it up just right. Jumping onto the table, Dick grabbed the vent, using all his body weight, he popped it opened, cringing at the loud noise it gave off. No doubt they heard it.

  Dick jumped up, grabbing the inside and hoisted himself up, glad he did pullups as a part of his training. Once he pulled himself up, he started crawling away from the room, hearing people yelling and talking from where he just escaped from. After a few minutes of crawling around the vents, he finally came to the main room, seeing the Leagues surrounding the vent, talking amongst eachother. Dick could only think it was about his marvelous escape.

  That's when he saw it. Three of his very own smoke bombs being thrown onto the floor. They exploded and Dick realized they weren't just smoke, but the sedative ones he was working on. Thankful he had his mask on, he elbowed the vent off, slithering like a snake before dropping like a cat onto his hands and feet. He saw that the others spotted him. Cursing he took off towards the exit, ignoring the coughing and gagging behind him.

  Sliding under a table, he turned and kicked it, tripping a kid dressed in a blue insect armor. He continued to run, until he was finally at the door. Typing in the code, it slid open. Dick wiggled his way through it, not waiting for it to fully open. He jumped down the rocks, making his way to the complex, his stamina catching up to him as he stumbled on the final rock, tumbling. His ankle screamed at him, knowing he sprained it.

  He groaned, looking up to see Batman and Jason on his tail. Forcing himself up, he limped his way to the complex. That's when he spotted Deathstroke, looking back at him. When he spotted Dick limping over to him, he started the motorcycle. Immediate relief flooded him the closer he got to Deathstroke.

  "Dick, stop!" Shouted Batman.

  Dick stopped a few feet away from the motorcycle, turning to face Batman and Jason. "What?" Dick snapped, a bit out of breath.

  Batman stepped forward, causing Dick to step back. "I cant lose you again. Come back inside. We can talk about this." Batman said, for the first time his voice sounded genuinely sad, making Dick flinch.

  Dick looked back at Deathstroke, who seemed to be waiting patiently for Dick. He turned back to them. "I cant." He whispered.

  "You get on that bike, you will become our enemy. We will have no choice but to hunt you down like any other villain. You can never come back." Batman said, almost as if begging for Dick to chose them.

  Dick gulped, his heart hammering in his chest. This was the hardest decision in his life, but as much as it pained him, he already knew what he wanted to chose. "Duly noted." He whispered, turning away from Batman and Jason, limping his way to the bike. Hesitating, he shook his head, forcing himself not to look back.

  Throwing his leg over the bike, he grabbed hold of Deathstrokes straps since he couldnt wrap his arms around him due to the cuffs. Deathstroke looked back, taking a long gaze before zipping off towards town.

A/N: the feels am I right? I hope you are enjoying the book so far ^-^