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“It’s okay Dick. You’re alright. I’m right here.” Barbara whispered as Dick continued shifting on the bed, pained grunts and groans escaping his mouth.
It had been almost two hours since Kaldur and Wyynde had returned with Dick and Jeff but while Jeff seemed to have recovered, Dick was still in the same state he was when they arrived. Nothing she nor Dr. Jace did had any effect on him. Barbara wasn’t even sure if he could hear her but she kept whispering assurances to him all the same, just in case he could. Maybe it would bring him some comfort, knowing that she was right there. That he wasn’t alone.
What made the whole thing worse was that no one knew what was wrong with him. There were no physical injuries and every test that Dr. Jace ran turned up nothing. Right now she was talking to Jeff, Kaldur and Wyynde, hoping that they would know more about what happened but Barbara doubted that it will help anything. It might give them more knowledge about the alien technology, and that could be useful later on, but it won’t do anything for Dick now.
“Any change?” Barbara looked over her shoulder to see not only Kaldur coming towards her, but the doorway filled the figures of Wyynde, Conner, Brion, Violet, Gar, Forager and Jeff. She could barely make out Victor hovering nearby.
“No, not yet. At least, nothing noticeable.” Barbara answered Kaldur’s question, turning her attention back to her boyfriend.
“Dick is strong. I am sure he will recover.” Kaldur said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“He better. Otherwise, I’m going to kill him.”
Kaldur couldn’t help but smirk at that, though he managed to keep from chuckling. It wasn’t proper in this situation. Not with Dick lying in front of them, writhing in pain and not being able to do anything about it.
“You should get some rest Barbara.” Kaldur told her after a few seconds of silence.
“No. I’m needed here.” The redhead replied. Glancing over at the others still standing in the doorway, she quietly added, “But can you get the others out of here? Bruce and Tim will be here soon and I don’t think they’ll like a bunch of people around.”
Sighing, Kaldur nodded. “Of course.”
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It took every bit of self-control Bruce had to not run from the car and to the building where the Outsiders were living. Where Dick was.
He was on patrol when Barbara had called him and filled him in on what happened to his oldest son. He hadn’t even been aware that Dick had technically been missing for an entire 24 hours. Now that Dick lived in Bludhaven and was leading a new team, Bruce didn’t see him that much. Only when they would meet up to discuss their overall mission to take down the Light or the occasional dinner. Now he wished he had stayed more in touch with the young man. Maybe if he did, he could’ve helped find Dick. Could’ve gotten him out of the strange, alien, h*ll that Granny Goodness had apparently put him through.
Tim was on patrol with him and demanded that he came along, as did Alfred when he learned what was going on. That made it a little trickier as the newest members of the Outsiders were unaware that Bruce Wayne was Batman. He had reluctantly given permission for Brion, Tara, Forager, Violet and Victor to know that Dick Grayson was Nightwing but he made it clear that his and Tim’s identities were to be kept secret. The others had the right to make their own choice about that. So, he along with Tim and Alfred had to go as civilians which made getting to the Outsiders’ base a little more complicated.
They took a zeta tube straight to Los Angeles, near the house that was owned by Bruce Wayne. According to the public, Bruce had a house or apartment in pretty much every major city in the U.S. and in the world to stay in whenever he had to travel. Unknown to them though, Bruce had every single one of those places decked out with his Batman equipment in case he needed to go there for a case or Justice League business. Plus, if he was ever attacked as either Batman or Bruce Wayne, then he could easily deal with it. As much as he wanted to take the zeta tubes straight to the penthouse where the Outsiders were living, that would generate too many questions from the young vigilantes who didn’t know their identities.
Once at the safehouse, they took the car Bruce had there straight to the penthouse. Alfred, bless him, was going as fast as he could but traffic was horrible. It was like everyone wanted to make sure he’d never get to his son. After what felt like hours, they finally arrived. They quickly parked and rushed to the elevator.
Bruce was in such a hurry that when the doors opened, he almost ran into a group of people that were waiting. He glanced over at them, and they stared at him, Tim and Alfred in shock. Ignoring them, he strode passed them into the apartment. He paused for a second, wondering where exactly Dick was when he heard it. The sound of someone crying out in pain. A sound he unfortunately recognized after years of fighting crime with his first partner. Bruce made a beeline for the open door where the sound was coming from and felt his heart stutter in his chest.
Lying on a cot, surrounded by medical equipment, was Dick. He was dressed in a muscle shirt and sweats, and was constantly shifting around as though he was trying to escape something. Despite the distance, the billionaire could see the lines of pain on his face and the sweat drenching his clothes. It wasn’t until a low whine escaped his lips that Bruce finally went over to his son’s side.
“What have you found?” Bruce demanded as he reached Dick’s side, surprising Barbara and Dr. Jace. They must not have heard him come in.
“Unfortunately nothing.” Dr. Jace informed him. “There’s nothing in his system and all the tests I have run have come empty. I can find no reason for his fever or the pain. But I have no knowledge of the X-pit or its effects and how to fix it.”
“Is Jeff the same way?” Bruce asked, glancing up at the doctor for a second before looking back down at his son, only noticing now the nasal cannula under his nose and the IV in his hand.
“No, he’s not. He said he was a bit tired and sore, but nothing like this.” Dr. Jace answered.
“So what do we do?” Tim spoke up from his spot by Barbara and Alfred.
Looking over at him, Dr. Jace said, “At the moment, the only thing we can do is treat his symptoms. Hopefully whatever is ailing him will wear off by itself.”
Bruce clenched his fists, then looked back at Dick. He had seen that pained expression on his eldest son’s face before. When he first woke up after being beaten nearly to death by Two-Face with a baseball bat. When he ended up getting Scarecrow’s fear toxin in his system. When his parents died. That didn’t mean that Bruce was used to it though. He would never get used to it. He hated that look, hated that Dick had felt that kind of agony even once, let alone as often as he did. The young man was so good, so pure. He didn’t deserve any of this.
Suddenly, Dick’s shifting got worse and one of the monitors started beeping faster. The doctor/scientist looked at it and said, “His temperature is spiking. Help me strap him down so he doesn’t hurt himself.”
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“Hush Master Dick. It’s alright.” Alfred tried to soothe the young man who was still trying to struggle on the bed. The ice bags however, not only helped control his fever, but weighed him down, keeping him throwing himself off the bed. The padded restraints helped with that as well.
Alfred hated seeing his grandson in such a state. This was worse than seeing the boy poisoned with Scarecrow’s fear toxin. As awful as it was seeing Dick under the influence of that though, as least they had an antidote for it. And if they didn’t have access to that, they knew that it would wear off eventually. They had no such assurance in this situation. They still didn’t even know exactly what was going on, let alone how to fix it. Keeping Dick as calm as possible and controlling his fever was all they could do.
The sound of someone shouting drew the butler’s attention away from the young man and towards the door. It sounded like Mr. Jefferson Pierce. Judging from the words his ears were able to pick up, it appeared that he had finally put the pieces together about Bruce’s plan. Alfred let out a sigh. Another thing all three of his charges would have to deal with, as if they weren’t carrying enough weight on their shoulders. While he was not overly fond of the man he raised sneaking around and lying to those who trusted him, he understood why he did it. It sounded though that the hero known as Black Lightning did not.
Shifting his focus back to Dick, Alfred saw that while there was still a pained expression on his face, it wasn’t as bad as before. And he wasn’t moving anymore, nor was he making any noises. He seemed to finally start relaxing, causing Alfred to grasp his hand as he whispered, “That’s it my boy. Rest now, everything’s alright. You are safe.”
Slowly, the lines of pain on his face began to disappear as he truly started to relax and fell into a restful sleep. Glancing up at the monitors, Alfred saw that his fever was dropping. Not by much, but it was still a step in the right direction. The Brit then started running a hand through the young man’s raven locks, remembering how many times he was in this type of situation. Being a vigilante was extremely dangerous and there was more than one occasion where his charges were badly injured or sick. No matter how often it happened, Alfred hated every single second of it.
Again Alfred heard people shouting and he let out another sigh as he undid the straps on Dick’s wrists and ankles. There was no need for them anymore. Alfred wasn’t at all surprised by the yelling, but he really wished that the heroes outside the room would be quieter. For his grandson’s sake. Now that Dick was actually resting, he didn’t want anything to wake him up. Even before all of this, he knew Dick wasn’t getting the rest he needed. When busy or stressed, the young man seemed to get the notion that he didn’t need sleep. Something he, and Tim, had learned from Bruce no doubt. No matter how often Alfred had tried, he could never break that habit of theirs.
“Alfie?” A quiet, weak voice had the butler look down at the raven-haired young man to see his blue eyes staring up at him, clearly exhausted and confused.
Giving him a small but reassuring smile, Alfred said, “I’m here Master Dick.”
“Water?” Dick croaked, his eyelids closing before forcing them open a second later, clearly trying to stay awake.
“Here you are. Drink slowly.” Alfred advised, grabbing a cup of water from the bedside table and holding it near Dick’s mouth. Seeing Dick struggle to lift his head, the elderly man slipped a hand under the back of the younger man’s head and tilted it up, allowing him to drink.
After downing several sips, Dick pulled away, silently saying that he was done. As Alfred put the nearly empty cup back on the table and lowered his head back down on the pillow, Dick asked, “What happened?”
“What do you all recall?” Alfred inquired, instead of answering. Dick’s brows furrowed as he thought, then his eyes widened.
“Jeff. Is he okay? And Kaldur and,”
“Easy Master Dick.” Alfred interrupted, placing a gentle hand on Dick’s shoulder. “Mr. Jefferson and everyone else are fine. It is you we have been worried about.”
“Me?” Dick questioned, apparently only now noticing the medical equipment and ice bags surrounding him.
Removing some of the ice, seeing that the young man’s fever had lowered even more, Alfred said, “You have had an extremely difficult evening. A dangerously high fever and you seemed to be in a great deal of pain, though Dr. Jace was unable to discover why.”
“Oh,” was all Dick could think to say. He could feel the sweat and water from the ice on his skin and clothes, the air chilling it but he still felt like he was burning inside. And while his entire body ached and throbbed, it was nothing compared to the agony he was in earlier.
Feeling a hand stroke his cheek, Dick let out a quiet moan and closed his eyes. He was so tired. Alfred must’ve noticed because he continued stroking his cheek and said, “Rest Master Dick. Everything is alright. Just rest.”
Dick nodded and was about to do just that when he heard someone yelling. It sounded like Jeff. Opening his eyes again, he saw Alfred scowling at the door. It seemed he was not at all pleased with the person making so much noise. When Alfred looked back over at him, his gaze softened as he told him, “Try to ignore the noise sir. You need your sleep.”
“What’s going on Alfred?” Dick asked.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with right now. Just close your eyes and go to sleep.” Alfred gently ordered, wondering if he would need to slip a sedative into Dick’s IV line. It wouldn’t be the first he had to do that and he doubted it would be last.
“Alfred, tell me.” Dick responded with a determined tone of voice that told the butler that he wasn’t going to rest until he got his answers.
With a sigh, Alfred replied, “It appears that Mr. Jefferson and the others have figured out Master Bruce’s deceptions and the part you and the others have played in it.”
Dick’s eyes widened again and he immediately tired to sit up. He had to get up. Had to go and explain. He was just as guilty of the lies as the others and the others shouldn’t take all the blame. He had to help. Alfred however didn’t seem to agree.
“Lie back down Master Dick. The others can handle it.” Alfred informed him, gently pushing him down on the mattress.
“No, I need to explain.” Dick protested. Giving his grandfather his signature puppy-dog eyes, he said, “Please Alfred.”
The former intelligence again sighed again but nodded. Hopefully the sight of the young man still appearing so weak and sick would help the others calm down. And then once this while thing was dealt with, his grandson would finally be able to get the rest he clearly needed.
After disconnecting the IV line and taking the nasal cannula off, Alfred helped Dick to his feet. Dick nearly collapsed the second he was upright. His legs were shaking, threatening to give out under the acrobat’s weight. The Brit immediately wrapped an arm around the young man’s waist as Dick put his arm around Alfred’s shoulder. Together, they made their way out of the medical room to where the others were as they heard Black Lightning shout, “What good is the mission if we lose ourselves trying to fulfill it!”
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Bruce stood still as Brion and Tara explained how Dr. Jace was a traitor, everything they discovered about Gretchen Goode and what happened to Violet. Jeff, understandably, was not taking it well. So much had happened over the last few hours. And that wasn’t counting what happened to Jeff in the X-pit. Bruce didn’t blame him for breaking down. There weren’t many people that wouldn’t be. Yet, Bruce’s focus kept drifting over to Dick, who was standing off to the side, leaning heavily on Tim.
His first son wasn’t looking good at all. He had no idea what Alfred was thinking when he saw his surrogate father bring the first Robin into the room. Though he was happy to see Dick awake and alert, it was crystal clear that he was still extremely weak. He needed to rest, not get yelled at by Jeff, who either was so angry he didn’t notice Dick’s condition, or just didn’t care. Bruce really hoped it was the former.
The billionaire wasn’t fully sure what all happened while he was up on the roof talking with Barbara. He didn’t want to leave, but it was strongly implied that he let Dick talk to Jeff. Thinking that maybe Jeff would go easier on Dick due to his condition, Bruce gave them some space and tried to collect his thoughts. When he came back with Barbara though, he saw that Jeff hadn’t calmed down in the slightest. And neither had Garfield. He wasn’t sure how Conner was doing as he and M’gann were conversing telepathically, but the clone didn’t look happy. Bruce was considering calling it a night, thinking that after some sleep they could come back to the topic with cooler heads. Unfortunately, before he could suggest that, Brion and Tara came in with the bad news about Violet and Dr. Jace.
Bruce was absolutely furious with himself for not figuring out that Dr. Jace was a traitor. He should’ve looked into her more. Should’ve been around to see the signs. He had let her take care of his sick and dying son! She could’ve done anything to him and he most likely wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. Thankfully though, it appeared that Dick would be alright. At least, Bruce hoped he would be.
He still couldn’t stand without help. He wasn’t sure when Tim took Alfred’s spot, but from the look on Tim’s face, he guessed it was a while. Tim had definitely grown a lot over the last two years. He was almost the same height as his older brother, and was getting to be just as strong but he couldn't hold him up for much longer. They needed to get Dick back to bed. And when Jeff stormed out, Bruce decided now was the time.
“Dick.” Bruce called out as he made his way over to his son. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
“What? No, we have to find Violet.” Dick immediately objected, though he let Bruce grab his free arm and place it around his shoulders.
“We will take care of it, Dick.” Kaldur spoke up. “You go get some rest. Your recovery is just as important.”
He wasn’t happy about it, but Dick nodded and let Bruce and Tim lead him back to the medical room. He was beyond exhausted and he knew he still had a fever. He wanted to crawl under a blanket and sleep, and he knew he should, but how could he with everything going on? Jace was a traitor, Violet had been abducted and everyone was fighting. And it was all his fault. He should be out there helping. Doing something, anything, was more important that sleeping, no matter what Kaldur said.
Still, he let Bruce and Tim lay him down on the bed without a fight. He didn’t have any strength to fight them. As soon as he was on the mattress, Bruce covered him with a blanket and Alfred reattached the IV. His adoptive father then gave him a small smile, ran his hand through Dick’s dark locks and said, “Get some sleep chum.”
“It’s my fault.” Dick whispered with a small, guilt-ridden tone.
“No, it’s not.” Bruce responded, squeezing Dick’s hand. “Just try to get some rest. You’ll feel better soon.”
Barbara, having followed Bruce, Dick and Tim into the room with Alfred, wheeled over to Dick’s other side and grabbed his hand. “It’ll be okay Dick. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Within seconds, Dick’s face relaxed and his breathing evened out. Bruce stared at him for a minute, then glanced up at the clock. He needed to get back to Gotham, to Wayne Enterprises as well as amp up the search on Gretchen Goode. As much as he wanted to stay with his son, he couldn’t.
Apparently coming to the same conclusion, Barbara looked over at him and said, “It’s okay Bruce. I’ll stay with him.”
“Thanks Barbara, keep me updated.” Bruce replied, to which Barbara nodded. Giving Dick’s hand another squeeze, he let go and walked to the door, soon followed by Alfred and Tim.
Barbara watched until they disappeared from sight, then turned her attention back to Dick. Running a hand through his hair, she whispered, “It’s going to be alright Dick. I’m here. But you better not scare me like that again.”
Leaning forward to rest her head on Dick’s pillow, her head right by his, she whispered, “I love you,” then wrapped an arm around him and fell asleep alongside him.