Chapter Text
Talon was restrained.
He could feel padded cuffs wrapped around his wrists and ankles. Not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough to keep him stationary. For now.
“Dick, can you hear me?”
Talon frowned in his mind. His eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see who the voice belonged to, but it sounded familiar. And that name… Dick. That stirred something deep within his soul, though it was too far to reach in his current state. Maybe it was from Before? Talon didn’t remember much of the Before. The Court had made sure of that.
“Dickie, chum, please open your eyes.”
Surely the voice wasn’t speaking to Talon. The Owls never said please. Neither did his Grandmaster. And they certainly never addressed him like that. Every interaction was either an order or a punishment.
“It’s Bruce, kiddo.”
Bruce…
Talon didn’t remember an Owl by that name; though, he supposed they rarely introduced themselves. Perhaps this was some kind of trial. Something to test his psychological strength? Yes, that had to be it.
He opened his eyes and found himself to be in what looked to be an infirmary. One thing was for certain: he was not within the Court. He looked around wildly at the cave-like structure beyond the room he was in. In the distance, he could see a giant penny and a mechanical t-rex. Closer, he saw a complex computer and a sleek, black car.
He glanced at his body. It was bigger than he remembered. Had they put him back in the freezer to grow? Talon hated the freezer. It was dark and cold, and the cold hurt.
Another thing he noticed was his skin. It was tan, lacking the gray tint he’d become accustomed to, and his veins were no longer black. The skin didn’t look like that of a Talon; it looked like an Owl.
A man wearing a black cape and a bat symbol on his chest sat in a chair next to him. He looked at Talon with an expression he recognized as worry. It only added to his confusion. No one worried about him. He was not worthy of concern. He was a weapon – easily replaced should he break.
“There you are, chum,” the man who had identified himself as Bruce said. He reached up and stroked Talon’s hair. Talon tensed at first, expecting it to be some sort of trick or punishment, but then he realized it felt nice.
“Who are you?” Talon demanded; though, he felt a pinch of regret when the man pulled his hand away.
Bruce looked sad but not surprised. He pressed his finger to his ear – likely activating a comm. “Alfred, he’s awake again, but he’s still not himself. Keep the others upstairs by any means possible.”
Alfred… The name sparked a bit of warmth inside him. Was he from Before, too? Talon was so confused.
The man before him grabbed one of his restrained hands. His grip was calloused yet warm. “Your name is Richard John Grayson, but you prefer to be called ‘Dick.’ You were an acrobat in Haley’s circus until you were eight-years-old and your parents were killed. The night they died, you were taken by an organization called the Court of Owls. They trained you to become a Talon. But you are not Talon, Dick. Not anymore. It took me a year, but I finally tracked you down and defeated the Court. They don’t exist anymore. They’re all gone.
"After I rescued you, I became your foster parent. My name is Bruce Wayne. You’ve been a part of my family since you were nine-years-old – almost eighteen years. You have four siblings: Jason, Cassandra, Tim, and Damian. You are a police detective and a superhero named Nightwing. Before that, you were my first partner: Robin. You’re in love with a woman named Barbara Gordon, and you are my greatest success in life. Please, Dickie, you gotta come back to me.”
That was a lot of information. But Talon was a master at telling truth from lies, and the man before him was definitely not lying.
He closed his eyes again, trying to think. His brain was a labyrinth of light and dark. He didn’t know who or what he was. Flashes of images sparked in his mind: a man and woman swinging on a trapeze bar; a green, red, and yellow suit; movie nights and pillow fights with young people who called him big brother; a gorgeous redhead smiling at him. Some of them were from the Before. As for the others… was it possible that there was also an After?
It was too much.
The sheer onslaught of memories gave him psychological whiplash. He started throwing up.
Bruce shoved a basin under his chin before quickly releasing the restraints. Once his limbs were free, he helped Talon – no, Dick – sit up.
“It’s okay, kiddo, I gotcha,” his father soothed, rubbing circles on his back.
Dick heaved for a few more minutes before looking up. “D-Dad?”
He could practically see the weight of the world fall from Bruce’s shoulders. “Right here, chum. I’m right here.”
“What the hell happened? I wasn’t… I wasn’t me. I was back There.”
“I know, but you’re here now. You came back to me. There was a fight. You were hit with a chemical. It’s similar in composition to fear toxin, but something in this particular compound caused… a reaction. It somehow seemed to reinstate your Talon programming. I’m analyzing it now. The man we fought is called Iroh. Simon Iroh. We think he may have stolen the formula from the Court.”
Dread dropped into Dick’s stomach like a block of concrete. If he hadn’t thrown up so much already, he’d be grabbing the nearest trashcan. “But the Court is gone… you said they were gone.”
Bruce took both of Dick’s hands into his own. “They are. Iroh may have found their formula, but we have no reason to believe he is connected to the Court. Barbara thoroughly checked him out; you know she wouldn't have left any stone unturned.”
That was true. Dick trusted Barbara more than anyone else on the planet. If the Court was still out there, she would have found them.
“Then how the hell did he get that compound?” he asked shakily.
“From what Barbara dug up, it seems that the Court originally commissioned a scientist by the name of Benjamin Kyoko to develop the toxin. They wanted a formula to re-enslave Talons who disobeyed the Court. They provided information on a Talon’s physiology as well as samples of Talon DNA so he could ensure it would work. That’s why it was so effective on you.
“Well, Kyoko was found dead in his lab a few days ago. We’re assuming that’s when Iroh stole the formula. It’s likely he thought it could force anyone into subjugation. Kyoko never mentioned the Court or Talons by name in his notes. It was just pure bad luck that it hit you.”
Dick let out a shaky breath. “Did I hurt anyone?”
Bruce shook his head. “I got there in time. I knocked you out and brought you here. Everyone else is upstairs, very concerned but otherwise unharmed. It’s been six hours since you were exposed to the toxin. The first few times you woke up, nothing I said seemed to get through. I was so worried, chum. All the progress you’ve made over the years. The wonderful life you’ve built for yourself. I was terrified we were going to have to start over.”
A shiver ripped through him. Starting over after almost two decades did not sound like fun. “And the others… what did they see?”
“Enough that they’re confused,” his father admitted. “According to Tim, you said ‘the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die’ before attacking. Naturally, they have a lot of questions.”
Dick winced. He could count the number of people that knew about his time in the Court on one hand: Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, Wally, and Leslie. No one else had any idea about his dark past.
“I’m gonna have to tell them, aren’t I?” he sighed.
Bruce squeezed his shoulder. “I think it’s time, chum. They all love you very much. This won’t change anything.”
“Except it’ll change everything,” Dick protested. “How am I supposed to tell them, B? I killed so many people. I’m barely even human anymore. The only reason I even look normal is because I get monthly shots to counteract the electrum in my blood.”
“Dick, you are the most human man I know. I meant what I said earlier. You are my greatest success in this life. Many lesser people would have let those memories break them, but you didn’t. Instead, you chose to take the skills they forced you to learn and adapt them to become a hero. A great hero. Your siblings won’t think any less of you for that.”
“I’m scared of talking about it, Bruce. I can barely think about that time without panicking. How am I supposed to tell them?”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way, chum. If your words fail, I’ll take over. You won’t be alone for a second,” his father vowed.
Dick closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”