Chapter Text
“Something’s wrong.” Dick said to his parents. They stood in the rafters near the top of the tent, unlit and unnoticed by the crowds below as the animal tamers performed their routine. He shuffled in place, feeling too-high-up for the first time in his life.
His mom pursed her lips. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Earlier, while we were setting up,” he said, “I saw someone messing with the rigging. Someone I didn’t recognize.”
Dick’s parents looked at each other. Then his dad spoke, “Probably just one of the temps.”
“Temps?” Dick asked.
“The Gotham Spectacular is a big deal.” His mom said, resting her hand on his shoulders. She squeezed slightly, “So Mr. Haly brought in a few extra hands to make sure everything goes perfectly. Your dad and I checked over the rigging ourselves, it’ll all be fine.”
“No, I-” Dick stuttered.
“It’s good that you said something, though.” His dad said, “Never trust someone else to set up your equipment properly, always make sure you check yourself.”
“Which we did.” His mom affirmed.
“Which we did.” His dad agreed.
That’s not right. Dick shook his head, he knew what he saw. A heavy dread sat in his stomach. “No,” he said, “I just, I don’t know. I don’t like it. I have a bad feeling.”
His mom peeked over the ledge. “You still have time to bail,” she said.
“If you’re not confident, you should go.” His dad said, “It’s important to be sure of what you’re doing.”
“I know what I’m doing!” Dick argued back.
Then, they ran out of time. The spotlight landed on them and they struck a pose, smiling and waving to the crowd. Then they grabbed the bar and leaped, and Dick’s heart stuck in his chest as the wire snapped.
Dick woke up in a panic, body tensing against his restraints. Then he panicked even harder, because he was tied down to a table, with far too many machines and wires climbing the wall beside him.
The door opened with a soft click, admitting three people wearing masks and goggles. The first two were doctors, dressed in medical coats and hairnets, and they started fussing with some of the machines. The third man wore a nice black suit, with a red tie and golden lapel pin. He pulled up a chair and sat down.
“Calm down, lad, you’re alright.” His voice was old but steady, and he took a few exaggerated breaths to encourage Dick to follow him. Dick did, but it felt strange. Inhaling didn’t bring him the same sense of relief he was used to.
The man had a notebook in his lap, and he pulled the cap off a slick black pen. “Can you tell me your name?”
Dick had been sleeping a long time, he knew that from his fuzzy head. He didn’t need water before speaking, though, “Dick.” He said, “Richard Grayson.”
The man nodded and scribbled big sprawling letters. “Good, good. Do you know where you are?”
“Tied down to a bed.” Dick said before he could think better of it.
The man simply laughed, “Apologies about that. I assure you, it’s for your own safety, Mr. Grayson.” He made another note, “It’s not uncommon for patients to be disoriented and combative when waking up. We’ve found it’s best for everyone if patients are restrained until they are able to regain their bearings.”
He waved his hand, and the doctors undid the restraints, and adjusted the bed so Dick could sit up. Dick had a better view of the room he was in now. It had metal walls and a metal ceiling, with a machine reading his vitals and another machine pumping IV medications into his arm. The door was made of heavy-duty metal with several locks, and the floor was concrete with a drain in the center.
He looked back at the man, sitting patiently in a chair outside of Dick’s reach. The man seemed calm, but Dick couldn’t actually see any of his features. “Where am I? Where are my parents?”
“Dear boy,” the man shook his head, “what’s the last thing you remember?”
“I…” and it was the strangest thing, because Dick’s head didn’t hurt. But he was so confused that it really should be hurting. “We were in the rafters. Waiting for our cue. But the ropes… the ropes! I saw someone tampering with the ropes!”
“You did indeed,” the man nodded, not unkindly. “There is evidence of foul play, that the ropes were tampered with. They snapped.”
Dick remembered that, the exhilarating free fall, the knowledge that there was no net, the preternatural calm. “But… I’m okay?” he grabbed his chest, he felt normal. None of his bones were broken, none of his joints were dislocated, though he was stiff from being still for so long. “So they are too, right?”
“I’m sorry, Richard.” The man said. “Only you survived the fall. Even then, it was touch and go. We lost you on the table a couple times, and you had to be kept in a medicated coma until the brain swelling went down.”
Dick stared at him blankly. That was too much at once. “They’re dead?”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Dick shook his head. That wasn’t right. This wasn’t happening to him.
“What about Mr. Haly? Raya and Raymond and everyone?” Dick asked. He couldn’t imagine the circus would leave him alone in the hospital with a stranger.
“They’re alright,” the man assured, “but they had to leave Gotham for their own protection.”
They did. They left him alone. Dick pulled his knees into his chest, “Who’re you?”
“My name is Sebastian Clark.” The man held out a hand, “I work with your grandfather. He is going to be disappointed that he wasn’t here when you woke.”
Dick pulled his hand back as quickly as he was able. Sebastian’s hand felt wrong, like it was wrapped in a thick rubber glove. “My grandfather?”
“Yes, your grandfather, William Cobb.” Sebastian seemed to notice his confusion, “Your father’s family is from Gotham, you know.”
“I didn’t know that.” Dick said.
“Well, no time like the present for a family reunion.” Sebastian said. “In any case, you were too ill to travel and the circus had to leave in a bit of a rush, so you were placed into your grandfather’s custody.”
Dick shook his head. “I don’t understand.” Why would the circus leave him? They didn’t even say goodbye.
“Rest up.” Sebastian said, squeezing Dick’s knee. “Everything will make more sense after a good night’s rest.”
It didn’t.
Dick was woken from a restless doze when the door swung open on well-oiled hinges. Two men entered this time, Sebastian still wearing a mask and glasses while the other one’s face was bare.
“Good morning, Richard,” said the unknown man, “it’s nice to meet you. My name is William Cobb.”
“My grandfather.” Dick said, sitting up in bed to look like the man.
“Yes.”
He looked a bit like John Grayson, if Dick tilted his head and squinted. The man was pale, washed out and almost blue from the overhead fluorescent lighting, but Dick could see notes of his father in the nose and eyes.
“I don’t know you.”
“And I don’t know you.” William agreed. “It’s a shame that we didn’t get to meet under better circumstances.”
“Why not?” Dick asked, “If you’re my grandfather, why wait until now to meet me?”
“I’m a very busy man,” William said, “And my work takes me all over the globe. Unfortunately, my travels never coincided with yours. I have seen recordings of your performances, though, fabulous work. I’m quite proud of you, and I’m sure your parents were as well.”
His parents. The mention caused pain to flare in his chest, and Dick looked away until the feeling passed. “Can I see them?” he asked, “They, their graves?”
“I’m sorry, Richard, it’s just not safe for you to leave yet.”
“But I feel fine!” Dick said, “I can, I can leave. I feel fine. I want to see them.”
“Oh.” William looked at Sebastian over his shoulder, “You didn’t tell him?”
“I didn’t get a chance to.” Sebastian said. “He was already quite overwhelmed last night.”
“Tell me what?” Dick asked. The two men glanced at him, before turning to each other, a silent conversation passing between them. “Tell me about what?”
“Richard,” William said, “Do you know where you are?”
“A hospital?” Dick asked, uncertain. He’d been in urgent cares and hospitals before, injuries at the circus weren’t unheard of, but usually they didn’t look like this. Usually hospitals were more… hospitable.
“Not quite,” William confirmed his suspicions, “We are in a secure research facility beneath Gotham Central Library.”
“What?” Dick glanced around the room. It did look more like a lab than a hospital, but why would they bring him here?
“Our doctors here are top-notch.” Sebastian bragged, “I assure you, you received far better medical care here than you would at any conventional hospital. More than that, it wouldn’t have been safe to send you to any other hospital in Gotham.”
“Not safe?” Dick asked.
“Here,” William placed a bundle of clothes near Dick’s feet. “Get dressed and meet us outside. We’ll give you the tour.”
The clothes were simple, a black long-sleeved shirt and sweats. There was a pair of new tennis shoes, the bottoms not worn down even a little bit. The strange part of the outfit was the goggles.
They weren’t like any goggles Dick had seen before, with circular, amber-colored lenses. Around the lenses were decorated with metal feathers. The straps were made of soft leather, and connected in the back with a buckle.
When Dick stood, he was shaky at first but got himself steady after a few steps. The room was small, just barely enough room for someone to walk on either side of it. On either wall there was a workbench with thick black counters and circular disks on moveable arms. There were glass cabinets filled with little white bottles, but the doors were shut.
The thing that took up the most space in the room was a giant, silver cylinder in the corner. It was easily a foot taller than Dick, and wide enough he couldn’t put his arms around it. There was a spigot at the top, and the metal vibrated softly when he touched it. Something large rolled past in the hallway outside, and he decided he’d spent enough time investigating. He needed to go outside before William and Sebastian started wondering where he was.
Dick put on the clothes but held the goggles as he stepped out into the hall. They stood a few paces away, heads together while they muttered. They had both changes as well, William wearing a pair of goggles similar to Dick’s while Sebastian wore a smooth white mask.
Both their heads snapped around when Dick stepped into the hall.
“Richard,” William said, stepping in closer to pen Dick against the wall, “you need to wear your goggles at all times. It isn’t safe.”
“What do you mean it isn’t safe?” Dick asked, having to crane his neck to look up at his grandfather.
“There are… Gotham is a dangerous city, Richard.” William said, taking the goggles from Dick and fastening them on himself. Even with the straps shortened as much as they would go, the goggles hung on Dick’s face. “It is best that we protect our identities. Keep ourselves hidden. That is what makes us safe.”
“I don’t understand.” Dick said, “You’re scaring me.”
“Walk with us, Richard,” Sebastian said, “We will explain everything you need to know.”
“Gotham City has a long, rich history.” William said, “Most of it stained by crime and villainy, as you yourself have experienced.”
They came upon a set of double doors. Sebastian tapped his wrist against a sensor on the wall, and the doors swung open in opposite directions. On the other side, the white tile floor gave way to plush red carpet, and the walls were red wallpaper with dark wood wainscoting. They continued walking.
“Unfortunately,” William continued, “the governing bodies of Gotham also fell to this corruption. They never truly punish those seeking to harm our great city, in fact, they even encourage it. Crime here runs rampant while those at the top look the other way.”
They stepped into an elevator with bright gold accents. Sebastian tapped a card reader once more, and the elevator began to move without pressing a button. It moved much faster than any elevator Dick had been on before, and when it jolted he grabbed William’s pant leg to stay standing. The hand on his shoulder squeezed.
“That is why many years ago, our ancestors, and yours, created this organization.” Sebastian took over explaining. “In order to combat the villainy that was defiling our great city. The general public are too disorganized, they are powerless to save the city. Those in power do not care, they benefit from the corruption. But us? We form a small, but well-organized and well-funded task force. We have the power and the connections to fix our city. To make it into a city where no circus performers are murdered because the ringleader failed to pay protection money to the mob.”
Dick flinched just as the elevator doors opened. “Is… that what happened?” Dick asked.
The elevator let them out into a large room, with a round, dark wood table in the center. One wall of the room was made up entirely of windows, revealing the glittering lights of Gotham city beyond.
“I’m sorry, Richard.” William said, “But it is true. One of the local mobs tried to intimidate Mr. Haly into paying protection money, but he refused. To make a point, the mob sent one of their enforcers to tamper with the ropes, ultimately killing your parents. That is why the circus had to leave so soon, to prevent any more tragedies from occurring.”
“It was over money?” Dick walked right up to the windows, grateful that it gave him something to look at other than the blank masks William and Sebastian wore. Below, he could see cars trundling by even though the moon was high in the sky. “He killed them over some stupid money?”
“As is the way of Gotham, Richard.” William stood beside him, but made no move beyond that to comfort him. “And that’s why we do what we do, to wrestle control of our city away from the vile criminals so that the good, moral people may live in peace. So that no children will have their parents cruelly torn from them.”
“What…” Dick trailed off, “Why are you telling me all this?”
William grabbed Dick by the shoulders, and turned him so that they were facing each other. William knelt on the ground to be on Dick’s level. He could see himself in the reflection of William’s goggles, small and disheveled and with too-large goggles.
“Because I want to give you an opportunity, Richard Grayson.” William said, “A great tragedy has happened to you, but you don’t need to let it stay that way. You have the skills to create something good out of your tragedy. I want you to join us, to help us take control of Gotham City to keep people safe.”
“But what could I do?” Dick asked. He looked out the window again, it was all so big, sprawling as far as the eye could see. And he was small and deeply, deeply alone. “I want to, but…”
“Our power relies on us staying hidden, unknown.” Sebastian said. He had sat down at the table, a glass of amber liquid set before him. “But we still need agents to go out into the city to gather information and liaise with our comrades. You’d be surprised how well an acrobat’s skillset will lend itself to that goal.”
“We will help you get justice for your parents.” William said. “The police are corrupt to the bones, they’ve already written off their deaths as an accident and left it at that. No one cares. They won’t get justice unless we get it for them. And once we’ve gotten justice for them, we can fight back against the corruption to reclaim our city. You will be a Talon, surgically removing the filth that rots our city. What do you say, Richard?”
Dick glanced between them, William and Sebastian. Both of them were relaxed, fully confident in what they were saying. It wasn’t a con, wasn’t a bluff. It was the real deal. And even if it wasn’t, if they were giving him an opportunity to avenge his parents…
“I’m in. What do I have to do?”