Chapter 5: CHAPTER 4
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[Star City. February 2, 2:30 PDT.
David Lance POV]
Since the day I was attacked at the Star City community college's rooftop, while I was trying to have a nice relaxing lunch break, by a man wearing an owl mask.
Things had… changed.
Dinah, my sweet big sister, had gone full mama hen mode on me, looking over me like a dutiful hawk, never allowing me to leave her sight, under any circumstances.
I couldn't blame her though, I understood the reason behind her change of demeanor and her need to guard me.
She was scared of losing me, and for a good reason.
Had Oliver and her not arrived when they did, I would've been captured.
Which was a very good reason for her to be like she was being.
But not everything was overprotecting me, this attack had also brought some good changes into my life.
For my one, my training regime had been increased substantially, which I was particularly happy about, because it would better prepare me for future encounters with people like the Owl Court.
I was even learning how to use the bow, mostly because Oliver had insisted, like a lot, and I caved to him. Not that I was ever going to use it, but I would have the skill if I ever needed it.
"That's enough for today," Dinah smiled, as I panted on the floor, breathless thanks to all the exercise, and sparring matches of today.
~I think the same,~ I nodded with a tired smile.
"You have been improving kiddo," Oliver praised, winking at me, "Of course, you are leagues away from moi,"
I rolled my eyes at him, no matter the situation Oliver would always be Oliver.
"Give him some time, and he will kick your ass," Dinah chuckled, as Oliver pouted.
"As if," Oliver snorted playfully, as he turned to look at me before he made a face that denoted disgust, "But before you do, how about a bath? You smell like a sock, a smelly one,"
I frowned, taking a sniff on my body, and just like he had said, I stank, heck I almost gagged after taking a whiff of my unique after-training aroma.
I nodded with a sheepish smile, ~Yep, David needs a bath,~ then I blinked, how come they didn't smell bad. ~How come you two smell like flowers… we've been at it, the same time,~ I asked.
"Because of this," Dinah chuckled, pulling what seemed to be some sort of deodorant can from her jacket that laid on the floor, "It's something Batman made, to… skip showers from time to time, it's basically a bath in a can,"
I frowned, ~Then why didn't you offer me a can of that?~ I almost felt insulted that she didn't.
"David, you are a teenager, a race of beings not particularly known for their hygiene, we can't give you a bath in a can, not until we know you will actually take a bath," Oliver nodded to himself.
I deadpanned, before simply deciding to walk away and take my bath, they had very strong points. God knows I practically bathed in axe deodorant during my first puberty.
"Remember to wash behind your ears!" Dinah called.
I nodded, smiling all the way to the bath.
———————————————————————
[Star City. February 7, 9:30 PDT.]
Today was a different day from my normal routine.
Because Robin, aka Dick Grayson, had come to visit me, according to Dinah, Batman had given his protégée the green light to stay with us for a week.
Which was very out of character for Batman.
Not that I complained.
Robin was a very fun kid, always happy, no matter the situation, always talking, always laughing. In a way, he was my opposite, perhaps that was why I would always find myself enjoying my time with him.
"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Robin asked.
~I read, or paint, sometimes I cook,~ I replied.
"Oh, then how about we cook something," Robin grinned, he was excited, about what exactly, not sure.
~Sure,~ I nodded.
"Perfect, I always wanted to see if I could make a souffle," Robin added, sounding almost vindictive.
~Why?~ I asked, giving him a look that said, I know there is an undertone to all of this.
"There's is a certain English man, that says instructions on the web are not enough to make a souffle," Robin huffed, as I rolled my eyes, Alfred was right, you needed more than instructions to be a good chef, sadly, Robin would have to learn that the hard way, he was a very stubborn individual.
~Okay,~ I sighed.
"You believe the same?" Robin gasped with a look of fake hurt.
I rolled my eyes once again.
"I will show you, and him!" Robin clamored.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Star City. February 7, 11:30 PDT. - 2 hours later]
Long story short, Robin had burnt the kitchen down.
"Batman will mail you guys a check," Robin muttered, looking down.
~New rule from now on, never cook again,~ I signed, looking at my kitchen burning down, flames burning bright as the fire fighters' sirens approached.
"Agreed," Robin nodded.
~Batman has the joker, and you have the kitchen as your nemesis,~ I grinned, getting a playful punch from the embarrassed boy wonder on my shoulder.
"Batman will kill me," Robin groaned, "I have been here but a day, and I already burnt your house!"
~It could've been worse,~ I lied, there was no way making a souffle could've turned any worse than this, in fact, Robin had enacted the perfect example of a murphy scenario.
"You, my friend, are a terrible liar," Robin chuckled.
~I tried,~ I shrugged.
"By the way, my name is Dick," Robin, or rather Dick said.
I blinked, turning to look at him, ~Why now?~ I asked, curious as to why he was sharing his secret identity with me, considering his mentor was Batman, well, I would've guessed this would've taken more time.
"I wanted to," Robin shrugged, "I don't have many friends, real ones, and well, I asked Batman if I could tell you, and he said, yes, surprisingly."
I nodded, it was indeed very surprising for Batman of all heroes to give him the green light for that, ~Well, thanks,~ I smiled, scratching the back of my head, ~I would introduce myself, but… Batman,~
Dick laughed, "Yes, but… still, it's about the principle, so…"
I rolled my eyes, ~Hello Dick, my name is David, a pleasure to meet you,~
"I know," Dick grinned, cocky little shit.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Gotham City. February 8, 7:30 CT.
Bruce Wayne POV]
In less than twenty-four hours, Dick had cost me over 100k, in damages. Perhaps it had been a mistake on my part to let him go to Dinah's unsupervised.
I would castigate myself for that lack of judgment later.
"Master Wayne, you seem stressed," Alfred said, offering me a cup of tea.
"Not more than I was yesterday," I replied, taking the cup.
"How is Master Dick doing?" Alfred asked, a small smile on his face.
I smiled, "He's having fun with David, he already told him who he was,"
"So he knows who you are then," Alfred commented, and I nodded, if David was half as smart as I gave him credit for, deducing such a simple connection was well beyond his capabilities. "I have to admit Master Wayne, this feels out of character for you," he added.
"I suppose," I nodded, Alfred had a point, however, "But, actually it doesn't affect me in anything, Dinah already knows who I am, and so does Oliver, therefore it was only a matter of time before her brother knew. It was simply a matter of when, and the when never affected,"
"I see, my apologies then, Master Wayne," Alfred nodded.
"It's okay," I smiled, turning to face him, "Is my suit for this evening ready?"
"Yes, both are," Alfred nodded, "If I am to be allowed, why are you attending this party, Master Wayne?"
"Some of the members of the Owl Court will be there, and I plan to gather some information," I replied, to which Alfred smiled.
"So that's why you sent Master Dick away, to avoid getting him involved," Alfred chuckled, "Very clever Master Wayne,"
Chapter 6: CHAPTER 5
If you want to read up to 20 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
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[Gotham City. March 13, 09:30 CT.
Dick Grayson POV]
David was an easy-to-read guy, and at the same time, puzzling.
By this, I meant it was clear to see he was depressed, with how he behaved and such, but it was hard to know what he knew, like my identity.
Before the day I burnt his kitchen trying to make a soufflé, I was sure I knew everything there was to know about him, and yet.
When I told him I was Robin, he reacted like someone that already knew about my identity.
Perhaps I was overthinking the entire situation, his kitchen was burning at the time, so his reaction could've been perhaps dulled by all the fire around, but still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Perhaps his sister had told him.
Then again, Batman was absolutely certain Black Canary would not do such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary.
Which meant, that David had, if my suspicions were right, figured out who I was, and by connection, Bruce was all by himself.
As far-fetched as it felt, it was the only thing that made sense.
That, or he simply didn't care, and reacted to my revelation according to that parameter.
I blame Batman for this.
If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here in my room making conspiracy theories about my friend. Without him I wouldn't be looking so much into things.
I sighed.
In the end, who cared if he knew beforehand.
—•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•—
[Gotham City. July 21, 07:30 CT.
Bruce Wayne/Batman POV]
The court of owls had disappeared.
They knew I was onto them, and elected to hide and cease all activities for the time being. I didn't like that, it meant they were fully aware of what attacking David meant, which means, this was a risk they were willing to pay.
I scowled at the thought.
They were a few reasons why such an organization would want him, his power was amongst them. Someone with the same destructive capability that makes Superman a threat.
Perhaps even worse.
A single shout from David could level entire countries to nothing but debris.
We were not prepared for that.
Not nearly enough.
And in the wrong hands, the damage he could do was unimaginable.
So, as to avoid that, we had to prepare for what was to come. His powers would unavoidably be known, sooner or later. Meaning he had to be prepared for power hungry individuals hunting him.
He needed to be able to fend off their attempts to acquire his power.
His training regime needed to increase even more.
"Computer, call Black Canary," I spoke, sitting in front of my computer in the Bat Cave.
—•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•—
[Star City. August 25, 20:30 PDT.
Oliver Queen POV]
I was sad.
Sad that Roy wasn't like David.
I mean, here I was, training my protégé, and all he wanted or ever talked about was, when would he join the league.
"Speedy, you need to aim higher," I spoke, pointing at his bow.
"I know," Roy replied, sounding rather annoyed.
Maybe I should ask Dinah to switch protégés.
"Well, then do it," I smiled at him, inwardly laughing at my previous thought, as if Dinah would allow that, she would probably canary cry my balls off.
"Why are we even doing this?" Roy scowled, turning to glare at me, "You know I'm good with the bow, and never miss, why do you keep delaying my entrance to the league?" He added, his tone bordering the line of shouting.
"Roy, you are not ready, but soon you will be," I said, for like the hundredth time this month alone, "Between you and I, what you want will happen next year, so don't worry," I winked.
Roy sighed, "A year," he almost sounded hopeful. Which is better than his usual angry tone, I wonder when and why he changed, he used to be so cheery.
"It's not that bad," I smiled, "Even Black Bolt is joining during that time,"
Roy scowled even harder, "Your other protégé," he scoffed.
I blinked, before sighing, "Not really, God knows the kid doesn't like using a bow and arrow, but I do train him from time to time,"
"At least he gave you a better name for your base," Roy sighed, a smile creeping up his face. "Even I have to admit, the quiver sounds better than the arrow cave,"
I still feel deeply offended I didn't make that connection before.
"Yes," I chuckled.
—•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•——•—
[Star City. December 19, 19:30 PDT.
David Lance POV]
In the ever changing life of a hero, situations always escalated out of hand rather quickly.
This year my life started with an attempt at it. Then, things escalated, more training, more fights, less free time.
I frowned at the thought, right now wasn't the time to reminisce about the past, right now I had to focus as I ran through the ceilings of Star City, following two masked individuals, unidentified individuals.
I looked at them and decided to test the waters as I flung a few knives at them, to which they ducked under their trajectory, without stopping or slowing down.
Trained assassins perhaps, I wonder why two trained assassins were after a simple suburban doctor, questions for later.
Concentrating in the battle, I fired a rope with my rope gun to the next building so that the grapnel embedded itself, as I swung into the battle closing the gap between us.
The assassins stopped.
I waved at them.
"You should've let us go kid," One of the assassins remarked, pulling a knife out.
"He should've," The other assassin agreed, doing the same.
Two against one.
I liked those odds.
The assassins made their first move, both rushing at me at the same time, one in the front and the other trying to flank me while I got into position.
Then at the same time, both assassins attacked with careful coordination bringing their knives down on me, one to my back, and the other to my chest, but a knee and an elbow attack to their guts foiled their combined efforts, as both assassins doubled over in pain.
However, before I could seize this opportunity.
Both assassins recovered, one more than the other taking a few steps back, now in a defensive stance.
Seeing how they attacked, I only had but a few moments before they would try another combination, which meant I had to break up their dynamic. The one in the front had taken more damage, as the force of a kick is exponentially stronger than an elbow attack, therefore, the one in the back was in better condition to attack me, and possibly land a hit.
So, this time, I took the offensive, running towards the assassin that had tried to attack me on the back.
The assassin, realizing what was about to happen, rushed towards me, clashing with me. For a brief moment, we traded punches while the other assassin recovered.
However, I had the advantage in this clash, which eventually ended with my first colliding with his jaw one last time, knocking him out.
By this time, assassin B had recovered his breath and was running towards me, knife aimed at my neck, it was too late. I ducked under his attack, grabbing his knife arm as it passed through thin air, before taking a step forward slamming his body to the ground.
I had won, all thanks to what Dinah and Bruce had taught me these past few months, which was to consider every battle like a chess match. After all, every fight was all about keeping track of where all the pieces were.
"Black Bolt, do you copy me?" Dinah asked through the intercom.
I looked at the assassins out cold on the floor before pressing a button on my belt to reply.
I had a few buttons for communication through radio, each button would play a voice line through the coms.
"Enemies defeated, awaiting for pickup," and this was what the voice line I had selected said.
"On it," Dinah replied, cutting communications.
I sighed, pulling out a rope from my utility belt, tying the assassins before they awoke from their deep slumber. It was after all like they said, better safe than sorry.
"Good job," Dinah complimented as she arrived where I was, smiling at the sight of the assassins being out cold.
~It was surprisingly easy,~ I replied, whoever had sent them to kill the doctor had money, not enough to hire the shadows, but enough to hire pseudo-competent assassins, second-grade ones.
"Any idea who sent them?" Dinah asked, kneeling in front of the duo.
I shook my head, as I signed, ~As you know, interrogation it's not my forte,~ kind of hard to acquire information when you can't talk without blowing them up.
Dinah snorted, "I suppose you have a point, fortunately for you, I am very good at just that,"
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