Capítulo 91: Little Drama
After his speech, Dick Grayson walked to the staging area of the of the main stage. Raya met him as he passed through the curtains and asked about his speech that was filled with his thoughts on family. He was still struggling with his feelings about her. She didn't want to be part of the Circus show, but she also stuck around him with her serious then not serious relationship. He found her more confusing than Matt sometimes. He wished he could return to his easy relationship with Barbra, where he was constantly coming up with excuses to leave her mid-date due to a call from Matt. Or even the 'Don't let her know you think she is hot!' relationship he had with Devilgirl.
As he sat down, he noticed his phone was blinking green. (That's the signal that an alarm has been tripped!!!) Without saying a word to Raya, Dick grabbed his backpack and took off down the hall cursing himself for getting distracted by the opening speech he had given. Finding a spot he could change without witnesses, he got into his Nightwing outfit and checked his Escrima Sticks then headed for the rafters to check the spot his phone said was tripped.
When he got to the area indicated by his phone Nightwing started to inspect the area only to feel a presence approaching him from behind. "Seems only fitting that I end this where it began doesn't it Dick?"
"Saiko, I thought you would show up here." He dodged a swipe of Saiko's claws. "It's been building to this after all... The night everything changed." Saiko shouted. Nightwing worked in a one-two combo with his Escrima sticks to Saiko's midsection. "I don't know what's going on in your head, but you're right." Using the methods taught to him, Nightwing was focusing on the joints with his weapon, knowing that hitting muscles wouldn't do any lasting damage. "Something is definitely going to change tonight."
Jumping away from Nightwing, Saiko popped his elbow back into place as Nightwing prepared to continue the fight. "Come on then Saiko, we'll take this outside. Just you and me." Saiko reaches for his mask. "Ha! You still don't get it? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're only supposed to be the fiercest Killer." When he removed his mask the first thing noticeable were his eyes, they were pitch black with scars all around them. It looked like something took chunks of the skin away from around his eyes and then it healed without proper attention. "Nobody said anything about you being the greatest Detective, Dick." The rest of the face was unscared and somehow familiar. Then it hit him, he knew that face, well a younger version of it anyway.
"Raymond...? But you..." As Nightwing was stunned by learning that Saiko was his best friend growing up in the circus, he watched him jump to a higher set of rafters. The voice was haunting now that it wasn't muffled by the mask. "Died? Exactly Dick... I was your friend, Family even... And you killed me." Nightwing tried to get to the rafters Saiko was on by using his grapple line but as soon as he put his weight on the line Saiko threw a knife and cut the line sending Nightwing falling towards the unsuspecting crowd below. Shooting a grapple line from his other hand he managed to get it anchored on the scoreboard still above the fight and swung back towards Saiko only to hear him yelling. "They came from the shadows and took me, Dick... They kidnapped me, Tortured me... They ruined me. They turned me into this." Saiko gestured towards his face. "This mutation of a human, and it's your... And this GODFORSAKEN CIRCUS'S FAULT!!!" As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled what appeared to be a detonator out of a pocket and while Nightwing was still in the air Saiko triggered it. Three separate explosions came from below, and three props that were used for different parts of the show exploded. While the explosions weren't big enough to cause mass damage, the resulting fire tore through the sand like it had been soaked in gasoline.
Smoke and flames blocked Nightwing's sight, and he feared the worst. "NOOO!!!" The people he could still see were panicking and running for the doors to evacuate. Gotham citizens made it a habit to always know where the exits were along with the escape routes to any building they entered. But the doors would not open for them, and the crush of people didn't allow for the security guards to make much headway in forcing the doors open.
Maybe it was the nostalgia of the Circus and Dick being up in the rafters, or because he had been staring at his image all day, but his father's words came to him just like he was whispering it in his ear again. "Every show has a turning point son. A single moment that would define the direction of the night. A moment that, depending on what happened, would make or break the show." Dick remembered watching his parent fall to the ground and bounce off the cold hard ground. "Life works the same way. Filled with turning points and crossroads." The memory of sprinting towards his fallen parents in a panic, his friends Raya and Raymond just behind him. "Filled with moments that will Destroy you... Or Define You!"
-(Scene Shift)-
Sitting on his bike that he would be trusting his life to in moments, Jonny looked over to see his dad doing the same on the other side of the stage. Jonny knew he should be going over the timing and the routine of the show to come but he was lost in thought. He had told his dad that this would be his last show, now that the cancer his dad was diagnosed with was gone, he could go with no regrets. He and Roxane could build a life together, one that doesn't make them trapeze all over the country risking his life to make some bored nine-to-five workers feel a 100th of the adrenaline he got doing stunts that could kill him.
Again, Jonny remembered the strange old wizard that he made a deal with to save his dad. The guy had really creeped him out, but he did it so he and Roxy could be together. He didn't consider himself a religious man unless he was about to wreck that is, then he prayed for all he was worth. Still, he didn't fully believe in the soul. Something that lived on after death, life is all Jonny knew so what comes after, he just didn't care right now. His dad lifted his arm indicating that their time was almost ready to begin, Jonny crouched on his bike ready to enter the ring at high speed and with lots of noise. Being the first act was very important, it fell to them to set the tone for the show.
Once his dad's arm fell, he went three-quarters throttle at low gear to make more noise for the crowd, as soon as he burst bast the stage he went up on one wheel and waved to the crowd in greeting. He passed his dad as they were making the rounds in opposite directions trying to work up the crowd by interacting with them as they did the usual set of improvised tricks. This was a good way to see how the crowd reacted and they could signal to each other any set moves they wanted to do. He received the signal to do the move that made the Blaze name famous, so Jonny went back up on one wheel and turned his front wheel in the air to the right all the way. Slowing his speed, he saw out of the corner of his eye that his dad was lined up directly in front of him with his front wheel turned towards the left. Both had their heads turned away from each other as if not knowing they were on a collision course.
Waving and bobbing their heads along with the crowd, they pretended to not know they were about to crash into each other head-on. As the crows screamed in warning the two front tires collided and both men used their momentum to swing their bikes a full 360 and charge forward as if nothing had happened. At this point, the ground crew was bringing out the hoops they would be jumping through. Usually, they were set on fire but for some reason, the show director Mr. Haley denied them permission to use any fire. Jonny and his dad were not happy about that as it was what gave them the Blaze name in the first place. But like any job, you do what the boss says even if it means your best moves can't be used.
Just after their show began both riders noticed a large man in the arena, but he was being confronted by another in a security guard shirt. Both riders knew that it was best to keep the crowd focused on them, so they avoided that part of the arena and made do with a smaller space. In the last few minutes of their set Jonny noticed a figure in the crowd, it was the old wizard from a couple of weeks ago. But as Jonny focused on him his vision blurred and he saw the man turn all red with a vicious and bestial face, horns protruding from his head and Jonny's spine shivered with just that small glimpse.
At the same time he was recovering from that, he heard the crowd gasp and cry in an unusual part of the show, so he looked over to see if his dad had done a new trick. But he saw his dad on the ground and his bike resting on top of him. Jonny quickly gassed his bike to get to him to help get the bike off him but as he got there, he saw his dad was not moving to lift the bike. His stomach dropped to the ground, he knew his dad would be trying to get out from under the bike as quickly as possible, but he wasn't moving. "Dad!!!" Jonny got to his father and pulled the bike off him only to see his dad's eyes had a surprised look in them, but no light. His dad was dead, he knew it at a glance.
*(Image here)*
Jonny felt a vice-like grip on his shoulder lifting him to his feet, the voice of the Devil he thought was a wizard. "Come along young Jonny, there will be much fire in your future, no need to be in this one!!!" Mephisto dragged his new Ryder along and just as they got out of the arena Jonny struggled to get back to his father. But the vice-like grip didn't allow it. Turning to the thing that had him, Jonny shouted. "We had a deal, my soul to save my father. You broke our deal!!!" A wicked laughter dashed Jonny's anger and made him afraid to his very core. "No young Ryder. Our deal was that I would cure him of his cancer and that I did, you saw proof of that. My side was held up to the letter of the bargain. Time to uphold your end." Mephisto took out a ball of blue flame and pressed it to Jonny's heart and Jonny screamed as if his soul was on fire. The pain was overwhelming, and Jonny passed out into Mephisto's arms.
Mephisto walked over to a set of empty seats and dropped Jonny into one as he sat beside him. "Now let's finish watching this great show, it's far more entertaining than I ever imagined. What more can I gain from this little drama?"
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