Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Distress

Mount Justice

August, 1st

1800 Hours

All was quiet within the cave, save for the activity in the kitchen and den. Megan hummed softly a new tune from cheerleading and floated about the kitchen gathering supplies in an attempt to bake a cake as Connor followed close behind. Kaldur read his book in an armchair across from the couch where Artemis sat and watched Wally, amused as he paced back and forth in front of the T.V.

“Oh man, I’m dying here. Rob is suppose to be back soon from that covert mission thing he was on.” Wally talked to everyone and no one, not really caring who listened. “Six and half months, he’s been gone! He better had taken pictures of the ship he was staying on, what was its name again? The Isha-something or other.” The speedster stopped in his tracks straining his brain for the information his best friend had given him six months prior.

“The USG Ishimura.” Roy said from his place beside the female archer, trying to hid his own excitement on seeing his ‘little brother’ again after so long. He worked on his arrows not allowing the others to see the smile that threatened to take over his normally stoic features. Never let it be said that Roy didn’t miss the youngest member of this team, and man did he miss the little bird.

Wally stared at the older ginger a moment as he processed the new information before a large grin stretched onto his face. “Yeah that one, the biggest planet cracker in existence right? Dude he is so lucky, I would die to be aboard a ship like that.”

“Why?” Connor spoke for the first time that morning, confused at the teen’s desire to go into space at all. From what he understood all space was is a vast gap of emptiness populated by stars and planets far spread from one another.

Kaldur looked over the edge of his novel that had only half held his attention. “From what Batman had explained, it was a simple covert mission, to observe and report his findings upon return. I doubt he had much time at all to really enjoy the sight of space or the interior of the ship.”

Megan tore her eyes off the cookbook she was looking at and smiled brightly as she stirred a bowl of something green. “I would think that being on a ship that big would be exciting.”

“Exactly, that’s why I should have gone too! Can you imagine all of the scientific calculations it must take to move a ship that big or keep it running? And don’t forget about keeping the oxygen and life support system levels steady or the radioactive core from overheating. What if something happened and Rob needed me there to fix the ship for him?” Wally practically vibrated where he stood.

Artemis snorted, “There are hundreds of engineers, scientists and doctors on that ship to fix any problem that comes up. Besides knowing you, you would probably blow his cover; blow up the ship, or more likely, both.” She smiled at the glare the redhead sent at her.

Before Wally could come up with a smart counter remark the Zeta Tube announced the arrival of Batman. The teens all paused for a moment, until simultaneously jumping up and making their way to meet the Dark Knight. Naturally Wally was the first to make it to the room, bouncing where he stood when he stopped with excitement. The man in black glared at the boy with annoyance that seemed to fly right over his red top. Only when the full team was present did the experience hero speak.

“The Watchtower radar has spotted and received a docking request from a small carrier heading for Earth’s atmosphere. The League has agreed to let all of you come up and greet Robin when he lands.” That said the Dark Knight turned and walked back towards the tube not bothering to see if the younger heroes would follow.

~

The Zeta Tube flashed as Batman and the team walked into the main room where they meet the rest of the League members. The team split up, each going to their respected mentors voicing their excitement to their others. Wonder Woman turned to The Bat with a smile on her face. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones who missed your little bird.” Batman said nothing, but looked toward the Amazon with a small smirk.

The Watchtower announced the arrival of the carrier and the hanger bay doors opened, and the small ship slowly made its way onto the landing pad. The heroes, young and otherwise, froze. The state of the craft was, disturbing. In many places the vessel was dented, or was missing parts altogether. The engines barely kept the ship upright, when it landed with a loud bang once the gravity field hit the vessel, and stilled, having finally met its desired destination.

Batman was the first to react, moving quickly to the fallen vessel and opening the door that lead to the control room. The interior was just as bad, if not worse. Wires hung from the ceiling and sparked, while bits of metal from the walls had been torn and bent, the pilot seat looked to be cut into with jagged blades. What caught the Dark Knight’s attention, however, was the blood that stained the seats and controls. Enough to look as though a group of individuals were drained dry and their insides sprayed out as a terrible paint job. Handprints could be seen smeared on the inner glass of the craft and along the walls and floor.

Bruce felt his breath hitch and his heart pick up speed at the sight of the gore that decorated the interior of the pod. By now the rest of the group present came over to investigate on their own. Megan cried out and covered her face with her hands as she sob at the sight. Connor, the ever caring boyfriend, held her to his chest as his super sight caught every detail of the mess that lay inside. The rest had fear and shock plastered on their faces.

Wally swallowed and said what was on everyone else’s mind. “W-where’s Robin?” His voice was small, but with the quiet that overtook the room no one missed the glitch in his words. Roy clinched his fists the same way his stomach did, unable to tear his sight away from the pod.

Bruce shoved his fear aside and began to make observations. `It’s possible the blood does not belong to him. Too much DNA to sort through before a possible match could be found in time. In time for what?! Damage to the interior and exterior suggest something tried to make its way in. And succeeded! Carvings along the walls and seats are deep showings signs of great strength made in the act. Or was the blade sharp enough to cut through thick metal and bone like butter?! There is too much for it to be him, unless there is more than a single body involved. But then where is Richard!? Where the hell is my son!?’

He didn’t get far in his investigation before every worst case scenario flashed before his eyes. He gritted his teeth and move closer to the controls hoping there would be some kind of clue. The bloodied monitor flashed an auto-pilot programming and coordinates that had run the craft. Right next to it Bruce noticed a small screen displaying a video message. Using a USB cable he downloaded the message and turned toward the large computer and monitor at the end of the room.

The others watched him go before following. “Have you found something?” Wonder Woman asked placing a hand on the distressed father’s shoulder. The rest stood silently waiting for a reply, tensing slightly when the Dark Knight looked back at them.

Bruce looked back, watching the young heroes stand beside their mentors, and felt dread wrap its fingers around his stomach. Glancing at the woman beside him for a brief moment before turning his gaze to the floor, “I don’t know.” He went back to the computer and hooked in the cable and sent the video to the large screen. The monitor began to flicker and he stepped back. “I hope so.” He whispered to himself. The small prayer didn’t go missed by the Kryptonian and his clone.

The static cleared slightly, enough to see the “BEGIN MESSAGE” text printed on the screen. The text disappeared, and the image showed a dark room and an empty seat.

Within moments of starting a small figure in an odd spacesuit sat heavily in the chair and sighed through the helmet. With trembling hands the masked figure slowly removed the head covering. As it came off no one could stop the sharp intake of breath and gasps that filled the room, when the little bird’s face was revealed underneath. He stared at the helmet in his hands tiredly, looking but not seeing what was in front of him.

His youthful face was battered and bloodied from the various deep cuts and scrapes that married his once smooth skin. Blood ran from his nose and the corner of his busted lip, crimson liquid was caked on his forehead right beneath his hairline and trailed down to his chin. Sweat damped his hair and fixed the strands to his head, black ink mixing and contrasting greatly with pale white skin.

The members of the young team of heroes took all of this in, however were more surprised at the unhidden irises that stared off into nothing. The boy’s eyes exposed for all to see, and they looked empty, lifeless, tired, numb, haunted. The once bright sapphire orbs that glowed with youth and mischief that Wally and Roy remembered were gone, replaced with a broken hopelessness. Artemis gaped with recognition at the freshman boy who goes to her school. However Conner, Megan, and Kaldur took extra notice of the purple bags under his eyes that were dark and heavy, hanging like drapes on a hanger.

With another quite sigh, the image looked up from the helmet and moved his eyes back and forth around the room observing, but never moving his head, as though afraid to make any sudden movements. Finishing with his small task Robin leaned forward in his seat and placed his arms folded across the flat surface. Everyone become aware of how he softly trembled, from the cold, fear, or exhaustion they were unable to tell. Then with a shutter the little bird began to speak quietly, his voice raw and strained, however loud enough for the viewer to hear what he had to say.

“I don’t know if you will see this. If the craft I’m sending this on, will ever make it to you, or if I’m even recording at all and are simply talking to myself. However if there is an off chance that you do get this, I need you to listen to me carefully.” Everyone cringed at the callousness of his voice and the boy swallowed before he continued.

“As should be known to all of you, I was sent on my first long term solo-covert mission. Upon the USG Ishimura, a deep-space ship and planet cracker, funded by the Wayne Co. The objective was to uncover its hidden motive for the unplanned and illegal stop to the planet Aegis VII. Poised as a guest along with Richard Flag, who was invited aboard by Mister Wayne in his place as an observer of the progress on the ship for future funding possibilities.”

“As stated in my first report I arrived safely in the company of a few engineers and scientists that were also welcomed aboard the Ishimura for detail work. And for about a week I made sure to keep regular reports on my findings on what is happening on the ship, rather than the option to maintain radio silence unless something went wrong” Robin’s face grew grim as he continued speaking. “However it has come to my attention just recently that all of my reports have been tampered with, and the real reports were never sent off to begin with.”

The Dark Knight glared at the screen, kicking himself for not realizing sooner that the typed messages he was being sent were fake. “So that means…”

“I’ve been compromised.” His ward finished for him. The League tensed and their teen counterparts felt sick.

“So what they attacked him or something?!” Wally cried out in desperation. Artemis and Roy were quick to shut him up when the raven started to speak again.

“Despite coming to this conclusion this late, no one has approached me or has stopped me from roaming the ship beforehand other than a few engineers who were trying to work on reinforcing the ships anti-gravity rooms. Someone knew who I am, probably watching me since I got here; yet, they let me snoop around the ship.”

“I don’t understand.” Superman intervened at the bird’s pause. “If someone knew, but he was never approached then what the heck happened?” Wonder Woman looked back at the Kryptonian with a concerned expression until till the report resumed.

“Which means I will have to be quick in explaining everything leading up to the current situation I find myself in. Upon my arrival upon the ship it became known why the illegal trip to Aegis was made, there is a secret mining colony on the planet, one funded by LexCorp. To harvest any organic material that could be brought back to earth that would have…unique properties valuable enough to fund his own Planet Cracker Corporation, and put Wayne Inc. out of this particular business. And they found something. Big.” Typing on the keyboard, the boy brought up a picture of a large, oddly shaped rock.

“What is that?”

“This, this is the Marker. An artifact that was uncovered beneath the planet’s surface not far from the colony. The Marker is a holy relic among many of the people on the ship and the planet, the religion going by the name of Unitology.” As soon as the name was said, Bruce went into Batman mode and sent the name to the bat-computer back home to gather as much information as possible.

“Following almost directly after the artifact was discovered homicides and suicides on the colony below skyrocketed. The population of the colony was cut in half in just that week.” He paused again in his longwinded report and sighed, suddenly looking years older. “Friends cutting one another down, co-workers blowing each other’s brains out, families,” Robin grimaced as if he obtained a bitter taste on his tongue. “Then something else started to kill off the rest. Not wanting to risk being found out about being in a restricted area, Captain Matthias refused to send men to the surface to investigate or call for help. As soon as the Marker was secured onto the ship, the Captain made the decision to abandon the colony and the few remaining survivors to their fate below. Only, he made the decision to late.”

“He was going to leave innocent people to die out there?” Artemis whispered.

By now the League’s baby bird was shaking so hard they could hear his suit creak, his eyes shined with unshed tears and he tucked himself into a small ball in the chair hugging his arms between his legs and torso. Wally and Roy felt helpless as they could only watch their ‘brother’ try to compose himself long enough to finish. And Bruce, well, he was ready to break the screen with his fist in his own frustration.

His head resting on his knees no longer looking at the screen, his eyes seeing something else, Robin continued once more. “In a matter of hours, the ship was over taken by the creatures that took the colony. It only took a few firkin hours, hours until the entire ship went to hell and most if not everyone is dead or one of them.” He chuckled at that. “It’s like the damn zombie movies Wally, Roy and I used to watch. Only they don’t eat you, and their smart, God, their smart.”

Roy looked at Wally and their eyes met. “Zombies?” Megan’s voiced quietly.

“Yeah, you know when,” Wally licked his lips nervously. “The dead body of a person gets up and starts walking around and eats anything alive. But it’s pretend, not real, just stories for scares!” He quickly added that last part at Megan, Connor, and Kaldur’s horrified expressions.

Artemis glanced at him. “If it’s fake then why is Robin saying otherwise.” The younger ginger had nothing to say at that and looked back toward the screen.

Robin had a hand resting in his hair, pulling at it now and again. “At first I couldn’t do much other than run. So I did. I could hear people dying, hear them screaming for mercy or help, and I just kept running. And I-I couldn’t bring myself to stop.” His voice shook. “I could hear them behind me too, screeching, trying to turn me into human confetti.” Each one paled at the mental image that last sentence left them.

Suddenly he stopped talking, eyes never returning to the screen, staring at the wall behind it with a closed off, blank expression. For a full minute no one said anything, silent as graves waiting, some even holding their breath, for him to go on. Another minute passed before he said anything speaking in a small voice.

“They want our bodies, they need our bodies. The dead turn to them and then they turn us dead. It’s a never ending cycle. But they can’t have it. It’s mine, my body, my bone, my blood, it’s mine,” His tone was mono, almost robotic as if he’s been saying it to himself over and over again before this. “IT’S MINE!” He screamed, starting everyone, as his fingers dug into his upper arms so hard Bruce was worried he would break through the armor.

A sound was heard in the background and the bird froze, pure terror like nothing they have ever seen from Robin planted on his face. His pupils dilated and his was no longer breathing, in fact from what the team could see he stopped moving completely. Slowly he turned to the left and stared intently at something off screen.

After a few moments he quietly let out his breath and whispered to the screen still staring to the left. “I haven’t got much time left.” He swallowed again. “They’ll find me, they always find me. They use the vents to move around the ship.”

Robin took a shaky breath and sat back into his seat, relaxing slightly but never quite letting his tense shoulders uncoil. He licked his cracked lips and proceeded to wipe away the blood pouring from his nose as though just realizing it flowed freely down his face. The League watched with practiced eyes, picking up immediately at how tired the boy suddenly appeared to be, and how he aged in a matter of seconds as the adrenaline left his system only to be replaced with thick laced fatigue. Covered in gore, grim, and only he knows what else, looking as though he just came of a battlefield. Another minute of steady breathing and trying to rest his weary tiny frame he started once more.

“The colony has been lost. The crew is dead or mutated. And the whole ship has been reduced to nothing more than a lifeless graveyard floating in space. This isn’t an SOS, I’m not sending for help. I’m telling you to stay the hell away.” The child’s tired face gave way to one of serious determination. “So do not come for me. I’m not fool enough to think that I’ll still be alive when you get this, nether should you.”

The League and Team gaped at the younger hero trying to process what he said. “What do you mean you’ll be dead when we find this?!” Roy practically hollered at the screen.

“When was this sent?”

“He’s been gone for 6 months.”

“Robin said this nightmare started a week after the Ishimura docked at Aegis VII. How long ago was that?”

Everyone yelled over one another trying to figure out whether or not what he said was true. It was only when Batman whistled loudly did everyone quiet down. On screen Robin was spinning his chair absently from side to side. A thousand yard stare in his hollowed out eyes. He was chewing his busted lip.

“I’ve seen how they work. Watched what they do to survivors.” The voice that echoed off the monitor was in the best of terms, dead. “The symbols on the Marker aren’t there for show, I figured it out. It’s a blueprint, sends out a radiation of some sort.” Robin tilts his head and rested in on the back of the chair, gaze toward the ceiling. “Was in a group before, Marines all of them, five including me. Their gone now, dead, either by the hands of those monsters, each other, or themselves. And that, that is how they work.” Megan couldn’t suppress the shudder that ran down her spine when Robin whispered that last sentence and looking around the room on one else could either.

“If they don’t kill you, you will kill yourself.” The raven haired child looked back at them with a broken smirk, and everyone felt the temperature in the room drop. “Not out of mercy though, there is no mercy here. No, not to end it before they do, to die on your own terms and conditions. Nope, nope, nope.” He popped the p. “You do it because they want you to, because the Marker wants you to.”

He leaned forward in his seat, smirk still resting unsettlingly on his face. “Causes people to lose their heads, and then they take out anyone they can before turning on themselves. Talks to them, talks to me. Can hear it.” He taps his temple. “Hear them. Right. In. Here.” He tapped at each pause. “Ben seeing things too. Things that aren’t there, hearing the dead screaming in my ears one moment then gone the next.”

At this point it’s clear to the entire room just how dire the situation really is. That their baby bird is now simply talking for the sake of simply talking. That the Team’s little brother and the League’s first adolescent hero is, or has lost his head.

Clark stepped beside Bruce. “What’s wrong with his eyes?” Bruce side-glanced the alien beside him before zeroing in on his son’s irises. The Bat almost bit his tongue when he noticed the faintest hint of red surrounding the inner pupil. Casually as not to rouse suspicious looks from the other present him the room he entered detective mode and used his lenses to snap a picture and zoom in. Right on the outside of his dilated pupil, slowly spinning around the inner iris was crimson markings resembling the ones carved on the Artifact.

“Oh my God.”

“You see it?” The super never looked away from the screen.

The Caped Crusader didn’t answer.

“I can see my mom.” Bruce almost choked on his own building saliva. “She’s walking around the halls.” Robin’s eyes have lost the red but are quickly becoming glossy as tears stream down his blood stained cheeks. “She’s trying to kill me, and it’s real.” A small sob escaped his throat as he brought a hand to his eyes and attempted to wipe away his tears. He only succeeded in smearing the newly wet blood across his face. Never before have the heroes felt so helpless to guard and protect one of their own.

Another sound from the background startled individuals both on screen and off, whatever the noise was seemed to snap the baby bird out of his fluke with a new found terror and determination. “I can’t stay any longer, it’s not safe to linger in one spot and I’ve overstayed my welcome.” He looked back, sadness and longing swirling within his dull blue eyes.

“I’m sending several files on all the information I’ve gathered during my stay here. Please, if you get this, the Ishimura and the Marker must be destroyed. There is a list of names of the people on the ship and colony, if you could set up a memorial or give their families some type of explanation, closure. Many brave men and women died serving aboard both and are deserving of some form of burial and remembrance. Even if in the end we all lost are minds.” His eyes went glassy once more as he bid his final farewell. “Don’t let us be forgotten. This is Robin, signing out. And if you do get this dad, I’m sorry. I miss you. All of you.”

Just seconds before the young hero could cut the video a loud crash on metal came from inside the room. The Team and League could only watch as the startled child twisted himself toward the source of the sound and gritted his blood stained teeth together. Quickly rising from the chair and producing an odd looking gun and aimed it at the off screen offender. An inhuman screech filled the air that had everyone watching turn their blood cold as they covered their ears in a pathetic attempt to drown it out.

After shooting three rounds, Robin turned back to the monitor as more screeching and banging sounds could be heard. A few taps of the keyboard and the record stopped, but not before something forced its way into the room behind him.

“Wait!” “Go back!” Roy and Wally ran forward only stopping when the bat glare found its way to them.

Batman tapped on the keys rewinding the recording just before the video cut. “There, right there. What is that?” Wonder Woman pointed to the shadow that came into the room.

“Can you zoom into that, and clean it up?” Green Arrow was practically on top of the Dark Knight, much to his annoyance. Pushing that aside for now however, Bruce did what was asked and the image produce sent some of the younger league struggling to hold their lunch.

On the monitor held the sight of what once looked like a human being, but inside out. Bone protruding and exposing organs and gore. Batman quickly minimized the picture when Wally lost the fight with his last meal, Megan and Kaldur holding him up.

“What the Hell was that?” Connor struggled to hold in his temper, the details of the ship now match with the possible culprit did little to ease his nerve.

Nobody held the answer but looked toward the visibly distressed father at the front of the monitor, his hands balled tightly in a fist. Rage and hatred and guilt filled in his heart as he gritted his teeth. He turned to face the others, and upon seeing his face they got the idea.

All the knee weak fear fell from their bodies as stubborn determination took its place. Daddy Bats was going to find his baby bird and get him back if it killed him. And the League and Team were right behind him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2:
Awakening
Sprawl, Titan
Asylum sector of the Sprawl’s Hospital
1600 Hours

He felt like he was floating, no coherent thought passing through his head, just peace, silence. Floating in a void of his own mind, only half attempting to piece together how and why he was here. Nothing to be seen, nothing to be heard, nothing to be felt. Not wanting to disturb the tranquility he stayed still, unmoving as the current of unseen waves carried him down a concealed path.

As he floated carelessly he heard his name whispered, but the voice sounded a far distance off. He paid it no heed and continued his journey to nowhere. Then his name became louder, closer and the caller’s voice became slightly clearer. Having nothing else to focus on the young teen concentrated on hearing for the call again, there it was, but closer now. The voice was soft and silky, a voice that had once comforted him long ago as a child. Now, however, that voice came even closer, and the sound of its words, his name, sent his blood cold in dread. The voice called to him again, its tone deforming into a distorted, sickening sound, nails on a chalkboard.

The young vigilante snapped his eyes open and looked in the direction of the echo. No sooner did his eyes open did he see the broken face of the woman he loved dearly as a child, illuminated by the surrounding darkness. He froze unable to move from the paralytic terror that seized hold of his body.

The woman was inches from his face and he could see every disfigurement on her body. She wore a sleeveless white gown that was covered in crimson stains and black soot. Her wavy reddish brown locks stuck to her caved in skull like wet mold, her nose shattered with blood pouring from every opening on her once beautiful clean face. Her body was busted and broken much the same way it was after her fall to the earth. Limbs twisted in at wrong angles, but what held his attention the most was her eyes, or the lack there of the deep blue irises.
“Richard, mommy loves you Richard. My little bird, mommy always loves you.” The destroyed corpse smiled as best she could as she reached for his face with both hands, bones creaking with the effort, cupping his cheeks. Dick choked on his breath as he attempted to stop shaking. She continued on with her word of love as a bright light lit itself behind the black of her eye sockets and open mouth. “I love you Richard, make us whole my little robin.” Her voice became louder till she was finally screaming in his face, nails digging into his cheeks. As hard as he tried, Richard was unable to fight the sudden onslaught of fatigue and closed his eyes. “MAKE US WHOLE.”

~

The screaming stopped, though another piercing sound quickly took its place when Richard slowly opened his eyes again. When his eyes finally adjusted he found the light was still shining in his face but his mother was nowhere to be seen. Instead another filled his vision as he was forcefully brought back to reality by the flashlight waving from side to side in front of his irises. Training kicking in, Robin analyzed the room finding only two other individuals beside himself, speaking to one another in hushed tones, trying to move and sit up the young bird realized he was strapped to a table in a straightjacket. Panic began to build in his stomach; he did not allow himself to act on it. ‘That never works well for anyone.’ One of the two individuals turned upon hearing him struggle in his bonds.

“Oh, thank The Marker your finally awake,” The man said as he began to remove the straps. Richard tensed up when hearing mentions of The Marker. The man turned to his partner, a blond woman standing near the door. “Tell me if anything starts coming this way,” He yelled over the screaming siren and looked back at the boy. “Listen I know your scared and confused, but I need you to trust me okay. I’ll explain later I promise but we need to leave now. Don’t worry I’m going to take good care of you, alright.”

Just before he could undo the straightjacket however the woman let out an ear piercing scream as a creature landed in front of her from a vent in the ceiling. She backed up further into the room and aimed her pulse rifle at the thing following her in. Richard’s pupils dilated as he instantly recognized the monster that entered the room. The small boy began to thrash violently in vain to release the restrains holding him and leaving him venerable to attack. “SHOOT THE LIMBS!” Richard could hear his voice crack as he screamed at her.

She did as she was told, aiming for the offending appendages and missing most of the shots. Succeeding in removing one of its arms, the woman wasn’t fast enough to avoid the abominations last stand. Both carcasses fell with a thud, her lower jaw absent from her face, and blood pooling beneath them. The man stood in horror as he stared at the gore on the floor bringing a hand to his mouth to refrain the bile rising in his throat to spill. The sound of the young boy fighting against his restraints brought him back to reality and his mission. He turned back to the ebony child.

Dick watched the young woman fall and froze. The fog in his head had not entirely disappeared and briefly wondered if he was dreaming. Remembering his lack of mobility he returned to his struggle against the jacket. The man came back to him with hands shaking more that before and attempted to release him. “I-I’m g-going to get you out of here okay, I’m going to get you o-“

Richard watched in muted terror. Blood poured from the man’s forehead stopping him mid-sentence. A long, thin bone tail had implanted itself right between his eyes. Just as the infector behind him removed it’s appendage from his body began to spasm. The boy remained unmoving as the man holding him rapidly decayed and mutated.
His neck became longer as his spinal cord snapped and lifted upward, skin and muscle peeled from bone as his body temperature rose causing veins and arteries bust. The man’s uniform ripped from the middle as his abdomen produced small appendages and his intestines swelled. Eyes turned milk white before they split apart to make room for the small muscle like tentacles shot his eyes sockets and his mouth. His screaming became animalistic as he underwent the unnatural transformation.

Rodin’s mind went blank as his survivor instinct kick in, adrenalin burned through his system. Without thinking his body acting on its own will to survive the little bird head budded the mutating corpse in the jaw, causing the monstrosity to stumble backwards stunned.

Not waiting for an invitation Robin ran into the hall where he stopped, shaking his head to clear some remaining fog from his distorted skull. It was then that Robin could hear the screaming alarms were for an attack or quarantine. Looking up at the additional sound of multiple windows and metal vents being broken and tore through Robin saw numerous necromorphs quickly closing in on him. A quick glance behind him confirmed what he saw was no dream and the one he collided with was beginning to advance on him as well, that was more than enough to motivate him to start sprinting as fast as he could.

As he ran down the corridor the creatures followed him while others fell from the ceiling or emerged from the nearby air vents. Robin refused to look back as he continued forward hearing them close on his heels. Suddenly a slasher fell in the boy’s path and swiped at his head. Quick reflexes, skilled training and sheer blind luck, Robin dropped to his knees and slid under the blade-like protrusion of bone before it made contact with his neck. He watched the blade pass his face with seconds to spare, slicing the tip of his dark bangs, before spinning on his knees and recovering his brisk pace down the hall.

Further ahead Robin could see a door that led into another area of the medical facility. Hearing the things close behind him, he used every ounce of adrenalin he had to all but race to the opening and make it before they did. Just as he passed the door, movement off the corner of his eye caused Robin to turn his body sideways as the dead playing necromorph leaped on his lap. His arms being bound Richard had no way to balance himself while supporting the intruder or catching himself as they fell. His head made contact on the floor with a sickening crack making his skull bounce back up.

Feeling the extra weight on his chest Robin’s eyes snapped open despite the pain radiating in his head and proceeded to dodge the sharp edge that tried to dismember him. Behind the threat Robin noticed that the door looked ready to lock down for the quarantine, unable to use his hands he positioned his feet under the homicidal monster just right and kick out with all his might. The force caused the creature to fly into the door’s path as it closed, severing its being in half vertically.

The room was all but silent after aside for the low beep of a heart monitor and Richard’s heavy breathing as he attempted to calm himself down. The adrenalin slowly crept out of his body and exhaustion quickly took its place. He could feel his stiff legs burned from a sudden over exertion of use, and his head throbbed behind his eyes. Once his breath was steady again and he managed to stop the tears that trekked down his face Richard looked around the room from his position on the floor to analyze the area.

‘No sign of immediate danger, the infection must not has spread this far. By the look and smell of the place I’m in a hospital. Not the Ishimura, no, too well lit and clean. Not enough bodies or smears of blood either. Not back home, they were wearing station uniforms, but what station am I at? What ship? Where am I, did they somehow follow me from the Ishimura. But I destroyed The Marker, which should have stopped them. Right?’

The boy remained on the floor to gather his thoughts before shifting his weight and standing up. The sudden wave of dizziness would have been concerning if he didn’t have other things to worry about. He could feel something wet soak the back of his neck. Looking down Richard now noticed his bare feet, slightly bloody, cut and cold on the tile. Unable to do anything about it, he turned to the dilemma at hand and took one last shot at trying to wiggle out of the jacket that kept his arms strung together. No use, he was stuck.

“Sure wouldn’t mind having super strength at the moment, totally not feeling the aster right now.” He mumbled under his breath. ‘Batman would have been disappointed.’

Not wanting to linger in one spot for too long Richard slowly made his way across the room on the balls on his feet careful not to make any sudden movements, but ready to act quickly should the need arise. As he passed a medical curtain the beeping of the heart monitor began to quicken before finally falling into a long continuous beep as its host’s heart failed to respond. Dick could only glance sadly at the still form that was already covered with a sheet. He said nothing as he walked through the door on the other side of the room, his feet making a faint tap sound with each step.

As the door opened Richard stepped into the next area and stopped when he caught sight of two men in uniform with their back to him. They were both armed to the teeth with heavy powered rifles and thick protective covering. An uneasy feeling passed though the little bird when he saw them. ‘Something isn’t right, these guys aren’t here looking for survivors. But they look ready for war.’ Seeing how he couldn’t go back the way he came and clearly the guards weren’t leaving their post as they chatted with each other as if everything was completely fine.

‘Do they even know what’s happening? Okay, act innocent, something happened to my doctor and I’m lost. Best case scenario, they take me into custody and question me. Maybe I can explain what’s happening and get help before it gets worse.’

Slowly making his way toward the men Richard starts thinking of a way to explain the reason for the straightjacket without sounding like someone from Arkham. Making his way around the stretchers scattered around the tight corridor Dick winces as stubbed his toe on one of the wheels. The guards spin around at the noise aiming their guns and the ebony’s head. Blinding him with their flashlights, before a word could come out of his mouth the guards were already shouting alarmed to each other.

“That’s him, shoot!” Bullets flew past the little bird, one grazing his cheek as he dove for cover. Abruptly a vent in the ceiling crashed to the floor and a muscled appendage pulled one of the guards up with it. His screaming stopped with a wet sound. Before the other could react Robin was on the floor crouched low in front of him. His face devoid of all emotion and eyes wide with a red tint swimming in his sapphire orbs.

As the man tried to shoot his unexpected target, the boy used the guard’s gun and forearm to flip onto his shoulders, knees cupped firmly to the sides of his helmet. Using his momentum and lower body strength, Robin twisted his waist causing the soldier’s head to do the same. His cry was cut short with an audible snap of his neck. The body slumped to the floor unmoving. The little one landed on the balls of his feet and stared blankly at the corpse over his shoulder.

Feeling a small tap his head Richard looked up and watched blood drip from the hole in the ceiling. He stood there for several moments, unseeing as blood painted and stained his pale skin drop by drop. A smile stretched across his face and he chuckled a bit before turning toward the door at the end of the room and made his way out. Just before he could step through the opening the torso of the missing guard fell on the floor from above. Robin stared unaffected by the sudden arrival. Another smile graced his chapped lips, a menacing gleam in his discolored iris.

“Guess I won’t have to worry about you getting in my way anymore, should have watch your head there.” Robin stepped over the carcass and entered another area of the room. His eyes lost its red tint and the smile disappeared as he climbed the stairs, leaving him confused to why his cheeks suddenly hurt.

The door opened at the top not revealing much of anything except desks and few monitors, a video recording played on the far end of the room. Richard cautiously entered the room, his footsteps practically silent. Curiosity struck him when he heard the monitor say something about symbols being whispered. Dick went to the screen to watch the recording as it went back on loop, starting from the beginning.

Nolan Stross was introduced as the man bound to the chair. He was a patient that much was obvious as was the fact that he was nervous and jittery. Didn’t help that the doctor was manhandling him either. Clearly distressed he kept mentioning ‘her’ and ‘they’ in the session, then the symbols. Richard bit back disgust when the doctor suggested he was trying to help him. Then when he refused to answer the questions directly the video was cut after the doctor said to put him back in stasis.

Richard reviewed what Stross said “’It hurts, still hurts.’ ‘No I’m not ready, I can’t do another session.’ ‘It was a black room with symbols and they put so much in my head so much shit in my head.’ ‘It said it wasn’t my fault! That they didn’t deserve to die that I didn’t deserve this! Fucker.’”

It wasn’t hard to piece together what happened. Nolan Stross was sickened by The Marker; he killed someone important to him in his delusional state, he was detained, and they were running tests to figure out what happened to him. ‘Was he a survivor brought from the Ishimura like me, or from the colony? He was at this station, being treated. Is he still alive or did he fall to The Marker’s influence?’

A noise startled the boy out of his thoughts. ‘Doesn’t matter now.’ He move toward the end of the room searching for a door. When he rounded a corner however he met another individual facing away from him, back hunched over. A male in a white doctor’s uniform was standing in front of what looked like a view window into a room below. Dick could hear him mumbling something to himself. As he got closer to the distracted man he could clearly hear him as he spoke with dread coating his voice.

“All dead, their all dead, dead, dead, dead. What can I do? Their dead. Nothing I can do. All dead.” Richard continued to inch forward when the man sprung and grabbed him by the collar lifting him on to the wall. A scalpel was in his hand and its cool blade rested against Dick’s neck. “I know you. I remember you, Patient 4, Tidmen said all subjects were to be eliminated.” The doctor giggled slightly as he dug the blade deeper into the boy’s skin.

Richard was all too familiar with the demented gleam in the man’s eyes. He’s seen it right before the insane individual would kill himself or anyone alive around them. Richard couldn’t tell if he would be the man’s first kill or not. ‘This hasn’t been going on for that long right? Maybe I can still reach him.’ His thoughts were spinning.

“L-listen to me,” the blade dug deeper. “I can get us out, both of us. But I need to get out of this straightjacket first. Help me and I promise I can get you out.” That was a lie; Dick doubted he could get even himself out let alone someone else, but trying to give hope to a hopeless seemed like only way to get through to the man.

The man looked at him for a while, studying the teen’s face. A smile crept back on his face and he laughed. “Will it matter? No one is getting out of here unscathed, not you, not me, no one.” His bloodied smile got bigger, threatening to tear his cheeks.

Richard’s eyes widened and he shook his head, struggling in the man’s grip. “No, don’t do it, I can help! Please, I can help.” The blade left his throat, headed toward his abdomen and he thrust the scalpel into the suit. Dick involuntarily winced as he felt the blade make contact but not pierce the skin. The good doctor let go of his patient and Dick looked down to find his arms free. He stretched the stiff limbs trying to return feeling to them as they creaked in protest.

Richard looked back up toward the doctor. He was still smiling. “There is no escaping from what I’ve done.” He laughed a bit, shoulders shaking from the strain. Robin only now noticed the blood that covered the front of his suit and hands.

“Just take it easy, okay.” The little bird kept his hands out in front of him in case the man suddenly turned hostile. The former doctor’s face went from a giggling grin to a straight, emotionless expression in seconds. The transformation sent a shiver down the ebony’s spine and he swallowed hard. “Look whatever you feel you did, we can make it okay. We can fix it.” Richard did he best to comfort the obviously disturbed individual. His reassurances sounded pathetic even in his own ears.

“Your rig is red, and your head is bleeding.” He said suddenly. Richard felt the back of his head where his skull made contact with the floor not long ago, pulling back from the tender spot his hand was covered in crimson. He didn’t say anything. The doctor pointed to a small locker in the corner next to him. “There’s a flashlight and a med kit in the wall locker. You should grab them.” Dick slowly made his way toward it, casting glances at it but never taking his eyes off the doctor to long. When he made it Richard opened the locker and sure enough the items were there. “Go ahead, take it. I won’t be needing them. Not anymore.” He said with a dry snicker.

Richard grabbed the med kit first, unsealing the needle and injecting it slowly into the vain near the base his neck. He shuddered then felt relief as the drug took effect, dulling the pain in his head, clotting the blood that flowed freely, and finally sped up the healing process of the broken skin and muscle cells. Dick sighs and grabbed the flashlight, he turned it on to be sure it worked before turning back to the doctor and froze.

The smile on his face was back with a vengeance, plastered there that reminded Richard uneasily of Joker. He stared at the little bird the scalpel still firm in his grasp. He lifted the blade and pointed it at Dick. “We’re all going to burn for what we did to you.” Richard stiffed realizing exactly what the man was about to do. Before he could intervene the previous doctor brought the blade to his neck and proceeded to cut out his own throat. Dick watched him horrified as blood spilled from the man’s esophagus and mouth like a waterfall, covering the floor beneath him. The doctor stepped back onto the wall and slid to the floor coughing up his life’s water all over himself. Finally, with one last choking gasp the man went limp, staring into nothing with unresponsive orbs.

Richard stood there watching the man, struggling to get his mind to comprehend what he saw. This wasn’t the first time he’s seen this, and by how things are going it won’t be his last. It didn’t make seeing it any less hard. He didn’t move until the blood came in contact with his bare feet. Walking toward him, unbothered by the fact he was stepping in the man’s blood, Dick knelt down in front of him, pressed his eyelids shut and relieved him of his scalpel.

Before the boy stood up he stared intently at the corpse and whispered to him knowing he wouldn’t receive an answer. “What exactly did you do to me?” His question gone unheard and the little bird got up and proceeded to the exit, only pausing a moment to look back.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3:
A Helping Hand
Sprawl, Titan
Medical Personnel Office
1600 Hours

Robin held the flashlight in front of himself like a gun simply out of habit as he walked sideways down the hall. His back toward the walls and eyes watching every ventilation shaft that came into view with caution, another habit developed. After what happened on the Ishimura, Robin wasn’t about to be attacked from behind or surprised by a shattered vent. He had to learn that lesson the hard way, a repeat incident wasn’t necessary.

Going down another set of stairs Richard had to catch himself several times on the railing. His legs were like jelly since the adrenalin crept out of his system, not to mention he was still dizzy from the smack on the head he got earlier. Med kits could only fix so much damage. At the bottom of the stairs was a darkened hallway, the only light coming from the broken double doors at the other end. Dick swallowed and slowly proceeded into the hall toward the doors. A figure sped past the opening and made a shadow in its wake causing the boy to freeze and hold his breath listening for anything that would cause alarm. He counted to ten slowly in his head before releasing his breath and moving forward into a side room.

It was pitch black, the only illuminated thing in the room was a flickering digital clock that sat on the other side. Richard turned on his flashlight and shined it in the darkened space. Tables and chairs were scattered across the room with the bodies of what looked like dead patients on the floor. Blood painted the walls and furniture, and the desks held various games and crafts, the later bearing similar appeals to The Marker.

Careful not to move to quickly and attract unwanted attention, Richard maneuvered around the obstacles. As he reach the door and was about to leave a sudden light and loud static sound filled the room. Robin jumped to the left and spun on his heel throwing the stolen scalpel. The blade made contact with a monitor that displayed a scene of a serene landscape filled with mountains and distorted music.

Richard picked himself up from a crouching position and took a moment to catch his breath and slow his heart rate, bat-glaring at the disturbance. After a moment though he smiled a little and tilted his head back with a sigh. “Getting too jumpy there Dick, need to stay focus, stay calm.”

Retrieving the scalpel without electrocuting himself, he continued on his way. Stumbling a bit Richard made his way toward shower house. He paused to examine his front. ‘Not even an hour into this nightmare and I already have blood all over me.’ Not thinking much of it Dick walked up to a nearby sink and turned it on, testing the water. “Probably won’t make much of a difference anyways, but better safe than sorry.”He mumbled to himself as he scrubbed the crimson from his small fingers. “At least it’ll look like I haven’t killed anybody if I meet someone sane here.” Studying his hands as he washed made Richard stop his actions.

Nine. Nine. Nine.
He was missing a finger.

His pinky finger on his left hand. ‘How did I not notice that before?’ His hands shook as he stared at the missing flesh. It was a clean cut, no torn skin or broken bone. It wasn’t even a noticeable injury, just absent from where it should be. “When did this happen? I don’t understand. That didn’t lose it on the Ishimura did it? I would have noticed. I don’t remember ever losing my finger, oh God its really gone! Why can’t I remember what happened?”

Richard could feel himself about to be sick as he racked his brain for an explanation, an answer to this terrible discovery. Coming up with nothing was building even more panic and his breaths were coming in gasps. ‘I’m missing something. God, there a gap in my memory. What happened?!’ Forcing himself to calm down before he had a panic attack, Dick pointedly looked away from his hands.

And right into the mirror. Richard stared at the stranger gazing back at him. He leaned forward on the sink to make absolute sure it was a mirror he was looking at. The image copied him and he bit his lip.

“Oh God, how long have I been here? I don’t even look like me anymore.” His voice wasn’t higher than a whisper as he continued to gape at himself. A hand rose to gently touch the reflection. But when his incomplete appendage came into view he shoved it down again.

His face was white, almost transparent aside from the dark circles around his eyes and blood that stained his skin. His hair that was once full and thick was dull and flat with a trace of ashen grey somehow mixing with black. Cheeks were sunken in and shallow, eyes swollen and, he noticed with passive interest, he had a badly broken blood vessel that tainted the whole of his right eye red.

Poking at his concaved appearance it was then he discovered he didn’t feel good and realized that his energy was too quick to go. He lost weight, not just a pound or two either, no more like fifteen or more. The little bird racked his brain to try and remember when he last eaten anything. It startled him to become conscious of the fact that he doesn’t know how much time has passed since the Ishimura and now, or what happen in between. The panic was starting to return.

The reflection in the mirror came across older with worry and stress lines but younger due to how big his thinned out face made his eyes appear. And that was the biggest impact on him; his eyes were no longer their bright pure deep blue but instead were a stormy grey. They more resembled that of a dead fish, no longer holding the same color and shade as his mother. The thought scared Richard more than he cared to admit to himself.

Captured by the image in front of him, his focus glazed over and his iris caught a crimson tint. The room became white noise filled with scarlet, shadows grew, and everything became heavy and claustrophobic. Behind him Richard saw the silhouette of a creature start to creep close to his turned back. Robin was quick to dodge an expected assault, bringing his flashlight and scalpel to meet his attacker to find.

Nothing.

Just as soon as the room changed it was gone again. Dick panted with nervous tension searching the shower house for the intruder. It was gone, in a blink of an eye, his eye. He turned back to the mirror and examined carefully for the unexplained misplaced color in his orbs he swore was there a split second ago. It was gone.

“Must have been that broken blood vessel I saw. I guess I hit my head harder than I though. Starting to lose it.” He rubbed the tender spot on his head. “Seeing things is the very last thing I need right now, thanks.” He scolded himself for being paranoid and quick to panic, giving himself one last look over he left the mirror, keeping his eyes away from his hands.
Leaving the washrooms Richard proceeded down another corridor to a dead end. Dick caught sight of a maintenance tunnel. “Well, that brings back memories.” He smiled tiredly as he thought of the newly found group cramped in a small vent trying to escape Cadmus.

Richard found a terminal and pulled the wires inside making the access panel dance to his will. “Man, talk about a primitive system. Someone needs an update on their security.” The door was hacked in less than three seconds. The shaft opened and Dick jumped, fingers latching to the bottom of the opening and he pulled himself inside. Finding another terminal inside, he closed the panel behind him and began to crawl. As he turned a corner a figure quickly went the other direction causing the little bird to discontinue.

After counting to ten in his head once more, Richard went on. He could see from ahead that the shaft tilted upward but before he could reach it the ground under him collapsed. Despite all his training for the unexpected, Robin smacked onto the floor, hard. Teeth digging into his bottom lip as his bit it on impact. The wind knocked out of him Richard laid there watching the world continue to spin even as he held still.

His headache was back again, and when the room stopped its rotating he smirked. “Well, if I didn’t have some form of concussion before I sure as shit have one now. Wonder how many times I’ll smack my head on something before this is all over.” He mused licking his newly busted lip.

Getting up, Richard walked toward an elevator using the wall as support. When he entered the cart a decapitated body leaning in a corner gave off a continuous beep. Robin stared at the corpse as he pressed the first floor button. After a minute he realized that the rig’s communicator was going off on the body. The little bird knelt down and pulled off the upper chest plate holding the front part of the rig and answered.

“Hello?” Robin asked, the chest plate responded by opening up and a holo-video feed came into view in front of him. A woman appearing in her late twenties and a serious expression showed on the screen. With blond hair pulled into two tightly braided buns and hazel eyes that glared at him she replied.

Richard Grayson I presume?” Her voice held a no nonsense but rushed tone.

Dick was startled by the quick address of his name, but quickly masked the surprise under suspicion and distrust. “Yeah? You seem to have me at a disadvantage here. Who are you and how do you know me?”

Either the woman didn’t care at how the boy questioned her or she hid it well, her face remained the same. “My name is Daina Le Guin. As to how I know you’re name, it is unimportant at the present moment. Now if you want to live to see another day you will do exactly what I say when I say it.” She tone never changed as she spoke to him.

Robin felt his temper rise as he glared back at her. “And why the hell should I trust a word you say Miss. Le Guin?” The thought of being pushed around by someone he just met and barely knew was enough to set him off, especially after the Ishimura.

The woman gave signs of impatience and made her voice sterner. “Because Mr. Grayson I can get you out of here and to a safe environment. I am here to aid in your escape.”
“Who said I needed aid? I’m doing just fine on my own.” Robin let a bit of smugness coat his attitude.

“You’re bleeding.” Daina motioned toward his head unimpressed.

Smirk gone Robin bit back a curse as his hand felt the top of his head and found it newly wetted by liquid red. “Just had a bit of a rough start.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why, may I ask, would you want to help me anyway? You apart of an evacuation team, because I must say you’re doing an asterous job of that so far.” He snapped back voice filling with sarcasm.

Her eye twitched and Robin silently congratulated himself. “No I am not a part of any evacuation team. You are Richard John Grayson, age fourteen; alias includes Robin, The Boy Wonder, and partner to the Dark Knight Batman. Also an associated with a small team of young sidekicks and the Justice League, known best for his acrobatics, hacking skill and sharp wit in the field.” Robin’s breath hitched, he stared at the offending woman with a cross between horror and shock. “Yes, I know who you are. That is why I want to help.”

The bird’s surprise died down as a withered expression replaced it. His silence caused her to sigh and soften her features. “I get that you don’t trust me, I do. But I’m not your enemy here Richard.”

“Not yet anyways.” He mumbled to himself. “Alright then who’s been shooting at me?”

“Tiedemann, he is the head of security here on Titan, he controls most of the network. He is having all of the main patients that were somehow involved or sickened by The Marker terminated, to cover up his own involvement with the artifact.”

“Still haven’t really answered my first question. Why help me?”

“Due to your role in the Justice League, is sensible that if you were to be saved, you could somehow relay contact with the League. By doing this there is a way to assist in saving lives on The Sprawl in the future, maybe even taking the city back.”

“I’m not a member of The League, and I doubt that I can be of much help.” Robin’s eyes widened slightly as a thought passed though his head. “Wait did you say The Sprawl? You mean the first space colony on Saturn’s moon, that Titan?”

Daina nodded. “You are well informed Grayson. About three months ago, a search and recover team found a shuttle drifting in space. You were discovered heavily injured and disoriented inside. They brought you here for medical treatment.”

Robin processed the new information in his head as he watched the levels pass in the elevator. “So, if it’s known that I’m Robin, did anyone bother to contact The League while I was here?”

“You were mostly unconscious the whole three month you have been here, put into a forced stasis. Only a few select few individuals know your identity here on the Sprawl, as for contacting The League we could not reach them as we were out of range.” She was lying, he could tell. It was in her eyes, no one has attempted to contact The League or Batman. He kept silent on the matter, no use letting her know he was on to her.

“Okay, what about the Necromorphs. How did they get here?” The woman made a face, not understanding what he meant. “The creatures that are on the station, where did they come from.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have the access or knowledge as to where this alien life form came from.” She was lying again. If it wasn’t for Batman’s training he would have the double blink she did as she fibbed. It was clear she knew exactly what was going on and she didn’t want to share. Robin decided right then this woman was not to be trusted but he’d play along for now.

“Alright.” She was good. He was better.

“So you will cooperate?” Robin nodded. “Good, I’ll download my position to your rig, and contact you every so often to check up on you. I have your rig set up on my computer; I’ll know your every move and location in case you get lost.” The passive threat was clear. “Try not to die.”

Daina disconnected the link as the doors to the elevator opened. Richard used a wire and connected the chest plate to the rig on his back and strapped it to his front. The glow of his vitals and a map shinned in blue in front of him. Satisfied with the connection he got up and walked out.

He was in a reception area that much he could figure out without the diagram to tell him so. The room would have been inviting with the aquarium and plush seats had the lights not been flickering or the mangled bodies littering the floor. The radio of a dead officer went off, the calls and panicked cries of fellow officers on the other lines. Next to the body was a pistol.
Robin didn’t hastate to pick up the gun and look it over, checking the clip and safety. ‘I’ll have to try and locate some form of plasma cutter soon. A pistol round won’t do much good against them.’ Thinking absent mindedly as he continued on in a similar position with his back to the wall.

Using the guide Daina provided for him, Richard navigated through the hospital. In and out of elevators, crossing several rooms containing machines and bodies alike with more than a few necromorphs to deal with here and there. Heading toward a new room Dick noted the warning sign of contained oxygen being used in the room.

Stepping through the door he noticed a small fire in the corner, not much was thought of it until he saw the oxygen tanks dangerously close to the flames. Robin leapt and latched onto a bed that was bolted to the floor just as the container exploded taking out the wall that was a direct lead into space. Richard held his breath as the air was sucked from the room.
The bed creaked and the little bird’s feet left the ground. A necromorph previously hidden behind another bed was blown out, along with the other various medical equipment that wasn’t rooted to the floor. Struggling to keep his hold, Dick saw a red emergency button hanging from the ceiling. Black spots appeared in his vision as the air was stolen from him. Aiming his pistol as it threatened to leave his grasp he shot the target. Having lost his battle for purchase with the bed Richard flew toward the vacuum of space before a reinforced wall slid up to block the opening.

Richard’s voice cracked when he screamed as he hit the barricade. The impact dislocating his shoulder, the force ripping the bone from its socket. He slumped to the floor gritting his teeth and fighting back tears, holding his limp arm. “Gah, shit. This is a disaster, extra heavy on the Dis.” He hissed between his lips. Knowing he would be dead in minutes if he left his arm unattended Robin grabbed his flashlight and stuck the soft handle into his mouth and bit. Then carefully, like Bruce had taught him before, he pressed the palm of his uninjured arm on the disconnected bone and thrust his hand upward.

The snap echoed across the now empty room was followed closely by a muffled scream. Richard released the bottom of his shirt and took beep breaths. “Okay, that wasn’t so bad.” He failed to notice the tears that blurred his vision as he sucked down the newly recycled air from the vents. Getting up he walked to the other door cradling his arm to his chest, teeth ruining his lip once more.

The area he treads into appeared to be a locker room. Walking further in, he nearly tripped on the dead playing necromorph that was on the floor. It jumped up and lunged at the ebony teen. Robin rolled on the ground evading the attack that came from the animated corpse. The movement cause agony for his arm and almost made the vigilante lose balance and awareness.

Blinded by pain Robin brought up his gun and fired, shooting off the head. “Bad move, Grayson.” The bird cursed himself as the creature began waving its deadly appendages wildly hoping to catch its prey. Backing up into a wall Robin aimed steadily at the beings legs and shot through both. The monster collapsed, withered around before coming to a still.

Richard turned back to his arm, cradling it again as he tried to move his shoulder. “Could sure use another med kit right about now, you would think with this being a hospital they’d have plenty.” He winced. Looking up and finally gaining a chance to really observe his surroundings Dick saw a computer run store at the other end of the room and praised his luck with a smile.
He limped over to the shopping center and cursed his luck again when he realized he had no money. An attempt at hacking the machine would only result in a temporary lockdown and blast an alarm across the area. He didn’t need that type of attention right now. Instead he turned back to the lockers and began rummaging through them. They were lockers belonging to patients here for checkups and Richard eventually found one belonging to an engineer. There he found a suit, one size fits all, and a few med kits.

Richard didn’t pause when he undid the needle and shoved it into his shoulder. The pain subsided immediately. Able to move his arm again without much of a problem, aside from the stiffness, Richard stripped and put the uniform on. It was several sizes too big, but messing with the hard drive in charge of the mechanical features he was able to shrink it down to a comfortable fit. He put on the gloves and boots doing the same, allowing the metal plating to compact itself with the fabric to get them to fit. After the job was done he continued to rummage.

Richard thanked whatever being was watching out for him when he found a plasma cutter and several rounds and clips beside it. More than content with his findings and feeling much more prepared for the road ahead, Dick headed out. The exit opened to a large area, a tall sign with the hospital’s symbol stood in the middle. At the far end of the room was a crashed transporter, and in front of that were seven of the Sprawl’s troops.

One glanced over and saw the little bird coming from the door way and shouted to his comrades. The voice was muffled by the helmet he wore but the intention was clear enough. They all began to open fire and Robin was forced to flee the doorway and take cover behind the hospital sign. “What the hell did I do to have these guys what me dead so badly?!” He shouted over the gun fire holding his hand to his ears to block out the deafening sound.

A loud screeching resonance of metal on metal echoed across the room, the noise causing Robin to hold his ears even tighter as he peeked out of his cover. The soldiers’ attention was no longer focus on the boy but rather the outsized creature that pulled itself over the crashed carrier.The abomination shared similarities to a leaper necromorph, but was undoubtedly made up of multiple carcasses. Each spliced body serving to add extra bulk and height to the monster. Its skin was dark and if it was gendered would appear more male than female. The only thing holding the torso up was its ridiculously long arms.

The men fired on the beast that entered the room, the fight didn’t last long. Jumping up, it landed hard sending a shock wave that shook the floor. Men fell to the ground blown back while others were crushed beneath its weight. Richard could only watch in morbid fascination as the necromorph all but destroyed its contenders. Robin hid in cover once more when its head inclined in his direction. He held his breath prying against fate that it didn’t see him. After counting to ten, he slowly peeked around the sign once more.

There was no God.

It had seen him.

The creature face was inches from Robin’s own when his head looked around the sign. It would have stared him in the eye if its face wasn’t upside down and the growth of skin didn’t cover its orbs. Richard could feel his blood go cold, his breath hitched. And if he wasn’t so well trained for the unexpected there’s a good chance the little bird would have pissed himself in terror.
They stayed like that, frozen, for what seemed like hours. Richard didn’t seem able to gather enough air to fully breathe in. Finally the Brute lifted its large arm and slammed it down where the young hero was. Robin moved, running as fast as his abused legs would carry him, adrenalin pumped into his system. He spun with grace and aimed both the pistol and plasma cutter at the thing following him.

Walking backwards, taking careful steps, he fired repeatedly at the limbs. The pistol was the first to run out of ammo, it clicked empty as Robin kept pulling the trigger. The plasma cutter was drained not long after that. Robin cursed and flipped out of the way of the tail that whipped toward his feet, its arms barely holding together. He ran toward the downed men and grabbed a plasma rifle from the floor. A blow to the ground directly behind him threw the bird off his feet and sent him flying to the floor. He struggled to get back to his feet but only succeeded in rolling to his back.

The brute came barreling toward Robin. The boy raised his weapon and fired at its limbs once again, severing the appendages from its body and it crumpled to the floor. Richard put his arm down to help the other support him in a half laid, half sitting position on the floorboards. “Holy shit, that thing was pissed.”

His com-link went off and Daina came up on the holo-video. “Richard, are you alright? What happened? Your heart rate spiked a second ago.”

Richard couldn’t stop himself from blowing up at the screen, stress, panic and frustration winning out. “Okay, I want to know what the hell is going on now!”

“What do yo-.”

“Don’t give me that horse shit!” He cut her off. “I know there is more to this than your telling me. I’m not stupid, or did you forget I was trained by the world’s greatest detective. I’ll give you a hint it wasn’t Sherlock. This attack by Tiedemann’s men seems a little too personal to me. Where are the necromorphs coming from!?”

She sighed in defeat. “There is a Marker here on the Sprawl, where exactly I’m not sure. But I think these creatures are coming from that.” Robin tensed.

“I destroyed The Marker.”

“No, you destroyed a Marker. Tiedemann built another one to use as a power source. When the attack started, he had anyone involved with it terminated to cover up his own actions.” The idea of being on the same station as that evil relic, again, sent shivers down his spin. She was telling the truth.

“Okay, then why do I feel that Tiedemann is personally calling me out?”

She was more reluctant to give him the information he wanted, a pointed bat-glare fixed that. “Richard, you are suffering from a very high and fatal case of dementia due to the direct contact and over exposure to the first Marker’s radiation. It’s killing you, that is why you were put into forced stasis, to slow the process. Untreated it will take over your entire mental state, and I’m sure you’ve seen what happens to the individuals who go through this. I can treat you when you get to me but only if you hurry.” Robin said nothing, his face impassive. She continued.

“You woke up in a straight-jacket in one of the highest secured room in the hospital because you are considered to be the most dangerous person on this entire station.” Robin stared waiting for her to get to the point. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Reading your file, I know you won’t like what I have to say next. Two days after you were picked up from that drifting shuttle Tiedemann and a fellow doctor attempted to question you on what happened on the Ishimura. You escaped your confines, you were hallucinating. They were finally able to subdue you, that’s why you’re missing your finger, but Tiedemann made it clear that if you were to escape again you were to be shot on sight.”

Richard examined his hand, eyeing the clean cut look of the missing appendage, and dreaded the question he was about to ask. “W-what did I do in the time I was out?”

She stared him square in the eye, not a single lie buried in her orbs. “You murdered nineteen of Tiedemann’s men in less than an hour, using nothing but a scalpel.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Warmth

USM Abraxis, Deep Space

Interrogation Room

Three Months Ago

The boy thrashed in the restraints holding him to the chair, eyes alight with a burning fury that caused most of the individuals in the room to take a step back. Never saying a word but placing his gaze on everyone as he twisted his wrists. Hans Tiedemann and an unknown man wearing a doctor’s uniform and mask stand observing the child in front of them.

Unimpressed with the display of rage that seemed to engulf the adolescent, Tiedemann raised his brow to the shorter man beside him. “I assume you called me away from my business on Titan for a good reason, Doctor Foster.”

Said Doctor flinched out of his daze and turned away from the youth. “Well technically, the Overseer is the one who called you in for this interrogation, Tiedemann. I wouldn’t have bothered bringing you here in the first place, but orders are orders.” He growled.

Sighing he looked back nervously to the child who slowly stilled, but never lessened on the death glare he was sending everyone in the room. Amazing how menacing a malnourished and underweight boy can look with just the tilt of his brow. It was a huge difference to how they found him two days prior, barely recognizable as a human being beneath all the gore and scum. Now the practically comatose ebony was alive and clearly not happy with his current predicament.

During his inner musings the Doctor looked up to find Tiedemann and the juvenile having an incredible stare down so intense there seemed to be an electric current running between them. Tiedemann only broke contact when Foster caught his attention. The smaller man tried not to notice the smug look of victory coming from the child.

“Interrogating babies now are we? The boy looks about as threatening as a kitten with its fur fluffed up and claws out.” Foster wondered if they were even observing the same kid. The child in question looked mildly offended. “What the hell am I suppose to get out of him anyways. What did he do, steal a candy bar from The Overseer’s office. This is a joke.” Tiedemann turned to leave with an impertinent huff.

“This boy is the only known survivor of the USG Ishimura and Aegis VII we were able to find after its destruction three weeks ago. We have reason to believe the child has come in direct contact with the Marker. He was found drawing its symbols with blood in a drifting craft not far off.” Tiedemann stopped just short of the door and the teen tensed so badly the veins in his neck were visible. The doctor took a quick note of it.

“Good riddance.” The first thing the adolescent has spoken since being brought aboard, staring hard at the floor, knuckles turning white from the fists he was making. Hans stood with his back to the room ram rod straight.

“So you were aboard the Ishimura then.” Turning suddenly and marching up the youth strapped in the chair and bending down to meet him at eye level, Tiedemann began the interrogation. “Well then son, can you tell me what happened? To the colony, to the Ishimura, to the Marker, whatever you can remember.” The child leaned back when the man closed in on his personal space and sealed his lips in a tight line.

A tick of annoyance flashed across the leader of Earthgov’s features, before he leaned back with a smile. “Of course, I understand your hesitance to talk to a big scary stranger-”

“You are the furthest thing from scary I’ve ever seen.” Foster had to blink in surprise at the calm and confident tone the boy used when interrupting the bigger man. There was no arrogance to be heard in it with a poker face that spoke volumes of the control the youngster had over himself. That or the teenager was completely convinced by what he said.

“Let’s start off easy then, how about a name. Introductions, I’m Hans Tiedemann and you are?” Tiedemann continued with the friendly approach, when the boy didn’t answer he went on. “Your rig was not set as a member of either the ship or colony. Are you a stowaway?” The teen raised a brow. “I can assure you young man you won’t be punished if you are. We just want to know what happened. So, were you hidden away on the colony or the ship?”

“Neither, I was invited aboard the USG Ishimura in place of Bruce Wayne as a guest.”

Foster could have smacked himself with his data pad. It became abundantly clear to him just who the child sitting in the middle of the white room was. He’s seen his face many times in the past on Earth papers and news programs. Judging from the stiffen posture from Tiedemann and the smug, cheeky smile the now named boy had, he knew they knew.

“Foster, why wasn’t I made aware that I was questioning the heir to the Wayne name?” Tiedemann never took his eyes off Richard, who sat like he owned everyone in the room.

The doctor flinched at the dark tone being sent his way and quickly looked to his data pad to hide his reaction. “When we found him his rig was badly damaged, we were unable to gain any information out of it whatsoever. With him being a guest he would have been given a temporary rig for his stay, which would explain why he wasn’t in the ship’s or colony’s rig core. And thus far this is the most he’s spoken since his recovery on the drifting craft.”

Foster could of sworn he hear Tiedemann mutter “Excuses.” under his breath before tuning his full attention back to Wayne’s brat. “Alright then son, the sooner you tell us what happened aboard the ship, the sooner we can send you on your way back home.”

“I have nothing to say about what happened.” Richard turned his gaze from Tiedemann and looked at Foster. “Am I allowed a space lawyer? I want a space lawyer. You have those right? Lawyers, but like in space. That would be a cool career. What do you do, oh I’m a space lawyer. What about a phone call?” Foster gripped his data pad and gritted his teeth; the brat was playing with them. It would seem convincing to if not for the way he surveyed the room with knowing eyes and fake innocence.

Tiedemann must have the patience of a saint, he didn’t even move. In fact he smiled a bit at the pointless rambling the teen was making. “Very well Mister Wayne-“ “Grayson” “Mister Grayson, if you don’t want to talk you don’t have to.” The Marines stationed in the room looked at one another in confusion, even Doctor Foster was unsure as to where Tiedemann was going with this.

Tiedemann walked back to Foster with his hands clasped behind his back. “What are you doing? The Overseer wants the information the boy has by tomorrow.”

“Relax doctor,” Tiedemann spoke confidently, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “If the boy doesn’t want to speak of what happened, well that is his choice.” He gave a pointed look to the child who had already caught on to his game and looked to be mentally preparing himself. “Of course that doesn’t mean we can’t give him a bit of motivation to help him make the right decision and change his mind.”

The doctor’s eyes widened when he finally got the idea. Chancing a glace to the teen he saw his face set in grim determination and goading. “Mister Wayne won’t be please at the idea that you are interrogating his heir for being a victim and survivor in a horrible circumstance.” The ebony challenged, his steel voice never once wavering.

Tiedemann didn’t back down. “Of course he wouldn’t. The very thought of interrogating such a young boy who was made to go through so much tragedy would set off the media and most people with it. It’s just not a moral thing to do in any sense of the word.” The man shrugged. “But, as far as anyone knows there have not been any signs of survivors from either the colony or the Ishimura. And news of their loss may not even make it to Earth for another few months. You know how slow information can travel from one planet to another.” Richard did nothing but narrow his eyes.

“So that being said, Doctor would you kindly convince our young friend why it’s in his best intention to give us the information we so desperately need.” Foster didn’t need to be told twice. Using the data pad in his hands he started up the machine attached to the chair. Sensors were placed on the boys temples and it didn’t take long for them to do the job.

Watching the child tense with a strangled gasp made most of the men in the room look away, but Tiedemann and Doctor Foster observed with passive interest. The boy bit his lip with little more than whimpers coming from his throat.

Foster turned off the machine and read the readings the machine gave to his pad. Richard let out a breath and lowered his head blocking his face from view as he focused on breathing. “I must say I’m a little impressed Mister Grayson. Most men twice your age break from having their fears shoved so violently into their heads.” Tiedemann said looking over the doctor’s shoulder. “A fear of falling, not unsurprising given your history. So, have you changed your mind th-“

The man was cut off from the giggles coming from the smallest figure in the room, the sound causing everyone to grow nervous when it turned into full blown laughter. “Is that all you got?” The boy held his head high, tears gathering in his eyes but a victorious grin settling on his face. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that if you’re gonna beat Professor Crane’s record.”
Tiedemann and Foster were shocked into silence, till the head of Earthgov grit his teeth. “Well perhaps that level of fear was not enough for you. Doctor.” Using the pad the machine turned on once more, and continued to raise the level of power after each session. So it went for hours.

Tears fell freely from the teens face after the umpteenth time through the interrogation process; he refused to say a word. Blood blossomed from his ruined lip, but after each round he would breathe and lift his head with the same defiance as the first time. They had yet to hear an actual sound from him apart from small whimpers and startled gasps.

Growing frustrated with the entire ordeal Tiedemann grabbed the boy by the chin and made the teenager look at him. “Is there any particular reason you refuse to tell us what happened?”

Richard stared back unmoved, then turned his eyes to the symbol on the doctor’s wrist watch. “You’re a Unitologist.”

Foster was startled by the keen observation. “Yes well very good eye child, but this was a gift from an old friend. It doesn’t prove I am involved in anything with the religion.”

Richard gave the man a pointed look with a raised brow that made him feel foolish as he subconsciously used his other hand to cover the watch. “I remember you, Doctor Foster, you were among the men who came into the shuttle and found me. The minute you saw me, doing whatever it was I was doing, I heard you thanking the Marker for my recovery.”

“But, you-“ Foster choked on the words in his throat.

“I might have been a very convincing walking corpse Doctor Foster but that doesn’t mean I was unaware of what was happening around me. After surviving the shit I just went through you learn not to let your mind wander too far. You and your men didn’t pose a threat to me so I didn’t bother to address you.”

Tiedemann tightened his grip on the child’s face. “You won’t tell us what happened on the Ishimura simply because he is a Unitologist? Why should his religion matter in whether or not we get the information?”

“I know how much the Marker meant to you people, but I don’t think you realize just how shit your religion really is.” Richard’s eyes never left Foster’s as he spoke with conviction. “The Artifact was found and now it’s lost, and it took everything else with it. The Colony, the Ishimura, and the Marker, they’re all gone, that should be enough information for you. If I were you I would look for a new rock to go worshi-”

The slap echoed across the silent room, effectively cutting the boy off his speech. Head snapping so quickly to the side one could hear his stiff neck crack from the force. Despite the hit being so unexpected and coming from someone as strong as an enraged Tiedemann, the child didn’t so much as blink. It was unnerving to everyone in the room when the boy slowly turned his head back to face Tiedemann with a detached expression. Cheek red and chin beginning to bruise, blood found its way from Richard’s mouth, traveling from his broken gums.
Running his tongue along his teeth and catching the crimson on his taste buds, Richard regarded Tiedemann for a moment. “I see, you’re a Unitologist too then.” He turned his head to the side earning another crack from his spine. Gathering the red inside his mouth Dick spit the collecting pool in the Commanders face. “I stand by my earlier statement, I have nothing to say.”
It took all of Tiedemann self control not to wrap his hands around the boy’s thin neck. Walking back to the startled doctor, Tiedemann wrenched the data pad out of his hands and activated the machine turning to counter to the highest number.

“Are you insane?! That level of intensity could cause brain damage-“ Foster wasn’t able to finish his rant and covered his ears at the sound of the animalistic shriek that ripped itself from the child’s throat. Most of the Marines in the room flinched at the horrid screeching the boy was making, even Tiedemann seemed alarmed. The readings on the pad were running to fast to gather anything on what the teen was experiencing, but from the sudden choking sound of ripped vocal cords it was enough to steal the pad back and turn off the mechanism.

The room was silent once more, only this time the boy stayed limp in his seat, blood pouring from his mouth and nose without a sign of slowing. Foster walked up to the boy and put two fingers to his neck checking for a pulse. It was there, speeding blood rapidly in his veins. He then went to check his eyes, opening one lid up Foster saw the boys pupils dilated to pinpricks and rolled in the back of his head.

“Perfect, just perfect. Well done Sir, if you didn’t manage to turn the boy into a living vegetable, you certainly managed to render him useless to us getting anymore information out of him you dammed idiot!” Foster threw his pad on the floor cracking the screen. “We had one day to gain information from him, one day! The Overseer is going to have both our heads for this!”
Tiedemann, on his part, shook himself from the shock and stared at the doctor annoyed. “It was clear we weren’t gaining any ground with the brat anyways. If he wasn’t cracking after hours of this he wasn’t likely to crack after hours more. We underestimated him for one, and I think there is more to this little shit than what everyone knows of him.”

Tiedemann gestured to his men. “Take him back to the holding cells and call a medic in to asset the damage. Have a man stationed at the door and inform me when he wakes up.”

“If he wakes up.” Foster grumbled. “I won’t cover for you Tiedemann if the Overseer wants to know who’s at fault for this-”

“And I wouldn’t expect you to, Doctor.”

Foster stepped aside as two Marines came to release the small child from the chair. When the restraints were off the officer to the right picked him up bridal style and began to head toward the exit. He didn’t get far. Before the man was able to take a single step away from the chair he found himself staring at the boy’s eyes seconds before everything went black.

0.01 Hour(s) – Body Count 1

The horrifying crunch that sounded the room caused Tiedemann and Doctor Foster to turn from their walk to the door. The scene in front of them caused them to freeze. Richard stood, back to them, hunched on weak knees over the officer’s body. Blood dripped from the child’s elbow and the man’s visor was smashed into his caved in face.

Everyone in the room stilled, before the man to the left raised his gun with a yelp. From where Tiedemann and Foster stood they had a front row seat to the spectacle. The boy moved, fast, faster than he had any right to on stick legs that looked barely able to support him. Using the surprise Richard pushed the aimed gun upward, away from his person just as the trigger was being pulled. The resulting action caused the gun to fire at the friendly’s standing at the far wall, making the men dance as bullets were implanted into their body mass.

As the officers fell still, the child jerked the gun to the right effectively breaking the finger still in the trigger’s slot, and spun the weapon upside-down till it was aimed at its owner. Pressing against the damaged appendage and making the gun go off. The officer wasn’t given time to think about what had just occurred before the firearm blew a hole through his head.

By now the remaining few officers in the room, leapt into action. Richard maneuvered the slumping remains over himself to act as a shield when the men opened fire and ran toward them dragging the body with him. Stopping in front of the officers, Dick used the momentum to thrust the corpse at them, the weight of the body knocking the officers down. Kicking the guns away, the child jumped at the first man to get to his feet. Couching low then by means of the crown of his head, Richard broke the offending challengers’ nose. The blow was a direct hit, causing the shattered bone to be lodged into the frontal lode of his brain.

The boy latched onto the body pulling a blade from the corpse belt and throwing it at the last man, lodging the cutting edge into his neck. As the officer’s hand went up toward the invading object, Richard launched himself off the carcass and kicked the knife the rest of the way into the man jugular.

Landing on the balls of his feet, Richard crouched taking in deep rasping breaths from his abused throat. Tiedemann and Foster were unmoving as they watched the carnage that unfolded in mere seconds. Foster took an involuntary step back from the room; the movement was caught by the resting child who snapped his head up and locked eyes with the doctor.

Doctor Foster was shocked into stillness once more by the sight. Blood flowed like rivers from the youth’s nose and mouth, mixing with the splatter of red from the collecting corpses. But what stunned the man the most was the alarming amount of crimson that swam and ate away at the blue in the boy’s eyes. “By the Marker.”

Tiedemann was the last to come out of his shock, growling deep he reached for his own firearm. “YOU F#CKING PIECE OF CRAZED SHIT!” Foster noted in alarm that the child’s irises left his and latched onto Tiedemann his pupils blowing.

“TIEDEMANN NO! STAND DOWN!” Foster grabbed the taller man’s wrist and struggled to hold it down. “GET OFF ME FOSTER!” During their fight for dominance a sound from the room made them stop. The child was gone and a vent cover hung uselessly from the ceiling, the thud of someone crawling inside echoed from the small space growing faint.

Ripping his arm from Foster, Tiedemann began shooting at the ceiling knowing it would be ineffective. “Would you calm down, you’re lucky to be alive right now.”

“LUCKY?! Lucky, look around the room Foster! My men are dead because of that little shit! I want his scrawny neck in my hands, so I can squeeze the life out of his f#cking eyes!” Tiedemann marched out of the room calling for a lockdown of the ship.

Foster was left alone to examine the damage done by a child that hardly came to his shoulder. He shuddered at the look in the boys eyes then smiled when he realized what it meant. The doctor quickly grabbed his damaged pad and raced after Tiedemann to ensure the teenager wasn’t killed.

0.04 Hour(s) – Body Count 6

Richard kicked the vent cover off and leapt into the darkened room. Landing in a crouch he surveyed the area, eyes glowing as they watched the shadows for movement. Content with the emptiness of the room Dick stood up and rummaged through the drawers and cabinets for supplies. He hasn’t been in this part of the ship before, but that sure didn’t stop those things from following him here. Using the first aid kit he found he cleaned the blood off his face and out of his mouth, bandaging the cut at the top of his scalp.

As he began putting away the kit, the room turned red from the emergency lights and an alarm sounded through the area. “Shit, another quarantine.” Movement from the hall caused Richard to dive behind the counter for cover, just as the door slid opened. Dick peeked his head around to see what had invaded his space and held his breath. There the silhouette of one of them stood in the doorway, turning it head back and forth as it looked around the room.

Then just as quickly as it arrived it left. Breathing a sigh of relief, Richard noticed just how screwed he would have been if it had come in. He didn’t have any of his weapons or his armor, his rig was missing too. “Well this sucks.” Standing up and getting a better look at the room with the red glow, Richard saw that he was standing in a small medical office.

‘That would explain the easy access to the med kit.’ Dick thought. ‘Need a weapon.’ Glancing around the room for anything to use in his defense his eyes caught the reflection of a small blade sitting on a tray. Picking it up revealed it to be a scalpel. ‘Not my first choice but it will have to do for now. At least until I can find something else.’

Twirling the sharp blade in his hands the boy slowly moved toward the exit. Opening the door showed a brightly lit blood stained hall. ‘Well the lights seem to be working fine on this side of the ship at least.’ Wanting to avoid any conflict he moved silently and hid whenever one of those things made a pass in the halls.

Hiding in a small closet he saw a horde pass through the halls, when he heard it. Someone singing softly, he recognized the lullaby as it echoed across the corridor. Richard didn’t set his hopes to high that it was a survivor but went to investigate.

Following the voice to a closed room, Dick entered with caution and found a young woman sitting in the middle of what looked like an office. Her face was hidden by the reddish brown waves of her hair, a simple white sleeveless gown hung limply from her frame. The woman’s head was resting on her knees and her arms wrapped her legs as she sung and rocked back and forth.

Stepping further into the room Richard reached for her hopping to offer any type of comfort when a necromorph stepped into the room from another door. The boy froze and the monster gave a startled screech before charging forward. The woman screamed in terror and backed herself into a corner holding her head shaking.

Richard stepped in front of her, attempting to hold the creature’s attention and keep it away from the survivor. This necromorph didn’t appear as mutated as the other before it but Dick wasn’t about to underestimate it. Sidestepping the initial swing of its deadly appendage, the boy brought his scalpel down into the abomination’s shoulder. Digging the blade in and forcing it through the armor the thing had grown for itself. It screeched when the blade made contact between the joint where the arm met the torso. Jerking the blade as hard as he could Richard started to separate the limb while avoiding the frantic swings and attacks the thing was making.

Having finally severed the muscle and bone Richard sank low and delivered a strong kick to the kneecap sending the shrieking atrocity to the ground where it withered. Breathing hard and being freshly covered in gore the boy turned back to the crying woman.

“Hey, you’re okay.” He grimaced at how harsh his voice sounded and tasted copper on his tongue again. “It’s safe for now, its okay.” He put a hand on her head and started to pet the soft locks, that always calmed him down when he was scared. It seemed to relax her but just when she started to look up three more of those things entered the room. No doubt they heard the commotion and came to get in on the action. They hesitated at the door before one bent over and began to vomit acid.

Richard growled. “Wonderful they have a f#cking spitter with them.” He didn’t give them a change to fully enter the room before he began to tear them apart. It wasn’t long before the whole room was decorated in red. Unfortunately one of them got to close to the cowering woman, causing her to jump up and run from the room covering her eyes from the gore. Dick didn’t waste time finishing them off, a new found fury rising at possibly losing a survivor.

0.37 Hour(s) – Body Count 10

With the last corpse stilled Richard ran off after the woman. Stepping into the stained hallway he stared in both directions trying to determine where she would have run, when he heard a frightened scream come from the left. Not waiting a moment longer he sped toward the cries for help. He found her running into a circular room and outside the door at the end.

She was sitting on her knees again rocking herself and singing in an attempt to calm down. Position by the door she ran out of were two more monstrosities guarding the entry. ‘Most likely waiting for her to come out or looking for a way in.’ The thought made Richard’s blood boil, he was not losing another person to this nightmare.

He charged in, taking them both out as they thrashed and scream with their dying breath in an inhuman voice. Leaning against the far wall, Dick took a moment to focus his own breathing. ‘Need to find a better weapon soon, can’t keep this up.’ Pushing himself off the wall, he headed toward the door. “Hey, listen. I know you’re scared but I can take care of you,” Maybe. “But I need you to stick close to me. It’s okay.” The woman continued to sit but she had stopped singing and rock tilting her head in his direction. “That’s it, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”
She still sat not moving an inch. Richard huffed in annoyance but he couldn’t blame her. “How bout I open the door and we walk out together, you want to do that?” At her nod he made his way closer and reached for the controls to the door. A sudden screeching was heard when a loud bang went off in the room and Dick pulled his hand back to his chest crying out in pain.
He knelt down cradling his hand and stared at the little finger that now rested on the floor. He gagged when he put two and two together. Looking up he found himself surrounded, the woman was weeping again, probably sobbing for the loss of his life or in fear for hers. Not liking that line of thinking Richard went back to the situation at hand. Being surrounded suck and he would most defiantly be sporting a few new scars after this but it was manageable. Using their hesitation to his advantage Richard moved.

0.40 Hour(s) – Body Count 12

Tiedemann ran with Foster following close behind talking some nonsense about the importance of leaving the boy alive. As far as the commander was concerned the boy could choke on his own blood. Foster grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

“You’re not listening to me! The child may not speak of what happened on the Ishimura but that doesn’t mean he is not still important to the progress of our Convergence.” Foster tried to bring attention to the data pad in his hand. “The readings from that last test show high signs of mental tampering; if you attended more sermons at the church you’d know that-.”

Tiedemann growled. “Why the hell should I care if the little shit has brain damage he has killed six of my men, Foster. The church had nothing to do with this. I’m going to put a bullet right between his eyes the minute I see him.” Taking his pistol out of its holster and waving it in front of the doctor’s face. “Then we’ll see how cheeky he is then.”

“He’ll kill you before you get the chance.” Foster said deadpanned.

Before Tiedemann could resort the commander’s rig sprung to life. “We found the boy. The kid was talking to himself then tried to shoot himself out the airlock.”

“A suicide attempt? That doesn’t sound right.”

Tiedemann ignored the doctor. “Do you have the boy contained?”

“Affirmative sir, we have him surrounded and are awaiting further- SHIT!” Rapid gunfire and screaming echoed down the corridors of the ship.
“REPORT!” The commander all but shouted into his rig as Foster and himself sprinted down the hall toward the source of the commotion. No answer but screamed curses, pained grunts and what sounded like bones breaking filled the rig’s audio. Cursing again they rounded the corner and stopped short.

The fight had been brought out of the circular room and into the hall. Bodies lay scattered around the panting figure in the middle. Blood was splattered on the walls and ceiling, and severed limb decorated the floor. And the boy was holding a scalpel.

Foster grabbed the gun from Tiedemann and threw it behind the both of them when the child’s gaze locked on theirs and crouched low to pounce. When the gun was out of sight the boy locked himself in place, still crouched in an attacking position but making no move to do so. Foster wasn’t sure if the kid was even breathing as he stared at them. “Don’t move.”
Tiedemann froze but didn’t stop himself from glaring at the man beside him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Saving your life commander. Look carefully at his eyes.” Tiedemann scoffed and looked, a confused expression crossing his features when he saw the red glow in them.

“The hell?”

“That was what I was trying to tell you before. The boy isn’t attacking because of the interrogation Hans, at least not on that alone. The machine brings out ones worst fear and shoves it to the forefront of their mind. When you turned the thing up all the way it must have caused some damage to his sanity. The boy doesn’t see us; he’s not fighting us, he’s seeing whatever it was that attacked the Ishimura and acting in self-defense. The officer said he was talking to himself, what if he wasn’t? What if he was talking to something only he could see, and didn’t realize they were standing outside the ship?”

“What a load of bullshit.” Tiedemann whispered back, but he couldn’t well argue with it either.

“Then why did the boy stop his advance on us when I threw the gun.” That made Tiedemann stop his rebuke. “He said so himself earlier, he doesn’t see us as a threat compared to whatever he faced before. So why show aggression now after that. Simple, because all the others had weapons pointed at him, the first man was carrying him when he was incapacitated, and he saw a threat to himself rather than officers trying to lead him to a cell. Even now he’s waiting for us to make the first move.”

“Seeing us as a threat or no, the little shit just killed most of the men I have on this ship. Your little speech isn’t going to convince me to not break his neck.” Tiedemann slowly tapped into his rig and sent a silent call for backup.

“Then you’ll screw up our chance at rebuilding the Marker!”

“What?”

“That boy isn’t just fighting Tiedemann, he’s surviving. The boy is a survivor in every sense of the word. That’s why the Marker chose him to carry its secrets. The glow in his eyes should be proof enough. The child is surviving for both himself and the information that was stuffed into his head. We get him back to the church we can extract that knowledge and work on building another holy relic.”

The teen in question was disturbingly still, not even blinking as they tried to figure out how to get out of this without losing their limbs. “So what you want to capture the brat?”

“If possible yes, if we can subdue him and place him in suspended animation it will be easy to get what we need.”

Tiedemann gritted his teeth. “Fine, but the second he shows signs of resisting or escaping from the church I’m ordering a shoot on sight.”

Foster breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course, now how do we get to him?”

“Just sent an order for a long distance stun gun, should be arriving right about.” As Tiedemann finished an officer stepped around the corner at the opposite end of the hall carrying a large and intimidating weapon. “Keep your eyes on the kid so he doesn’t see my guy behind him.”

Foster did just that, focusing on the hollowed out expression and blood that covered his once white suit. Unfortunately he couldn’t keep from glancing over the boys head to see the progress of the solider behind him, and the child noticed.

He spun on his heel just as the gun was fired, the electric field that traveled down the hall bust the lights as it passed. Before he was hit with the current, Richard threw the scalpel and struck the man in the eye before falling himself. The small body twitched on the floor but for stilling. Tiedemann ran to his downed man calling for a medic as the fallen officer screamed in agony. Foster, on the other hand, went to the child to ensure he was still alive.

Looking up to find Tiedemann glaring at him the commander reminded him of the promise. “I mean it Foster, you can’t keep that little shit under control I’ll make sure he isn’t a problem again.” Doctor Foster could only nod in agreement as he knelt in the crimson hall that was beginning to smell of decay.

0.53 Hour(s) – Injured 1
Body Count 19

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Condemned

Watchtower

Briefing Room

2100 Hours

Bruce read and re-read the files that the Bat computer sent him regarding the cult Richard brought up in his last report. Unitology, a religion that was only recently founded in this decade. The core idea and belief being that the human race was created by a higher form of alien intelligence and divinity and through death will be reunified with said creatures in heaven.

The dark haired man couldn’t stop himself from scoffing at the idea and tried to picture Clark or John being a higher alien race and creating humans through whatever means. He would have laughed if the circumstance of why he needed to do this research wasn’t evident. And the more he read, the more concerned he became.

The Church of Unitology was held on the promise of “transformation and rebirth”. While it sounded nice in theory, if the thing that came in behind Richard during his recording was the `transformation’ they were describing….

The whole scripture was unscientific and was supported solely on unwavering faith in its follower’s worship of the Marker. Unsurprisingly the Marker bared a strong resemblance to the Artifact his boy spoke of. It was bigger than he thought it would be.

What made the Dark Knight more apprehensive was the claimed religion origin, which involved a secret research project. Despite his best efforts, the detective was unable to find any more information on that specific subject. He only found the creator’s name, Michael Altman. The man was made out to be a prophet, and was killed, praised as a martyr, not long after the religion was founded.

After continuing his analysis Bruce discovered the reason for the creed’s small existence on Earth. The religion was astronomical in its popularity among the colonies in deeper space. With the finding of alien artifacts and life outside of Earth, more and more become convinced of the Church’s teachings every day. While many on Earth know of aliens, no one is about to see Superman or Martian Manhunter as a creator of life and being. Thus why he never heard of it before today.

It all sounded like a cheap way to prey on people for wanting something to believe in. Being some of the first to start colonizing other planets, of course people would be looking for something to keep them close to home. Religion had that sort of grounding element. The amount of money and support the church was receiving was ridiculous, and is sure to turn a few heads.

The church itself is quickly expanding. There are temples already on a majority of the colonizes, but now they are becoming more involved in schooling, businesses, and the media. It won’t be long before they start to integrate themselves into government roles as well, if they aren’t already there.

He let down his cowl and rubbed at his eyes. Despite finding all of this on Unitology, there was nothing on what could have possibly happened on the Ishimura, or why. The boy’s reports only came in partly, the rest of the data being corrupted.

Was this the doing of the ones who sent the false reports from before?

Richard blamed the markings on the Artifact, and the written notes he sent with the visual report that held all the info he was able to dig up seemed to support this theory. But translating the symbols thus far has proved fruitless. Martian Manhunter, Zartana, and Doctor Fate were all at a loss on what they could mean as well.

The Bat could feel a stress headache building around his eyes. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to curse and yell and scream. He wanted to find his son. He made a mistake. And now his partner, his soldier, his boy was paying for it.

It was supposed to be a simple long-term mission, he was ready for it. The cover was perfect.

Mister Wayne is a busy man, with charities to go to, investments to make deals on and a company to run. He didn’t have time to take a six month vacation to see if his latest involvement and donation to the Planet Cracker Corporation and EarthGov. was making good on their agreement.

Batman didn’t have time.

But Richard did.

The boy already having skipped two grades and about to skip another was more than entitled to a six month vacation, so long as he stayed on top of his studies. With Richard Flag, a trusted employee and hard working financial advisor to take care of the company work and watch over the hyperactive teen. Though both vigilantes knew, Richard would be the one watching over everything and everyone. Being one of the best hackers and undercover detectives underneath the Dark Knight himself, Dick was more than ready for this mission.

It was suppose to be a simple mission. Infiltrate the USG Ishimura as a guest; gather intelligence on the reason for the unscheduled and illegal trip to Aegis VII, and use the information gathered to bring the corporation’s corruption into light. Simple. Until it wasn’t.

A cult hiding under the guise of a peaceful religion, an ancient artifact being discovered and holding a dark power, a mass of suicides and murders, someone discovering Richard’s true intentions and reasons for being on the ship.

All of these could never have been accounted for, variables that could never have been prepared for.

Wasn’t that his job though? To be paranoid, and cautious. For him to be prepare for every possible outcome? To keep the boy safe like he promised his parents and to himself?

Richard Flag was one of the casualties listed in the boy’s notes, his profile picture standing out amongst the thousands of others on the screen.

How long had he been alone? Surviving all by himself. Forced to do thing he shouldn’t have to do. Despite his mature attitude on missions and sharp observation and skill, Richard was still a child. One who had already witnessed to much cruelty in this life that is fair to him. And now he was alone fighting for his life against an onslaught of creatures not even found in nightmares. Was he even still fighting at all?

Bruce grabbed at his hair. If he had noticed sooner that the written reports were fakes, would his son even be in this mess? Would he be struggling every second to breath one more time? Being harmed not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well?

Bruce wanted nothing more than to charge forward and retrieve his boy and bring him home safe. Tear apart the monsters and men that seek to get in his way. But going in without information, without a plan was likely to cause more damage than was already done. So he sat and researched and planned and used every second he could spare to achieving his goal.
The door at the end of the room opened to reveal the Amazonian woman on the other side with a large, muscular Kryptonian behind her, both with concern written their face. Bruce only wearily gazed at them before turning back to the data pad he was reading, again. Without a word the two other founders of the League crossed the room and met behind the seated man’s chair.

“Anything?” Diana leaned forward and began reading over his shoulder.

The Bat only glanced at her, “No. Nothing new from the last time you asked me.” Irritation laced into his voice.

“Relax Bruce. She was only trying to help.” Bruce was quick to glare at the bigger man when he addressed him. But the alien didn’t back down, returning the glare. “We’re not the enemy here, Bruce. We want to see Richard returned safely just as badly as you do.”

Shoulders slumped in defeat, he only hummed in response. The closest thing to an apology they were likely to receive from him. The two remained quiet and silence fell upon the room once more. The detective quietly continuing his reading while the supers behind him stood guard over the distressed father. After what seems like hours Bruce put the data pad down and rubbed hard at his eyes.

“There’s nothing new. Everything I pull up on the damned religion all say the same bullshit.” His voice was gruff and impatient.

“What about the ship?” Diana wasn’t about to let anything go untouched.

“Nothing. No report on what happened to it or the crew. The only reason we know anything happened at all was because of Richard’s transmission. I sent a message to Earthgov asking for an update on the ships status a few hours ago. What they send in reply will determine if they’ve been keeping information secret, or not. Then we will act on this knowledge.”

“Sounds good, but we have another issue we need to address.” Bruce turned to Clark as he spoke, and waited for him to continue. “The teenagers have all gotten it into their heads that they’re coming on this rescue mission.”

“Absolutely not.” The only thing the Dark Knight had to say on the subject.

“Agreed, but they insist and won’t give it a rest. It’s taking up all our time just keeping them out of this room and not bothering you about it.”

“They’ll get the same answer.”

“I say we should let them come.” An audible crack sounded in the room when both Bruce and Clark snapped their necks toward the woman standing with her hands on her hips.

“Are you insane?”

“We can’t allow them to be subjected to whatever horrors Dick currently has to face.”

“We will already have one traumatized child who will need attention, Diana, we don’t need six more.”

Batman and Superman talked over each other, trying to dissuade the warrior from her line of thinking before she voices her opinion with the children in the other room. Her consent will only further drive them into thinking they could go.

“Those are hardly good reasons to not allow them to accompany us.” She scolded them.

“Those are perfectly good reasons. I can think of a million more better reasons, if I had the time and patience, to spare them this ordeal.” The Detective stood to his full height in his rant.
“They have already seen a glimpse of what they will be facing in the transmission same as everyone else.” Diana stood her ground against him.

“All the more reason to keep them here and out of harm’s way. We don’t know the full extent of the danger we ourselves could be walking into.” Clark said, staying back in case the two started throwing punches.

“There are countless numbers of variables to the situation that we need to take into, allowing them to go will double if not triple that count. We are going in half blind with information that could be weeks to months old.” The Dark Knight’s eyes narrowed pounding Diana’s idea into the ground with logic.

“Then having backup and extra eyes and skills could greatly increase our chances of finding Richard and any other survivors alive. Maybe even going further to finding out more on this mysterious Artifact he spoke of.”

“Thousands are already dead,” Bruce gestured to the data pad, “you really want to expose them to the massacre that took place there. If the inside of the carrier ship was that bad with no bodies in it, how much worse do you think the Ishimura will be? Or the colony should we have to investigate that?”

“They are not children, Bruce. They are warriors who fight for the well-being of those around them, and one of their own has been endangered. Not just any of them either, but the youngest and smallest of them. It goes against their very nature as heroes to stand by while their comrade could be hurt or suffering.”She crossed her arms and glared at the men daring to question her. “Plus who is to stop them from following as soon as we leave? The others have responsibly of their own as well as taking ours once we have left. No one can stay for so long and make sure they have stayed planet side. They are smart; they’ll find a way to come even if they are watched. It’s safer for them if they are brought along.”

Clark closed his mouth at her explanation, unable to come up with any counter excuse. Bruce however wasn’t so easily swayed. “Then we’ll lock them up until we’ve returned, but they will NOT be accompanying us.”

“You cannot lock them away, until it is convenient for you.”

“Watch me.” The detective turned back to the data pad, forcing himself to find a bit more information before they had to leave.

Diana clenched her fists in frustration. While she could see where he was coming from it didn’t make it right to exclude the younger members. Sighing she looked at the man sitting beside her, tensed and ready to rip worlds apart should he have to. Shaking her head at what she was about to do, Diana strengthened her resolve.

“He will need them.” Bruce stopped what he was doing and glared at the Amazon, knowing exactly what she was doing. “Richard is strong and brave, but he is young and scared. You saw that transmission Bruce, we all saw it.”

She swung the chair he was sitting in and kneeled in front of him. “And I know you’re scared. He will need as much support from the people he loves as he can get. And his team is willing and wanting to fight to give him that. You cannot deny him that. Them that. She grabbed his chin gently and made him look her in the eye, “Let them fight.”

Bruce didn’t say a word, but the look in his eyes showed hesitant defeat. Satisfied she stood up and left to deliver the news to the waiting teens. Clark watched her go and Bruce rubbed his temples again.

“She certainly has a way with words.” The super muttered.

“Don’t remind me.” The other growled.

The taller man turned to his best friend and settled a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. Richard is as tough as they come and sharper than a blade. He’s fine, probably waiting for us to come and pick him up right now.” His reassurances fell flat.

But Bruce only nodded. “You heard what he said. He fully expects to die out there alone, maybe he already has. If so, I…I at least want to bring him home and bury him with his parents. He deserves that and more from me.”

Clark squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t talk like that. He’s your protégé. He’s fine.”

Bruce looked him in the eye with all the weariness of a broken father. “Can you promise me that?”

Clark didn’t respond but didn’t break eye contact either. In the end Bruce could only nod again. “Okay, He’s fine.”

An incoming call popped up on the data pad showing the EarthGov. insignia on the screen.

“He’s Fine.”

~

Richard was not fine. Is in no way shape or form the definition of fine.

He sat in the dark, cramped space of an air vent not far from the hospital entrance. Not the smartest of moves, considering those things use the ducts to move about the station. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

His stomach flips and tightens with every breath he takes. Holding his head on his knees and crossed arms the little bird struggled not to dry heave again. He was taking deep breaths doing what he could to manage his ever growing panic.

It’s been forty-five minutes since Dania checked up on him. Not surprising, he disconnected the communications on his rig. He wasn’t dead yet, she would know that from the vital signs his rig was sending her. He wasn’t in a mood to talk.

Nineteen. Nineteen people were dead because of him, one critically injured. He didn’t remember it, but the evidence all pointed to it being true. Unless he found another story that explained everything that was going on. Guilty until proven innocent.

Dick leaned to the side and started gagging, a bit of stomach acid coming from his abused throat.

He laid there curled, head setting just under the small puddle of sick. He trembled and tears blurred his vision. He didn’t bother to wipe them away. His heart hurt. More than it has in a long time.

He was no better from them now. Scarecrow, Ivy, Riddler, Two-Face, Joker. God, he was on Joker’s level. No longer the hero who fought to keep people safe. Who brought hope and light to The Dark Knight’s gloom and justice. He was a criminal, and not just a criminal. He was the worst kind of criminal.

A murder.

Dick couldn’t stop the sob that escaped his mouth.

It echoed through the vent.

He found another reason to avoid looking at his hands now. They were stained in blood that he spelt. It wasn’t noticeable before, under all the filth hiding beneath the surface of his skin. Now that’s all he saw. The blood that was there, but not there. He stopped tearing at his hands when he could no longer bend his fingers. The pain has started to dim into numbness.

His hope of ever seeing home again was shattered. Bruce would take one look at him and see him for what he was. Guilty. He would look at him with a stoic expression, but with betrayal, hurt, sadness and finally hatred in his cobalt eyes. The very moment they saw one another again, Richard will have lost another father.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Don’t hate me, please god, don’t hate me. I’m sorry dad.” Dick whimpered to the image he conjured in his head and cried only harder when it turned and walked away without a word.

Facing everyone else would be just as bad. Superman and Wonder Woman, Canary and Arrow, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Team. They would all look and know. Richard wept bitterly for the loss of his adopted family.

It was like losing the circus all over again, only worse because he did this to himself. It’s his own fault.

The option to go back home again was taken from him. As soon as he set foot on Earth he was bound for Arkham. And he didn’t even know why. What would cause him to snap like that, why would he kill those men? Attack those soldiers who were only doing their jobs.

The Artifact.

Richard found new tears when he realized the implications of this information. He was sick. Just like the people on the Ishimura and in the colony. He was sick in the head and crazy just like all of them became before. Seeing his dead mother aboard the ship should have been his first clue.

And even though he survived the nightmare the first time, how little he thought he would.

He was already dead from the very beginning.

So the boy huddled into himself and cried. He cried for the people killed. He cried for the innocent people who would be killed. He cried for his hurt and pain and exhaustion and loneliness and sickness. He cried for his death. But more than that he cried for his loss.

It took another hour for the small bird to calm himself down, until he lay numb and emptier than he ever felt. At least before, on the Ishimura, he had a hope to die a hero. As someone who could say he died doing the right thing. Now he had nothing.

His cries dwindling down into sniffles and small hiccups and eventually became silent. Without the sound of his own sorrows and heartbeat in his ears, Richard suddenly became hyperaware of a siren softly echoing in the vents.

Rubbing his face, Richard willed himself to move.

As far as his problems go, they don’t take priority right now.

Dick felt slightly ashamed of himself. ‘There are people who need help and I’m sitting here in self-pity.’

“I might not be a hero anymore but that doesn’t have to stop me from doing the right thing.” The child spoke aloud giving himself new purpose. “If I can stop the Marker, at least one more time. Alright I have a mission, time to finish it. First things first.”

Accessing his rig, Dick reconnected the communications line. The very second it became active Dania’s image appeared in front of him, clearly upset by his silence the past two hours. Before she could begin scolding him Richard spoke. “You said you would be able to cure me of this sickness right? At least temporarily.”

The woman blinked, alarmed at the boy’s sudden commanding tone. “Yes, if you reach us in time that is. However you have already wasted two hours doing…” She stopped herself when she took in his raw eyes and the tear tracks that made their way down his face.

“I know. I’m making my way to you now. I have another favor to ask of you though.”

Richard reached a maintenance door and opened it before jumping to the floor. He landed in what looked to be a warehouse store. The windows to the front being closed for business.

“What kind of favor, Mister Grayson?”

“You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about me and the events that have taken place that have lead up to now. Despite not being involved with EarthGov.” Dick switched the screen to audible while he dug through drawers and cabinets for supplies. His hands and fingers burned with each movement. He’ll have to find a med kit soon.

“It’s good to keep informed. I make it my business to do so.” The blond said somewhat suspicious of the boy’s point in conversation.

“Good. I need you to find out where this new Marker is being held on the station. Then give me the quickest route to it.”

There was no replay to his request which made the little bird stop in his rummaging. “Dania?”

“I’m here, I heard you.” She hesitated. “That is highly classified information. The only reason I was able to find out so much about you was through a reliable source I had in EarthGov. And he’s dead.”

Richard was quiet at the new information set in front of him.

“But I will do my best to try and find its location. For now focus on getting to me.”

“Will do.” Dick nodded his thanks and went about hacking the front door.

“I’ll check on you later, be careful.” The line went dead and the boy was left with only the sound of a distant alarm.

In no time the door was opened and Richard stepped out into a residential shopping center. Bringing his guns up he moved through the open area. Stores were on his left while a large window giving a whole view of Titan station was on his right. He whistled in amazement.

“Man, Wally is gonna be soooo jealous…”Dick continued to stare out taking in every detail. The city was large and the planet sitting next to them was even bigger. The sight was beautiful. When from nowhere a small carrier flew past the window on fire and crashed into the building. His sudden good mood damped when his current situation hit him like a fist. “oh, F@#k.”

Backing away he hurried down the hall. A shop with t.v.’s setting in the window show cased a warning to civilians to stay inside and hide until the circumstances could be dealt with. Dick only stopped momentarily to memorize the face of the leader of EarthGov.

Tiedemann.

The bald, dark skinned man was intimidating and his voice held authority hard to come by. With his seemingly great concern he has for the people on this station, Dick could understand why he wanted him dead after what he did.

When he reached the door to the residential area there was a wanted post above it show casing his face and information as well as that of the man in the video he saw earlier, Nolan Stross. “So Stross is still alive. And on the station.” He winced when he read the charges against himself.

He shook his head. “Now is not the time Dick. Finish the mission first then grovel in self-pity.”

Checking to ensure his guns were loaded, thank god he grabbed the downs soldiers’ ammo before he left, he opened the magnetic doors.

The change in atmosphere was immediate. The pressure from the room declined, making the boy’s ears pop and breathing shorten. Paper flew toward the new open door and loose wires swung with little care in the world. The scent of blood filled his nose, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

The peaceful silence was suddenly over taken with the shrieks and cries of hundreds of dying individuals and the things that were slaughtering them.

Richard was sick again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Casualty

Sprawl, Titan

Apartment

1800 Hours

The creature screamed when its head split down the middle as Richard ran past; each monstrosity falling in response to the pull of his trigger. Unlike his experience on the Ishimura, Dick executed all enemies with practiced precision and no hesitation. The adrenalin in his system and the screams that echoed off the apartment hallways kept the boy’s feet pounding on the floor.

Going against everything his training taught him, Dick tuned out the screeching cries for help that sometimes cut off short, doing the only thing he could think to do, run and shoot. Richard evaded his gaze from the bodies on the ground and the blood and nail marks on the walls, focused only on the next incoming threat that came his way; survival and instinct far overruling moral and remorse.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see others, running or limping or crawling away from the horrors that threaten to rip them apart. Some however sat next to corpses, holding carcasses in mute shock as tears ran down their face. Richard turned away and paid them no mind.

‘You can’t save them. You can’t save anyone. Don’t look, just run. Don’t look, just run, just run, just run.’

Upon reaching the end of the hall, Dick quickly fled into an elevator. With the doors shut, the bird allowed himself a moment to breath, sucking in the stale recycled air. “God, I miss outside.” He exhaled. Rolling his shoulders, Dick steeled himself again.

Checking his path and ensuring he was going the right direction, Richard pushed the floor he was meant to take and jolted as the elevator moved. Reloading his weapons and observing the confined space showed advertising for the apartment that wouldn’t seem so bad to live in once you got past the fact you were trapped inside a giant building in space. Richard has long sense stopped wondering how people could willing leave home to live in an air bubble. To each his own.

The sudden plummet into obscurity snapped him out of his thoughts. The elevator ceased its movement and Richard felt ill when he reflected how peaceful this darkness was, with only a distant resonance of screams filling the space. Before he could berate himself a loud banging was heard on the other side of the door.

“Help, oh god, please! Open the door!” A man’s voice penetrated the almost silence. Moving quickly Richard tried to force the elevator doors apart to let the man in. When they finally opened, the elevator itself was above the man’s chest. Relief and fear held his older expression, but it didn’t last long. Before he could climb aboard, hand seconds from taking Richard’s, he let out a screech as something attacked him from behind.

Long white bone pierced him from behind and dragging him away from the open doors. Dick reached out but stopped himself short, and watched instead. The doors closed and the elevator began its journey once more. The boy stared at the bloodied hand prints that now ruined the floor, struggling to defend his actions.

‘He was dead. Even if I had been able to pull him up he would have just bleed out. That way was quicker.’

He pointedly looked away from the floor and watched the numbers rise, swallowing the guilt of what he just did. That was another life of his shoulders, and there was no way to justify that. Every bit of training he did under Bruce, every moral choice and practice, has no meaning here. The same rules he had learned growing up didn’t apply now. It was them or you. And Richard’s terror kept it from being him.

‘One more job, just one more job. If I die then more people will too. Just have to finish this last mission. Then…Then I’ll pay for my crimes.’

The elevator slowed to a halt and the little bird brought up his guns ready to shoot first and run. The shaking in his hands ceased as he mentally numbed himself for what was outside the small space. When the doors finally opened Richard took calm, careful steps into the hall. Screams and alarms sang like a symphony through the air.

A balcony was placed right next to the elevator doors, giving a good view to the destruction on the floors below. Fire started in several of the rooms, lighting up the space in its warming glow. The boy could see people running and screaming on the other balconies. And directly across from him was a familiar man waving his arms to gain his attention.

“Richard, Little Bird, over here!” Dick’s rig opened with a holo-feed coming in from the man on the other terrace. His face was narrow with short cropped hair and a free straight jacket and wrapped arm. He look about as well as Richard felt.

“Nolan Stross.” The man wasn’t even surprised at being called by name. He smiled a nervous smile, his eyes wide and gave the impression of being somewhat insane. “What do you want?” There was no malice in Dick’s voice, only mild curiosity.

“It’s the drugs, Little Bird. You can feel it can’t you? Something b-blocking your m-memories.” The boy stiffened, and stared alarmed at the male. “They gave us drugs to forget, forget what happened, forget what they did, what we did. B-but it’s all starting to come back now.”

“What Drugs? Who did?” Richard whisper uncertainly. “Who gave us drugs, Nolan? Why did they want us to forget?” The bird said more urgently. The crazy doctor’s words from the hospital came back into his mind. ‘We’re all going to burn for what we did to you.’ “Nolan, why did they make us forget? What did we forget? What did they do?”

Richard’s hands gripped his guns so hard he half worried he would break the handles or his own fingers. As far as he knew the doctors were never going to let them leave, so why the drugs? Were they experimenting on them? He already had dementia and by the sound of it so did Stross. They were forced into Stasis. What harm could they have really done at that point?
‘You murdered nineteen of Tiedemann’s men in less than an hour, using nothing but a scalpel.’ Daina’s voice went through his head. He swallowed.

“Little Bird! Look out!” The video was cut off as a hunter crawled into the platform, its back tail swinging to get a hit on the boy. Rolling out of the way of the deadly protrusion of bone, Richard activated the stasis mod with in his suit. Furious at the interruption, the boy slowed the offending attacker down and proceeded to crush the weak sections of its limbs with his boot.
Blood and gore sprayed the bottom half of his suit. He paid little mind to it, taking out his frustration on the creature until it lie still. Breathing heavily, Richard spit on the carcass in front of him. Catching his breath, Dick looked up to find the other patient gone from sight.

“Nolan?” He tried calling on the holo-feed but the line remained disconnected. Richard couldn’t explain why but the older man’s absence upset him greatly. As messed up as it was he felt connected to Stross, a man who clearly is suffering the same as himself. Without realizing it, Richard brought upon himself an additional mission.

Find Stross and get him out alive.

Easier said than done, the boy turned and began again down the dark hallway the flashlight on his guns guiding his way. The doors that lined the walls had video screens attached to them, giving a view of the room inside for some of them.

As Dick passed the rooms he could hear various states of panic coming from the inside of many of them. A man begging for mercy, a woman screaming in outright distress; he didn’t look at what the cameras were showing inside the apartments. Richard moved forward.

Going through a door that led into another hallway, the boy came across two survivors struggling against each other; a woman attempting to run into a room crying for her mother and a man holding her back yelling at her to run. Actually seeing survivors up close as compared to hearing them spurred Richard into moving toward them.

They were right there, Dick could feel himself getting a bit giddy at being in close proximity to another human being. With no visible threat in sight it looked like Richard could have a bit of company, even if it was only for a short time.

As he got closer however a necro broke through a door directly beside him causing the child to stumble back. It charged before he could regain his balance knocking into him like a freight train, stealing away the air from his lungs. Both of them landed on the ground hard. Richard gasped for oxygen and scrambled backwards on the floor as the monster attempted to gut him. Tears filled his vision as he forced metallic air back into his abused lungs, and used his legs to kick the thing back as it got closer.

Finally having regained his senses, Robin rolled in-between its legs and lashed out at the back of its knees. When it collapsed the teen stood up, put his hands together and brought them down on its cranium, crushing it in. He didn’t hesitate to grab its arms, place his foot on its back and pull until the rotted skin and muscle separated.

Panting in excursion and watching to make sure the thing didn’t move again, Richard strained his ears for the survivors. When nothing but distant screams reached his ears the ebony turned around to find the hall empty and devoid of human life. Dick felt almost hurt that they didn’t even spare him a second glance; then again he had been doing the same thing not minutes ago.

He was careless. Became so excited at the thought of physical contact with another person that wasn’t over a holo-feed or crazed or bleeding, he let his guard down.
‘Isolation can do that to a person.’ The little bird mused.

He moved forward into the hall and saw an open door. The same one the woman was attempting to return to. Ready for anything, Richard moved into the room, scanning the blood stained wall and bed. There looked to be a body lying on the bathroom floor. He left without prompting, there was nothing here.

Making his way toward the end of the corridor, there was a door with laundry printed over it. Stepping inside Dick was met with a disturbing sound that stopped him from taking another step into the room. It was banging and a wailing that sent shivers up his spine. Looking into a side room that was separated by glass stood a line of driers and washers. One of them was rocking back and forth like something was in it, moans and howls emanating from the metal.

Walking with his back toward the wall, never taking his eyes off the machine and shaking like a leaf in a storm, Richard left the room without investigating the source of the awful noise.
He came full circle arriving on the other side of the balcony he was on. A large window showed multiple ships flying in sporadic fashion attempting to get away from the station. Richard watched in dulled fascination.

‘More people seem to be getting out alive compare to the Ishimura. Good, less blood on my hands then, just maybe I won’t drown in it.’ Dick couldn’t help the self disgusted thoughts that passed through his head. The boy could feel the weight of the whole thing on his thin shoulders.

“NOLAN?” Richard called out, hoping and praying the older man would be nearby and safe from the abominations. When no answer greeted him, not even the sound of screaming was present any longer, the boy moved on. He kept a sharp eye out for the patient.

Another door, leading into another hallway, “God, it’s like a f#cking maze in here. Just when I think I’m out there’s another hall.” While waking in, flashlight illuminating the darkened corridor, Dick tripped over something in the shadows and braced himself against a door. Difference with this door was it talked when he made contact.

“Don’t come any closer! You’re not coming in! I’m not opening this door for anyone.” Richard stared at the door baffled there was someone still in this area. Another survivor, so close, just on the other side of the door was another living breathing person.

“Hello-“

“I’m armed. I don’t give a shit what type of security clearance you have or what your orders are. I will kill you if you try to get in! I mean it! Just stay the hell away from my door.” The individual on the other side sounded hysterical, the boy didn’t doubt the man would harm him if he tried anything.

Richard scoffed to hide his hurt and left the man to his fate. “Whatever, good luck with that pal.” Any other day this dismissive attitude would have alarmed him, but right now he was tired, hurt, hungry, lonely and too scared out of his mind to care.

His path led him to another elevator. With the doors shut and the car moving, Dick called Dania. He needed to talk to someone. “Richard what is it? Is something wrong?”

“No nothing really, aside from the necromorphs everywhere, things are pretty astrous.” The teen to make his words come off light hearted, but it sounded bitter in his ears. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as a form of comfort. “How are you? You okay where you’re at?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing but I don’t have time for it. I’m a little busy at the moment to converse in idle small talk. Was there something you needed?”

The young vigilante hunched his shoulders at her impatient tone. Yes, he needed someone to treat him like a human being rather than a target, mission, experiment or a savior of some kind. He needed company from a friendly face. He wanted someone to just talk to him. “No. I-I just wanted to check in, see how things were on your end.”

“There fine and will be even better once you get here, so I think you should just focus on that for now. Call me when you need something.”

Dick panicked. ‘Not yet, just talk to me a little longer.’ “Wait, I had a few questions about the situation.”

Dania sighed. “Very well, what did you need to know?”

Richard felt guilty for bothering with his need for human interaction, but quickly shook his head and thought of something to say. “How long has this been going on? The outbreak I mean, when did it start? I haven’t been awake for five hours and the place already looks like the Ishimura did.” The teen’s voice was steel to keep the shaking out of it. It was a stupid question, the Ishimura fell within hours. But this was an entire station.

“The outbreak began at around four this morning, well at the earliest that I know of. As soon as I found out I sent a team to go and retrieve you. That was six hours ago. I knew the only one who would have any idea on how to stop this would be you. Unfortunately they didn’t make it in time to save themselves.”

“One of them was your informant.” It wasn’t a question that he spoke.

She didn’t respond for a while. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” Richard stared at another advertisement.

“Don’t be. They know what the risks were and how important you are. For now I just need you to get to me. You’ll need to take the tram, then ride until you reach Cassini Towers Tram Station.” Her voice took a softer tone, seemingly understanding his reasons for the pointless call and questions. “I’ll meet you half way from there.”

“Okay. Wait.” He stopped her from cutting the link again as a thought came to him. “There’s another patient. Nolan Stross, do you think you can find him for me. I think he knows something that could help.”

“That isn’t a good idea Richard. Stross is a very dangerous man who was sickened by the Marker. He’s delusional.” Dania attempted to dissuade the boy from taking interest in the man.

“That’s not stopping you from helping me.” Dick was quick to challenge, but his shoulders sagged at the thought of losing someone else. “Please, I know I’ve been asking a lot but I need to know if he’s okay. He’s like me, he’s sick and scared and I need to help him. Just keep me informed on his health, t-that he’s not dead.”

The comm. was silent and Dick feared she hung up. “Fine, I’ll look for a way to access his rig. When I find him I’ll let you kn-.”

“Dania?” The call dropped into static, and the little bird was left alone again. The silence was deafening. To keep his mind off it he reflected on the new information.

Four hours, it took four hours to infect the Sprawl. If the Marker somehow made its way to earth it would destroy continents in days. Images of Gotham, Metropolis, Star City all deserted wastelands filled with mutated monstrosities left the child shaking again.

“Would the Justice League even stand a chance against something like this?”

The door opening startled the troubled boy out of his thoughts. The hallway was quiet, not a body or person in sight. “Nolan? Mr. Stross?” He called again struggling to see in the dark.
A small noise coming from a closed room alerted the teen to some form of life. Carefully putting his ear to the door the quiet sound started to grow louder until it was recognizable as the most dismaying resonance Richard had heard.

It was an infant.

Dick didn’t need to keep his ear at the door to hear it now, its cries for attention echoing through the wood. Hitting the wall at the other end Richard slid down to his butt and covered his ears trying desperately to block out the wails.

“No no no no no no no no. Oh f#ck no, why.” Rocking himself slowly back and forth, a sob blocking his lungs. The memory of killing the mutated babies made a full appearance, the sack growths on their backs housing deadly tentacles and milky dead eyes and sharp teeth. He grew numb after the first few times putting them down, but to hear a little one cry, unknowing why it was abandoned, the fate it was sure to meet. Richard didn’t even know there was hope left to break.

He had to leave; he couldn’t take the child with him. It was dead no matter what he did. He was selfish and a coward who would rather run off now for the babe to die alone, than chance himself at becoming attached only to watch it die and turn in front of him later. Bruce would be so ashamed to call him his partner.

Richard couldn’t stand, legs to weak from the burden that took hold of his heart. Broken and beaten down so brutally from the cruelty and wrongness of the situation. So he crawled, on hands and knees putting as much distance to the room and himself as possible, sobbing and hating himself for doing so.

He didn’t make it far before he reach a grated gate cutting him off from the other room. A woman on the other side cried in pain as she dragged herself across the room, leaving a bloody trail from her stomach behind her. She made eye contact with him before lying down and going still.

Richard didn’t make a sound, tears flow freely down his face. There was an absence of noise, no child crying, no screaming survivor, no wailing necromorphs. Just a quiet hall, with only the hum of the little birds breaths and soft hiccups.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Train Wreck

Sprawl, Titan

Outside Cassini Towers Tram Station

18:57 Hours

Wasn’t long till the ebony finally reached the entrance to the tram station, was barley a two minute walk from where he was before. Would have reached his destination fifteen minutes faster if he hadn’t of had another breakdown. Richard berated himself at his weakness to the situation; hardly the first time he’s been through this nightmare. But regardless, there always seems to be something around every corner that throws him off. And the isolation and loneliness of the circumstances have left him emotionally and mentally crippled.

‘I am going to need some serious therapy if I get out of this. That will be fun.’

Regardless of how similar the situation may be towards that of the Ishimura, Dick constantly needed to remind himself that this is a Colony and not a ship. These are men and women that were looking for a safe place to settle outside of Earth, not explorers who knew the risks of traveling the unknown. Comparing the two would be like comparing a military base with a suburb. Different place, different people, different occurrences, same results.

The teen shook his head, “No; this is not going to be another Ishimura. I’ll take out the Marker and save as many as I can. I know what the source is this time; I’m more experienced and prepare for this. I can do this.” Richard reduced his voice to a mumble, “Can’t afford to waste any more time than I already have.”

The young vigilante walked through the darkened lobby, with the only light source coming from the digitized sign for the trams that occasionally sang a tune. It flashed with colors plunging the room into darkness before lighting it up again. Robin felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise when he heard the uncontrollable yelps at the far end of the room.

The boy mentally went thought the list of necromorphs he had dealt with in the past, filing the new info away with everything he learned in the fights. The cries were familiar, a mix between surprised and raged. Not a slicer then, and the pitch was too high for a brute or anything bigger. Another wail gave Dick the information he needed in order to act correctly. He ran opposite of the screams and placed his back toward the wall and crouched in a stationary position and waited.

They fell from the ceiling vents gradually making their way toward him in packs. The glowing sacks of pustules that the creatures drug behind them slowing them down considerably. They weren’t fast per say, or threatening unless they got close. But they were a thing of nightmares; if not for the split craniums, then definitely their strategy of attack. Richard mentally referred to the things as Exploders, not very original he would agree, but better than Suicide Bomber or Two-Face.

The scariest thing about the damned monsters though, was their voice. Dick couldn’t be sure about whether or not he has actually heard one speak. But they mumble to themselves and to some of the others when in groups. A disturbing fact he found while hiding in a closet months back. If that’s the case then these things at least retained a bit of their humanity. The thought brought the boy a little peace about putting them out of their misery. Richard would swear on his soul he heard one whisper ‘Neglected’ to him before blowing up.
His ears were left ringing after the explosion so maybe that’s a stretch.

Robin rose only one pistol, and aimed carefully, shooting at each glowing sack; the sudden blunt force causing the growth to explode. The loud noise that echoed across the room was soon replaced with the smack of parts falling from the air. The sound and sight never failed to turn the boy’s stomach a little.

No other enemies in sight, he continued, hurrying himself along when the flashing advertisement began to hurt his eyes. Just outside the door to the transit, Dick looked up to watch the tram arrivals for the station. They all read as delayed.

“Welp, at least there’s no worry about missing my ride.” Richard rested his hands on his hips and continued the watch the words go by before shaking his head and opening the magnetized door. There was one tram parked in the station, all he had to do was get it started again. “Piece of cake.”

The hall was a mess, but nowhere near as bad as the apartments. The lights were still functioning, and ads filled the slopping walkway with color. Bloody handprints painted the wall but no bodies were present.

“That’s not a good sign.”

Quickly, the ebony counted his ammo and reloaded his clips. “Need to make every shot count, until I can find another gun or dead officer.” He stopped what he was doing and pushed his sweaty bangs from his face. “Well that’s a F#cked up thing to say.” Checking his guide once more, he moved down the room.

Static filled the air, its volume so suddenly intense Richard was forced to cover his ears and hide his face from the flashing lights. Red tinted white noise filled his vision and his eyes leaked from the abuse. A voice broke through the chaos, soft and broken like a record.

“Richard? Are you there my Little Bird? Mommy’s so cold.”

Her face appeared within the malfunctioning advertising screens. Eyes black but watching. The frightened child stepped back and somewhere in all the racket her rough screaming was taking up the background.

The small bird shook, releasing his ears as they adjusted to the blare. Shimming against the wall, Richard avoided the watchful gaze.

“It hurts, the ground hurts. It’s coming too fast. Richard? Where are you?”

His stomach was in knots, and he gagged. The shaking in his legs threatened to collapse him. ‘Why is she talking about that?’

“The room is getting dark, it hurts so much. I can’t see you baby. Where are you? Where are you my baby bird?”

Dick bit into his hand to keep from screaming. He knew what this was. This was the thing that drove so many to death, weather by murder or suicide. This was what destroyed the Ishimura and the colony and all the people with it. This was what the inflicted spoke to in rooms alone.

This was the Marker.

And it was horrible.

He was imposed upon by its influences since the damned thing was brought aboard the Ishimura, but. “God, it was never this bad before. I never heard her like this before.” The boy hugged himself as he walked through the hell created by his own mind. No, not his mind; the Marker.

The dementia was getting worse with each passing hour, only now did the teen realize just how far gone he really was. Hearing about yourself losing control was one thing, but to experience it. Dick thought his head would explode; symbol flew in his hallucination, their markings menacing and demanding attention.

“Richard?” The boy in question flinched at the accusing tone her ruined voice held. “Where are you?” The words were whispered, but she may as well have slapped him in the face with the blame that she said them with.

“That’s not her talking. That’s not my mother talking.” Richard spoke under his breath like a prayer. The screaming grew louder when he walked up the ramp onto the loading platform.

And there she was sitting on the edge of the tracks, knees drawn up to her chest and her arms hugging them, or trying to at least. The second Dick reached the room her head snapped up, creating a hideous sound in her neck. Eyes and mouth glowing white, Richard blinked and suddenly he was at the edge of the platform inches away from a tram rushing past on fire.
He didn’t move as the train speed by, to deep in shock for it to occur to him that flames practically licked his face. The white noise was gone as was the lights that flashed. When the transport passed, Richard moved his head to watch eyes wide; unable to comprehend how he got so close to the edge so quickly. The shaking stopped and the teen off handily recognized a voice telling the room that all transportation to and from Government Sectors has been cancelled as well as other delays for up to an hour.

Not quite sure what else to do, Richard turned around and headed to the opposite end of the station where the other tram sat in wait. The boy kept his eyes down on his feet moving on autopilot. ‘If that’s how bad it is now, how much worse is it going to get? Need to get to Daina.’

Taking in his surroundings, Dick found luggage and bodies thrown all over the room. Some sat in the benches, others laid across the floor. Papers, flyers, new prints and clothing littered the ground. Richard stared for a moment before coming to a decision, listening to his gut feeling.

The teen lifted his foot above one of the bodies on the ground, then using the magnets in his soles brought it down on the corpse’s neck. The pull of the magnetized heel to the floor caused the spinal cord to snap under the pressure, successfully severing the head. New gore painted his suit on top of the dried existing mess.

One by one Richard maneuvered around the platform and performed the same act until all the carcasses were headless. Open bodies are just as dangerous as the Necromorphs, if not more so. ‘At least they can rest in peace, or pieces, I guess. Okay Grayson that was a bad joke. Joker would be so proud.’ Dick grimaced.

As Richard moved toward the back of the tram an infector was making quick work of a corpse inside the car. The body thrashed and convulsed, changing from a human body to something else. The boy felt numb as he watched. The Slasher that was born from the smaller creature wasted no time in breaking through the sealed door and toward its first victim.
Robin dodged the initial attack and swung his leg delivering a powerful roundhouse to the things head. Any living thing would be dead from the impact. Acting while it was stunned, the ebony brought both guns up and severed its arms at the same time. It went down without moving.

Glancing behind him Robin saw the Infector clawing at the ground looking for its next offspring. The damned thing was ugly as sin. Only coming to his chest, and made up of a broken torso and split legs. It looked pathetic roaming around, a sting ray on out of water. The bird shot it in the back and boarded the tram when it stilled.

It was just as dark as the platform, with only a few lights flickering here and there. Toward the end of the cars Richard saw a control panel. It didn’t take him long to rewire the power and start the transportation. Metal screamed in protest at the sudden movement and wind filled the car from broken windows.

Richard watch out the gap as the train left the platform and made a call to Daina. “I made it to the station. I’m on my way to your location now.” He had to yell over the noise.

The blonde’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Good, very good Richard. This will save you a whole lot of walking and us a whole lot of time. Now once you get close to sector 7, stop the tram at the Solomon Station and get off. I’ll meet you there.”

Dick couldn’t stop the tired smile that made its way onto his face. “I look forward to meeting you in person Miss Le Guin.”

The woman’s features softened at the young expression. “As do I, be careful.” The call ended.

‘This will be over soon. With Daina helping me, we’ll find the Marker, save the station and maybe help Mister Nolan. Then I’ll send another message to the League and turn myself into Tiedemann. We can do this. It’s almost over.’

The teen watched the tunnel open into a glass tube that gave the passengers on the tram a breath taking view of the city. The current of air coming in through the broken windows on the tram was deafening, and stung his eyes. But still, it’s not every day you get to see the sun’s reflective light shinning across the surface of Saturn, casting a red-yellow haze upon the city lights. It was so close and big and bright, one could see the gases that formed the planet rotate among its gravitational pull.

“Oh man, Wally would be so jealous.” The boy’s eyes never left the sky, committing the sight to memory. If he was going to die on this rock Richard wouldn’t mind a view like this being the last thing he saw.

Richard finally blinked when the tunnel swallowed the speeding tram, plunging it back into darkness. He looked back momentarily morning the loss of the scene. Dick wasn’t given much time to think about it when the train suddenly lurched forward, knocking the teen off his feet and into one of the seats.

Sparks flew across the car and the screeching sound of metal on metal was horrendous as the tram was forced into a stop. Finding his footing Richard ran through the cars, balancing his weight to keep from falling. A loud snap of wire breaking stole the air from his lungs and he jumped for a window seal for purchase.

The tram cars all began to drop vertically.

“Oh crap, oh shit! This is bad. Oh, this is nowhere near whelming!” Richard screamed when his fingers failed to hold and he started sliding down through the cars. Dick hit hard, every surface he tried to catch, bruising limbs and cracking ribs with each smack. Passing a door into the next car left the teen with a broken nose when his face connected with the side.

The colorful string of curses that flew from his mouth would have had Alfred making him eat soap for a year if he could hear him. The thought brought Dick little comfort as he mentally apologized to the faithful butler and grandfather figure.

Falling through the last car door, Richard could see the ground of an unfamiliar room come up fast to greet him. The feeling of weightlessness he could not control left his mind blank, and just before he struck Richard thought of his parents last moments alive.

‘This….This was the last thing they felt. The last thing they saw. Oh God.’

Dick heard rather than felt his head connect with the floor. That was the last thing he heard as the world faded from his sight.

~

Wally snapped his head up when he heard something crack.

Looking over from his seat on Miss Martian’s ship he saw Conner cracking his knuckles as a form of distraction. The speedster would have told the younger teen to cut it out, but he had a feeling that was the only thing keeping the clone from punching something.

The red head couldn’t blame him, they were all on edge. Since the second they saw the bloodied ship to the end of the message Robin sent, there was nothing but anxiety and apprehension among the young heroes. Looking around the ship, Wally could see it on everyone’s face, the burning question that was dancing menacingly in their minds.

‘Are we going on a rescue mission to save Robin or are we searching for a body?’

Wally rung his hands together and looked out into the empty void, spotting Superman flying beside the ship and the Bat jet next to him. Having the opportunity to finally go into space should have had the sixteen year old through the flipping roof; instead it only upset him further.

‘Would we find him still on the ship, or am I going to find his corpse floating outside.’ He shivered and brought his knees to his chest resting his head on top. ‘Don’t think like that now. You know Rob, always one for the dramatics. Bet the smug bastard already took care of the problem and is sitting on his happy ass waiting for us to show up.’

His smile faltered when he thought back to the video. ‘Robin didn’t look smug, hell Robin didn’t even look like Robin.’ The panic on his younger face and the dead glam that settled into his once expressive eyes seared itself into Wally’s memory.

‘He’s not dead; Dick’s too smart for that. He was just tired is all. Just a bit freaked out.’

Wally hasn’t seen his best friend in six months. The last memory was of him promising to take pictures and calling him as soon as he could. Wally waited. The call never came. Knowing it was a mission, the red head elected to just give the ebony crap about it when he got home. No harm no foul.

Dick was happy, healthy, laughing the last time he saw him; in person at least. That video may be the last time he ever hears from his best friend and that was not the last memory he wanted from him. Wally wanted the younger to laugh at him when he chokes on his food, or trips while running, or getting another nose bleed. He wanted the teen to watch movies with him and point out all the flaws in the plot and acting. Or joke about some odd thing or other.

He wants the last memory of his little brother to be him wearing the smile he has when he’s performing some acrobatic stunt and landing it with no trouble. To talk about his crush on Barbra and how Bruce praised his work or how Alfred makes the best cookies in the known universe; other than his mom.

Wally wanted his last memory to be of Dick happy; not the terrified, frail, hurt individual who was on the other side of the screen. He doesn’t want Dick to die afraid and alone and so far away from home. That was not what he wanted.

But the question still remained. ‘Are we going on a rescue mission to save Robin or are we searching for a body?’

Wally began to shake and slowly rock himself in his seat.

`
Roy noticed the other boy’s movement off the corner of his eye. He wanted to get up from his seat and help with whatever it was that was troubling the red head. Put an arm around his shoulders and reassure him on their little brother’s health.

He didn’t do either.

The red archer couldn’t bring himself to spout false comforts to the other. Couldn’t even do it for himself. So he stayed put to count then recount his arrows, check then recheck his bow. Because that was all he could do to keep from shouting and kicking and abusing whatever was nearest to him.

His grip was tight on his equipment, and his face was set in stone. Roy’s memory replayed the words Robin whispered on the fuzzy screen. ‘I’m not fool enough to think I’ll still be alive when you get this, neither should you. If they don’t kill you, you will kill yourself. And that is how they work. You do it because they want you to, because the Marker wants you to.’

Roy didn’t even want to think about what that meant. He wasn’t an idiot, nor was he a stranger to the idea of suicide. He dare say he wouldn’t be here now if the little bird hadn’t shoved his way into the archer’s heart and life, demanding to be heard. Took that dark secret Roy kept from everyone and flushed it along with the thoughts and addiction that came with it.

The look of fear and betrayal when he found out what Roy did in his free time was enough to make him seek help and get clean. That and the last thing he needed was the Bat on his back. It sucked, was a long 6 months, but the relief on Richard’s face when he finished was worth it. He always had a reason to smile at Roy after that; finally earning him the title of older brother. The ebony always found a reason to smile anyways.

Dick found a way to make light of any situation. Was always the hope at the end of the crappy tunnel for so many among the band of heroes. Whether it be amusing the others with lame jokes and terrible puns, or offering comfort and advice far too sensible for someone his age. He made this messed up family whole, by acting as the playful little brother, the wise future leader and the glue of damned sunshine in all their f#cked up lives.

‘Richard wouldn’t kill himself, not because of his own thoughts or because something else told him. Dick’s stronger than that, braver than that.’ Roy tried to get the ebony’s broken smirk and hollowed eyes out of his head as he recounted his arrows. ‘Right?’

`
Conner was, for the lack of a better word, pissed. He was pissed at this Marker thing for causing all these problems; he was pissed at the people behind the illegal trip, and the people finding the thing. He was pissed at Batman who would allow their youngest member go alone on a far away mission. He was pissed at Robin for not expecting to survive. But most of all he was pissed at himself for his inability to do anything about it.

Connor was pissed.

As much as he wanted to hit something, it would only result in distracting Megan, and possibly getting him in trouble with Batman. Not like he cared but he didn’t need to get kicked off the mission. So he sat quietly and fumed, cracking his knuckles once in a while to distract himself.

He couldn’t hit anything now, but he could guarantee the second they landed all bets were off. Conner was going to put Superman to shame with his speed and ferocity when he tears that ship apart. No room will be spared and no enemy will slow him down.

Every tiny detail on the messenger craft, every gory aspect of the creature that came in behind Robin only furthered his determination and rage. They didn’t look that tough. Robin was strong and fast and skilled, but he was only human, one without powers. He would get tired and hungry and scared. He could get hurt.

He was hurt.

He was scared.

Conner clenched his fist and crossed his arms to restrain himself. Scared didn’t look right on Robin, he was braver than anyone Connor had ever met. He stared danger in the face and laughed. In that video he was barely able to speak above a frighten whisper. The super’s insides clenched. That wasn’t right.

The teen had seen Robin hurt before, came with the job. They’ve all been injured at some point or another. Has had to help and shelter him from stronger enemies. The super has had to even carry the ebony to safety when he broke his leg and twisted his ankle. He was heavier than Conner had expected, made up of nothing but small, lean muscles, but still light and frail in his arms. But even then the adolescent was still smiling and joking around through gritted teeth.

Connor has seen Robin hurt. But not like this. And he didn’t like it. He could imagine the young hero weighed even less now. Regardless, the minute, the very second he found the little bird he was going to pick him up and carry him back to Batman. Connor would carry him all the way to the ship and hold him till they got back to Earth, but something told him he would suffer the Bat’s wrath if he didn’t give Robin up to him.

That was fine by him, gives Connor the freedom to beat anything that came within hitting distance.

`
Artemis sat in her seat and quietly ran her finger threw her long hair. She did her best to block out the terror ridden face she saw on screen. Tried to mentally place a mask where it was suppose to set, because Robin wasn’t Robin without it. Without his mask he wasn’t the vigilante that took Gotham as his home to save.

No without it he was Richard Grayson, orphan adopted by Bruce Wayne. Who would stalked her in the hallways as a game and hold inside jokes with her she didn’t understand until now. Dick Grayson who she could tell had the biggest crush on one Barbra Gordon. Perfect grades, and competition winning smiles and a laugh that was all too familiar and safe.

And Artemis felt like the biggest idiot on the planet for not noticing sooner.

It doesn’t feel right, that she found out his secret this way. That his identity was blown because of something she wasn’t even a part of. She knew how valuable a secret was, and how close Robin kept his card to his chest even while wearing his heart on his sleeve.

She wouldn’t mention it to him if, ‘when’, they found him. And if, ‘when’, he goes back to school she won’t act any differently unless he says it’s okay. Because she knows and she thinks he would be grateful for that. And now she can match that smile with a friendly face.

But,

Would saving him really be worth everything that he’ll have to go through after? Artemis was willing to bet she was the only one thinking of this. And if voiced won’t make her very popular among the rest of the team, but is his life going to be any better once he’s home. Would he really be thankful to them for doing this? He told them himself to stay out of it. Look away and leave it alone.

She began to braid her hair. He won’t be the same. Life in Gotham, especially as a hero, can toughen anyone up but that doesn’t make them invulnerable. She saw his face, same as everyone else. He doesn’t believe for a second he’s going to survive. The chances are against him that he’s still alive at all and they lessen every moment.

‘He’s going to be in the hospital for a while, therapy even longer. He won’t smile or laugh as much, won’t joke or play like he used to. He’ll jump at every movement out of the corner of his eye. He’ll get sick and triggered every time he watches a move or plays a video game. He’ll have flashbacks and nightmares worse than anything Gotham had ever thrown at him for the rest of his life. He’ll be dead on his feet, with only a survival instinct to keep him going; until he finally starts to question that too.’

Artemis has seen PTSD before, knows what it can drive people to do, to become. And so she thinks and hates herself a little more with every thought. But she hopes he died quickly, painlessly and prays he isn’t still struggling and suffering alone. Because if they find him alive, she can’t help but wonder whether or not they’ll be bringing home a corpse anyways.

Better to let sleeping ghosts lie.

`
Megan kept her focus on steering the ship and away from the loud thoughts that cluttered the room. She didn’t want to hear the other’s fears and doubts about the mission or whether or not Robin was still alive. She just wanted to make it to the Ishimura. So the Martian kept her eyes forward and thoughts on driving.

It was hard when everyone was practically screaming. Mentally that is. The negative thoughts were slowly wearing down on her. She was getting a headache. Megan practiced some of the breathing exercises her uncle taught her to try and ease the feelings away. It didn’t help much, but there was nothing more she could do about it.

They had only left not even an hour ago and she was already exhausted. Despite her efforts, the ship could only go so fast. If she looked out the back there was a high guarantee Earth would still be visible enough to see the clouds in the atmosphere. They weren’t going fast enough. At least not fast enough to her liking, Megan didn’t even want to imagine how maddening it must be for Batman.

They needed to be at the Ishimura now. No, they needed to be there five months ago. Robin was hurt and scared and Megan could feel the maternal instinct in her screaming to bring him home. He looked so small, the Martian had never thought of their little bird as small, not in that regard. Tears began to prick her eyes when she felt Wally’s anguish and shook her head.

‘No not now, there’s no time for that.’

She had cried her fill, now was the time to act. Crying wouldn’t get them closer to Robin, weeping wouldn’t bring him home. There was nothing for the others to do, but Megan needed her wits about her to push her ship into motion. It wouldn’t do to slow Batman and the other down because she felt the need to shed tears. So steeling her mind while simultaneously sending out soothing thoughts to her friends, Megan flew.

Once they drew closer to the Ishimura’s last coordinates, Megan will release the controls to Kaldur then focus on finding Robin’s mental readings. Or any other survivor’s if she can, whether or not she is able to find them could be the determining factor on if they search the ship or not. Batman was clear, no unnecessary risks. She couldn’t afford a miss read.

Megan secretly wished it was her uncle that had been given such an important task. But with the sudden disappearance of the three founding members of the League it was imperative John stay behind. The pressure for her success was huge and she felt intimidated and inept of the job. If Connor found out about her feelings on the matter he would try to convince her and Batman not to do it, that wouldn’t help anyone.

She shuddered when she thought of the sounds the creatures made in the message. She couldn’t even imagine what sort of thoughts they might have. And Robin had to deal with that nightmare all alone. Compared to his problems, her troubles paled greatly. She wouldn’t mess this up. In spite of of everyone else’s thoughts she knew Robin was alive, she could feel it. Megan won’t accept failure.

Not on her part.

`
Kaldur watched from the back of the ship, watched each and every one of his team battle with their own fears and demons about the outcome of this mission. He was the leader of this young group of heroes. And never more has he felt so out of his depth. This wasn’t a undemanding recover mission, or a quick info gathering. There was always risk with a mission, this was something else entirely.

The Atlantian felt wholly unprepared for the battlefield they were going to walk into, insecurities crept into his mind on his skills as a leader. True there was Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to guide them and lead, but ultimately the Team would look to him for instruction. Because that’s what they did. The bond they had all formed over the past year in a half put their undying faith in the one who would lead them, him. He didn’t feel worthy of such trust.

The blonde could feel his shoulders bow from the burden. ‘How would Robin handle this? What would he do?’

The questions floated in his head often. The boy was young but held so much more experience, had seen so many more horrors in Gotham than him. A fight between Scarecrow had left him shaking for a week, while the ebony brushed it off as nothing. Kaldur was not fit for this. If he was not careful in his leadership they stand to lose more than just Robin to whatever was happening.

Underneath the calm exterior, Kaldur was terrified at what the possibilities of failure could hold. The creatures that appeared briefly in the message were a sight to behold. ‘How does one go about stopping them? Robin held a gun, is killing the creatures the only option? Will that diminish our titles as heroes to end their existence? Do we really have a choice?’ There were too many things left unanswered and more questions they might not have even considered. This wasn’t a simple mission they were headed to; they were on their way to war. A war Robin has already been fighting for five months now. That thought alone left a bitter taste in his mouth.

‘He’s too young for war. Then again Robin was the first sidekick in existence, in Gotham no less. He’s been fighting long before this.’

That was enough to set his mind both at ease and discourage. ‘He’s fought for so long already. But that just might be what will keep him alive in the end; unless he’s already dead.’ Kaldur flinched when a mental image of Robin’s corpse entered his mind. He saw Megan flinch as well and willed his thoughts to peace.

‘I shouldn’t allow my fears and insecurities burden Megan, she has enough on her to bear.’ Squaring his shoulders the teen stood up. When the time comes he could only hope to make the right calls, but for now his team needed him for a different reason. Looking around the room, Kaldur moved to the rocking speedster first.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8:

Sprawl, Titan

….

19:43 Hours

A steady sound of dripping was what brought Richard back. Leaving his eyes closed as he listened; the beat of the unknown liquid was constant, its relaxing rhythm nearly sending the boy back to sleep. Half awake Dick tried to determine where the leak was coming from, slowly gaining feeling back into his body.

Wet.

His face felt wet, and sticky. It smelled like copper. His nose hurt. His face hurt. It was becoming harder to breathe as his lungs began to refuse to draw in enough oxygen. His ribs, back and head were an inferno. His left leg remained numb and cold. The pain that was registering throughout his body spurred an on slot on his nervous system. So many signals making their way to his head so fast it made him nauseous.

Dick tried to curl into himself as the hurt intensified with each passing second, only to find he was unable to do so. The ebony whimpered, opened his eyes and had to blink out the crimson that threatened to blind him. Through his blurred vision Dick saw the world upside-down and swaying from side to side.

Fixing his gaze on what was holding him up, Richard found a wire wrapped tightly around his left leg, slowly cutting off circulation to the appendage. The front of the train car held the other end keeping him suspended a good three feet off the ground. The only saving grace in this is the wire probably kept him from breaking his neck in the fall.

Tears gathered in the boy’s eyes mixing with the blood that poured down his face from his broken nose, staining his forehead red. Looking at the ground below him Dick found a small puddle forming around his head, his movements sending more drops of red to join it from his hair.

‘Well, that explains the dripping then.’ Richard would have started laughing hysterically at his damnable situation if he was able to draw in a proper breath.

Every inhale was a knife in his lungs. Every exhale was a punch in the chest. Dick didn’t need a doctor to tell him he’s fractured a few ribs, if they’re not broken. Other than the dripping and a fire burning somewhere in the background, Richard could only hear the pathetic sound of his wheezing as he breathed. Not having the energy for anything else, Dick focused on that. In and out, gasp then release. It was agony.

It felt like his last fight with Bane and Killer Croc. The two beefed up meat heads managing to come together in some sort of fragile agreement to beat the shit out of both him and Batman. Left them bed ridden in half a body cast for three months, the bastards.

If given a choice Richard would have just hung there and practiced his breathing with a ‘smashed’ ribcage. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option, if left here any longer he was going to pass out again from the weight building in his head. It was possible he could bleed out from an injury he hasn’t found yet, or from his nose. He might suffocate, his lungs would collapse and cause pneumonia, or even better the air pressure in his chest would build enough to cut off blood flow to his heart. The lack of circulation from the wire will leave his leg dead and useless. He’s already missing a finger; Richard is not planning on amputating his leg as well.

Careful and cautious of his injuries, Robin began to scan his surroundings. He was in a storage facility of sorts. Crates and boxes goods were stacked along the walls and in piles in the middle of the room. Aside from the debris from his ride the place was clean. The fires cast an eerie glow across the room. Richard finally found his guns lying on the ground not far from the ever growing puddle.

Dick weighed his options. He could stretch out and reach for his weapons then shot the wire holding him, aggravating his ribs, back and anything else that was damaged. Or he could curl up and hull himself to his leg relieving the pressure, then waste what little energy he has to saw at the wire with the scalpel in his belt. Either way he isn’t going to land on his feet and he’s going to hurt through the whole ordeal.

“Well crap, screwed either way I look at it.”

During his internal struggle a noise other than his breathing echoed across the room. It sounded like a thud in a vent.

Richard paled. “Oh God no.”

The thud and scratching was accompanied with another and another before a vent cap flew from its perch on the wall.

The screeching that followed sent the boy into a blind panic. Fear far over riding pain. Unable to think straight, other than the fact that he was hanging in the middle of a large room incapacitated and without a weapon, Dick clawed at the air above his head. His thin fingers just barely touching the gun in front of him, every miss caused him to swing on the wire and his mind to unravel even more.

More vents broke and more shattering cries joined the fray, the petrified child could barely hear them over the sound of his own hyperventilating cries and terrified screams. Hearing the creatures in the dark and finding their shadows dance across the floor from the fires around him made the teen scramble even more.

His movement became uncoordinated; he made himself dizzy with vertigo and his throat and lungs were raw with sudden abuse. Having lost all sense of logic Dick grabbed the scalpel from his belt and began swinging wildly, the erratic movements had him spinning and blurred the environment, feeding more fuel to the fire on his panic.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Richard knew what he was doing was bad, he was hurting himself physically by agitating his injuries possibly making them worse. He was destroying himself emotionally by allowing his panic to override his mentality and everything he’s learned on how to survive. He could bet Bruce would be disappointed in him for not acting like the hero he trained him to be, but Bruce wasn’t here right now, Dick was alone and he was going to die.

The blade of the scalpel made contact with something fleshly; muscle memory had Robin block an attack with his free arm, keeping anything sharp from piercing anything important or vital to live. Using his new found anchor, the Bird clung to the attacker and made quick work of its head and arm, dismembering the appendage and pushing the thing away from his person as it screamed in rage. Having a new and longer weapon in his hands allow Richard’s panic to die a little. It was luck that he was even still breathing at this rate.

Hearing something close in behind him Robin utilized his core muscles to turn his torso and swing the protruding bone at the offending presence. The Slasher that was edging close lost its legs and fell to the floor before it received a pierce through its skull. A high pitched yelp made the boy turn again and throw the limb at the Exploder’s glowing puss filled arm. The resulting blast obliterated most of the Necro’s surrounding it.

Grabbing the carcass of the Slasher below him, Robin was finally able to leverage himself and grab on to the plasma cutter. Its first victim was the first attacker coming back for revenge. Clearing the room was quick work after that. Half blinded by blood in his eye, the panic from before was gone as the teen found solace in the gun held steadily in his heads.

His breathing was rapid and painful, the swinging made his leg even more numb than before and his ears were ringing. Before Richard could catalog any new or worsening injuries the train lurched forward, the boy losing a foot from the ground.

Robin could hear something making its way through the train, something big. ‘The screaming and gunshots must have lured it here. Shit.’

Aiming his plasma cutter toward the opening in the train, Dick saw a large misshapen arm fit through the door.

“A Brute how lovely.”

Richard grit his teeth and began shooting, being quick to reload when his clip ran dry. It took ten quick session shots to blow the abominations arm off. The thing collapsed, putting more weight on the train. With a dead sway of its remaining arm, the appendage caught the wire holding the boy up and snapped it. Gravity doing the rest sent Dick to the ground, landing him on his back.

The impact left him groaning as he lied there. He wasn’t given much time to recover. With the added burden to it the ceiling and wall holding the crashed tram in place began to lose purchase. Dick was just barely able to roll over and avoid getting crushed by falling debris. Wasting no more time he stood and ran away from the falling train.

With his leg still numb and ribs and back on fire, the boy wasn’t able to move fast enough to avoid getting blown forward by the explosion that followed the tram’s collision with the ground. The noise was deafening. Metal on metal like nails on a chalkboard.

Dick was on the floor once more, but with no immediate threat he opted to stay there for a bit and allowed the ringing in his ears to stop.

The ebony rolled onto his back and sat up with his elbows. Richard watched the tram as it was consumed by fire. He couldn’t help it. He laughed. Dick had to lay himself back down and hug his chest as hysterical giggles racked his battered body.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe I live through that.” Richard was gasping and tried to control himself before he pierced a lung through sheer stupidity. But the whole situation was too funny to be ignored. When he was finished he worked on regaining his breath. “Heh, it’s been a while since I laughed like that.”

When the black dots in his vision cleared, Dick slowly got to his feet. He wasn’t able to stand to his full height and stayed hunched into himself to avoid further harm to his rib cage.

“Now,” Richard looked around again. “Where the hell am I?” The question was one he seemed to ask himself a lot recently. But without a map or schematic on the city he was in, he supposed it was a reasonable question.

Opening up his rig he called the only person with the information he needed. “Daina, I need a new route.”

“What happen. I-” Daina stopped short when she saw the blood smeared across the boy’s upper face and the odd angle of his nose. She could see a burse starting to form on one side of his head. “Oh my God! Are you okay, what the hell happened? I talk to you not fifteen minutes ago!”

“Unscheduled stop. I’m a bit lost. Mind giving me directions?” The smile he sent her would have been charming were his teeth not bloody.

The blonde only nodded then turned to another screen in front of her. “Hang on. Alright this won’t be fun. You have a bit of a walk but this is the quickest route I can give you without the tram. It will take you the Cassini Towers residential sector, from there-”

A beeping cut her off. Alarmed she began to trace the source and cursed. “Damn it! Tiedemann has your signal, he’s tracking you. Must have found out you escaped the hospital. Get a move on, I’ll work on getting him off your trail.”

The line disconnected and Richard was left in silence as the rig updated a new route for him to follow. The ebony picked among the corpses he made until he found his scalpel and put it back in his belt. The eerie sound of metal creaking had the boy moving toward the only exit in the room. Counting his ammo and reloading the plasma cutter. Dick mourned the loss of his pistol, but he’s gotten by on less before.

His movements were slow and stiff. He needed a first aid kit fast, otherwise he wasn’t going to be able to evade should the need arrive. The feeling was coming back to his leg, the sensation of needles picking at the limb mercilessly. His walk was more of a gait until the blood flow returned.

Getting to the door at the top of a stairwell left the boy out of breath again. Turning his head to gaze at the lockers on the wall Dick spotted a first aid set hanging next to them. Richard just about cried in relief.

The white boxed first aid kit that sat on the wall was like a beacon in the dimmed room. Hobbling over, Richard just about ripped the kit from its hinges. Setting it on the floor and opening the compartment proved to be the best decision Dick has made his entire time here.

Not only was it fully stocked with aid syringes, but also bandages, wipes, medical tape, painkillers and even burn ointment. To top it all off, someone had hid their lunch behind all the medical equipment. A ham and cheese sandwich with a bottle of water and off brand chips had never before looked so appetizing. Richard wasted no time ripping the wrapping off the simple meal. The boy had to force himself not to shove the whole thing in his mouth, instead taking small, slow bite to make it last.

“Oh, God.” Dick sniffed and rubbed his abused nose on his sleeve.

The sandwich wasn’t anything special. The bread was stale and the meat and cheese tasted odd, more than likely substitutes to make up for the lack of animals in space. Tears ran down sunken cheeks as Richard took another careful bite. Sitting with his back leaning against the wall, the boy enjoyed his first lunch in forever.

At least it felt like forever.

Swallowing the last of the chips and sipping at the water to make it last, Dick rubbed at his eyes. “Geez, I can understand how food could make Wally cry now. Respect Wall man, respect.” The boy chuckled, wincing when the movement aggravated his ribs.

Not wasting any more time, Richard pulled the med kit to him and took the first aid syringe and injected the blue liquid into his blood stream. It took longer for the fluid to take full effect. Dick chalked it up to the long list of injuries that it needed to take care of.

Waiting for the worst of the pain to pass, the ebony leaned back against the wall and played with the wrapper the sandwich was in and taking the occasional sip of water. Richard wanted nothing more than to chug the whole thing and wet his dried out throat. Doing so however would result in two things, one he would get sick and throw it back up and two he would run out faster without any idea of how to get more.

Dick ran a hand though his hair and grimaced at the stickiness on his face. “Must look like I took a crowbar to the face.” He gently felt his broken nose and sighed. “God, this is gonna f#cking hurt.”

Careful to keep his tongue out of the way Richard pinched his nose between his thumbs and quickly forced it back into place. Dick grunted at the snap and caught the new blood that drained out. He grabbed the medical tape and bandages and went to work on the open wounds and scrapes. Wrapping his ribs, cleaning off his face and stitching a cut in his arm, with the assistance of the aid syringe Richard was on his feet and ready to go in roughly twenty minutes.

Taking a small bit of time to stretch and test his limb movement. His ribs and faced ached and he was damned lucky his panicked thrashing from before didn’t cause any additional damage. Gathering up the remaining medical supplies and the bottled water, Richard stashed them in his inventory and made his way toward the door.

The teen hesitated at the thought of leaving his present peace. The thought however of the lives that were struggling to survive had him swallow his anxiety.

“Alright, time to get traught or get dead.” Cracking his neck and knuckles, bouncing on the balls of his feet Richard pumped himself up the fight ahead of him. “Lost my easy way to Daina, but that’s okay. Always did like a challenge.” He grinned and rubbed his hands together. “I got this.”

The second the door opened Richard felt his confidence sink to his feet. The grin slipped off his face when he saw the shadow twitching erratically at the end of the hall near a torn corpse. The noise it was emitting was a series of throat groans, clicks and what echoed like a monkey’s shriek. It sounded nothing like any of the other necros the boy had faced before.

This was a new breed of demon.

Richard didn’t have any data on it.

“This is bad.” He swallowed hard.

A lack of information on any of the things that roamed the station could be fatal. Dick had to learn quickly on the Ishimura what made these things tick and the most efficient way to dispose of each of them. Any hesitation, any misread could lead to acting the wrong way. The end result of that is extremely lethal and messy. The fact that he needed information on a new enemy wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that there was a new enemy at all is what scared him.

“God, their evolving.” Richard thought hard. ‘Does it have armor? Is there any visible weaknesses? Is it the only one or are there more? What’s the requirement to change into this one? Is it smarter? Faster? Not gonna know till I face it.’

With grim resolve, Robin stepped forward. Back to the wall and plasma cutter aimed at the shadow. As he inched closer the shade froze, Robin doing the same. The slight tilt of the head and straightening of the back caused the shadow to stand tall along the wall.

It knew he was there.

However just as Robin prepared himself for a fight the creature screamed and ran out of the light. Its shadow disappeared. Against his better judgment the teen sprinted after it, his bad leg making it hard to make the long strides. Just as he rounded the corner the abomination flew up a ramp. The only thing Robin saw was a small pale white leg before it vanished, its screams echoing behind it.

Richard’s gaze turned puzzled. ‘It didn’t fight?’ Glancing around the room at the bodies and what looked like fresh gore he knew it was a trap.

“I hate it when they think.” The boy growled.

There was nothing else in the room and with no other exit point in sight Richard was forced to follow after it. The floor was covered in red, but the way it streaked along the ramp it was easy to guess that someone was dragged to the door. Dick hoped whoever they were, they were dead at that point.

He reached the exit and not allowing himself anymore time to think about it, Richard opened the door and rolled inside. Landing in a crouched position near the center of the long space, the teen quickly scanned the area and noticed a complete lack of enemies. Well in sight at least.

The room was devoid of windows, the dark was barely illuminated by neon colored lights of a candy shop. Standing and observing the surrounding area had the boy’s blood drain from his face.

It wasn’t just a candy store that was lighting the room. There was a toy store and a clothing store for children. Simple tunes were playing from speakers in the ceiling that sounded chillingly like lullabies with kids laughing in the background.

Constantly thinking the situation on the station is similar to what happened on the Ishimura had once again come back to kick him in the teeth. It was easy to forget in the chaos where he was, so easy. Too easy to forget the difference between lives lost on a job within a ship and lives lost in a city with homes. Homes that had encouraged not only safety and peace but the change to build families within that safety; families with kids and toddlers and infants.

The closest thing to children Richard found on the Ishimura were in tubes in medical. Couldn’t have little ones roaming about a planet cracker, much too dangerous. But a station made specifically made to colonize other planets.

Richard stared for a long time at the colorful entrance to the Titan Station Elementary School. Crafts hung above the door made with clumsy precision and too much glitter glue. A large painting of a cat in a space suit was surrounded with the proud works of 1st grade artists. A trophy case on the side to show off achievements accomplished by the feats of those barely able to tie their own shoes.

Dick didn’t even notice himself move toward the wall of over painted papers and crudely drawn and colored pictures. He read the names on each work of art, some written messily and others written by who must have been the teacher. One by one he committed the names to memory, saying them under his breath as a small prayer. He found three other Richards on the wall, there was a few Megans, Roys and Wallys too, so many Connors, only one Bruce. No Artemis or Kaldur though.

Dick wanted to meet them, all of them. See if they were best friends. Did any of the Megans like to cook or cheer or say ‘Hello Megan’ and tap themselves on the head? Where any of the Connors always angry? Did they always try to rip their shirts and yell when upset? Were there Roys who were moody but loved to be included in things? Did they want to be seen as grown up by others? Did the Wallys eat a lot, were they really active and ran all over the place? How old were all of them?

Did Bruce and the Richards have their parents?

Did they get along?

Were they together?

Were they alone?

Were they scared?

Are they alive?

He was shaking again, hand held against the wall half in support and half in wanting to be a little closer to such brave children. Tears blurred his vision but he didn’t let them fall. Instead he straightens his back and smiled at the colors.

“Don’t you guys worry about a thing, cause I’ll let you know a secret. Now you can’t tell anyone okay?” Dick rubbed at his eyes then did his best hero pose, whispering to the names on the pages. “My name is Robin, and I’m a superhero. I don’t have any superpowers but I work with my partner Batman in Gotham City, and we stop bad guys from hurting people. I heard you were in trouble so I came to fight all the bad monsters for you. S-so don’t be scared okay, cause I’m…..I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

Richard couldn’t keep the hitch from his voice but was filled with a new found determination. He would do this. This became more than just survival and a mission. He would find all the kids and introduce himself; he’ll plow through any and all necromorphs to get to them. Dick will help them find their families if he can and comfort them when he can’t, because that’s his job. The one reason he became a hero in the first place.

Grabbing his weapon from his belt and marching away from the school with fire in his eyes, Richard remembered everything that made him Robin. Screw his self-pity and guilt, Robin was a symbol of hope and dammit that’s exactly what he was going to bring.

Just as he passed the closed doors to the toys store however, Dick heard that monkey screech fill the air only it was accompanied with a dozen others. Turning to face the oncoming threat, he froze.

They were small, crawling on all four from under a little gap in the toy store’s door, before standing up and charging at him. Eyes sunken in, mouths without lips, all sharp teeth and no nose. Their thin torsos torn open at the stomach, and fingers punctured with elongated claws. None of them were clothed; pale, bloodied, bald bodies exposed for all to see.

Richard wanted to meet the little ones who had taken over the wall with proud pictures. Wanted to protect them from the things that stalk the halls. Wanted to give them a chance to grow up and be whatever they wanted.

It was only now that Richard realized, it wasn’t a monkey’s screeching he heard from them as they attacked in packs.

It was the screams of dying children.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Distracting Thoughts

Sprawl, Titan

Outside Titan Station Elementary

20:37 Hours

‘They are dead’

It was quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. The type of calm one would expect in death. The vents were empty of predators, the speakers fell still, bodies lay on the ground unmoving. All was silent, except for the endless screaming that had taken residence inside Richard’s head.

‘They were dead from the start.’

It echoed mercilessly within his temples and behind his eyelids. He flinched violently when the screaming began forming words as they attacked him. Hateful words, angry words, accusing words all directed towards him. Dick couldn’t remember clearly if they were really screeching such things at him during the fight or if he was imaging the whole thing over the sound of his weapon tearing though thin bones and soft skin.

‘Children, they were children.’

Richard stared at the gore ridden ground unseeing. It hurt to look, so he didn’t. Dick swallowed and grimaced determined not to see what lay on the floor around him. To see what he did. What he was unable to prevent.

‘They were so small, so little, so so young.’

His face bled from a new mark across his left cheek to the bridge of his nose. The initial shock of seeing the tiny bodies left him unable to dodge the first attack. It was deep. Blood and mucus filled his nostrils making it hard to breath. The probability of it scaring was high if he didn’t take care of it soon. Dick found he wasn’t able to really give a shit.

‘Did they cry? Did they scream? For their moms, their dads, their siblings?’

On the off chance he made it out of here there was no way he was going to be able to function like he used to. No chance in hell in going back and being himself at home, on the team. What was one scar on his face compared to the dozens on the rest of him? That isn’t even counting the mental damage.

‘Did they beg for mercy? Did it hurt till the very end? Did they feel themselves break?’

He sniffed then spit the collective moisture out of his mouth. He needed to move, keep going. But doing so meant he had to leave the middle of the room. Meant he had to step over little bodies crumpled and broken on the floor. He would need to watch his footing to avoid tripping and he wasn’t ready to do that. Not just yet.

‘You did this. Why should you be allowed to live, when they were not?’

It was a shame he had to lose the small lunch he had enjoyed not even an hour before. The taste of bile and copper was fresh in his mouth. The silence in the room was unbearable. It gave to much room for his mind to think, to scream at him, to abuse what little sanity he had left.

‘Were they dying while you sat there, were they dead before you-‘

Richard flinched again, startled by his rig suddenly bringing up a holo-feed. The boy expected to see Daina, ready to lecture him on the importance of time once again. Instead he got a thin, awkward smile from Stross as he came into view. Dick was surprised the man was even still alive but the relief of seeing him made his own thin shoulders sag.

In reality he was overjoyed for the distraction. Even if it was temporary.

“Little Bird! Richard! You still alive? I haven’t seen you in a while.” The man’s voice was almost a whisper, he moved and looked into the feed at an odd angle but he was there and he was talking. That was enough for Dick.

“Yeah, good to see you Nolan. Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Can’t talk long Little Bird. I think they’re tracking our signals. Won’t be long before they find us.” Nolan kept looking behind him in apprehension, but once he faced the feed again he was all nervous smiles. “Are the memories coming back to you yet? They are for me.”

“What memories?” Dick couldn’t hide that he was curious. Did they share some memories? He was missing three months maybe more, it was possible.

“The good ones,” Nolan lost the small smile and put his hands to his temples, breath catching in his throat. “Ow.”

“N-Nolan?” A knot twisted in his stomach.

“The bad ones….The more I remember the more my head hurts.” The older man looked back but kept one eye closed, his face scrunched in pain. “The symbols, their everywhere. I see them everywhere. Do you see them too, Little Bird? The symbols? His face….I-I keep seeing his face.”

Richard wasn’t able to respond before something off screen caught the others attention. “Aww shit…They found me.”

‘No’

The holo disconnected and Dick was left in silence once more. His heart was hammering in his throat. He tried calling Nolan again and again but the line remained closed.

‘Nonononono, please not yet. Distract me a little longer. Keep me company a little longer, please.’

Unable to reconnect with the other man, Dick was left alone with his thoughts. Richard knew from the video back at medical that Stross was sick, seeing the symbols was just something that came with being near the Marker. Dick could understand the symbols deal.

But seeing someone he wasn’t supposed to be seeing. That meant Stross was on Richard’s level of sick. The thought was not a comforting one.

The stink of decay was beginning to sting the boy’s eyes. Even through the damage to his face the stench penetrated his nose.

Finding no use in putting it off any longer, Richard squeezed his eyes shut and slowly maneuvered toward the exit. He dared not look down.

The process was time consuming and the silence was filled with the horrid sound of wet steps as he moved. The ground was uneven and slippery. Dick had to catch himself several times from falling into the mess.

One particularly misplaced step caused something under his shoe to pop. The smell emitted was putrid and the sound made Richard bend over and gagged on stomach acid. The boy had unintentionally opened his eyes when he rested his hands on his knees. The sight below him had tears and snot pour uncontrollably.

His plasma cutter did excellent work cutting flesh and bone. Sometimes sending a blast so powerful it would throw a threat across the room. Richard never bothered to stay long to observe what type of damage was done. Shoot and run. That was how you survived. Don’t think about who they were once, you’ll save yourself the heartache.

‘You did this.’

Dick couldn’t tear his eyes away from the empty sockets that stared back at him. The mutation didn’t advance as far as the others. One could still see it was human, once. That it was a child once. Baby fat still clung to cheeks, little ears and baby teeth even sharp as they are.

‘They were children.’

The teen’s breaths were in gasps, unable to breath in the odor coming from the corpse. When his eyes trailed down to look at what he stepped in, Richard removed his foot and held it off the floor to allow the crushed intestine slide off. The smell increased in the movement.

‘Where were you?’

Richard turned to look back at the child’s face.

It was sitting up.

It was staring back.

It was inches from his face.

Its broken jaw moved and it grabbed his front, nails piercing the armor plating.

“It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Why does it hurt?”

Richard jerked away, retreating back and tripping over another small body. This one grabbed his leg.

“Where’s mommy? I want mommy.” Its high pitched cries mixing in with the other as it screamed of hurts.

The boy fell back, landing on a pile of freed organs and loose limbs, breath stolen from his lungs leaving him yelling silently.

The carcass Dick fell on top of wrapped its arms around his shoulders and hugged him close. “Help me. Help me before they find me. Help me.”

Another crawled toward him, latching on to his waist. “They won’t find me. If I’m quiet. It’s like hide and seek. They won’t find me. I can wait. I can wait until sissy finds me. Sissy always makes the monsters go away.”

Richard shook and twisted trying to get them to let go. More of the bodies began to join in. Voices crying and whispering and screaming together as one.

“Miss. Ranger is hurting me!”

“Why is everyone running?”

“I have to find my little brother!”

“I don’t like this!”

“Daddy will save me, just have to find Daddy!”

“Why is this happening?”

“I’m scared!”

“It hurts!”

“Help me!”

“I don’t want to die.”

Dick couldn’t stop himself from crying. He kicked and punched at the howling figures that threaten to bury him underneath their bodies. “Nononononon. Let me go! Let me go!”

Richard broke free scrambling on all four to escape the onslaught of screaming last words. Final thoughts the boy knew were being spoken out loud to him because of his failure. Didn’t mean he wanted to hear it.

The teen hit the far wall. Dick opened his eyes without realizing he had closed them expecting the bodies to follow him.

They were still.

The voices were gone.

Nothing in the room changed. Except maybe the mess made in his attempt to flee from imagined enemies.

“Oh god. That- that didn’t even feel like a delusion. Oh shit.” Richard shook. The line was starting to blur considerably from reality to fantasy. “Shit. This is- this is not good.”

He needed help, and he needed it now. Breathing deeply through his mouth and holding it Richard began to do what he could to calm down. Slowing his heart rate like Bruce taught him and blocking out the last few minutes to deal with later.

After what seemed like an eternity Dick was finally able to settle down and made it to the door. Not even pausing to look back Richard left the room.

The elevator he entered made quick work of speeding the boy away from the carnage. The further he got the easier he could breath. Not by much, what he’d done for survival and the words spoken in child like wails will haunt him for the rest of his days. However short they may be.

‘Don’t think about it.’

The elevator music was a welcomed distraction. The teen focused on the tune, however mundane it was and committed it to memory for future use. It took a moment for Richard to realize he was staring at a lit sign in the small space.

‘The Concourse, Over 150 Shopping Destination to Explore.’

“A shopping center” The teen said thoughtfully. “I’m headed for the mall.”

The doors opened with a chime into a room larger than any other he had been in before. The tall ceilings were made from glass allowing a natural light shine in from the planet. Railings suggested he wasn’t on the first level, and finally stepping into the room made it clear he wasn’t.

Chairs and tables once used for resting and visiting were scattered and upturned. Bags with company logos sat on the floor next to blood stains and loose papers. Banners hung from the walls and, to Richards’s amusement, windows filled with goods to buy and what looked like fast food restaurants.

“It’s amazing really,” Dick remember telling Wally once. “How every single mall ever has the exact same combination of fast food joints.”

Wally had responded to his smartass comment with a smack to the head as he stuffed his face with a Sbarro’s pizza.

The boy smiled taking in all the stores in sight and already seeing which ones would catch the others attentions. The food court for Wally, a book store Kaldur would excuse himself towards, a clothing store Megan would drag Artemis to and what looked like an astronomy store that would take Conner’s interest. Some of his best memories with his friends had to be in a mall, besides Mount Justice.

A giant mascot in a blue space suit was rotating at the end of the room, holding what looked like a candy bar. Its stupid grin and unevenly drawn on eyes made the boy laugh. He wanted to take a picture to show Wally. If he ever saw him again.

Somewhere in the background Tiedemann was speaking of evacuation and martial law.

Richard’s lightened mood dampened again when he looked across the way to see a Unitology recruiting center; the symbol of the dammed Marker sitting out in the open without a care in the world. Dick wasn’t one to shame a religion, but the boy couldn’t help the growl that escaped his throat at the sight of their ‘holy’ relic.

He needed another distraction. Aware of the state of his face Richard pulled up the audio comm., and called Daina. The first thing that came to mind was another man who was possibly fighting for his life alone.

“Daina, Nolan called me again. I think something might be after him, were you able to pinpoint his location?”

The woman for her part did not sound amused with the topic subject. “I’m not sure if you remember Richard, but I am currently very busy. On top of watching your vitals to make sure you’re going the right way, I’m also trying to keep Tiedemann off your trail and learn more about the Marker here on the station. Like you asked me to.”

Dick rubbed that his undamaged cheek and kicked at a shopping bag. “Yeah, I remember. But Nolan is important too. He-“

“Is a psychopath Richard.” Her harsh tone caused the bird to stop. “It’s best if you forget about him and stay clear.”

“He’s just sick.” The boy was quick to argue in the older man’s defense.

“For F#ck’s sake Grayson, the man murdered his own wife and child!”

Dick paused as this new information came to light. Daina sighed. “I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to frighten you. There are few left on this station and I understand why you would want to try and save everyone you can, I really do. But there is no helping Stross, he’s too far gone and there isn’t enough time to waste trying to.”

Richard stayed quiet for a while, thinking. “He’s just sick.”

“Richa-“

“No Daina,” Dick balled his fists and glared in front of him. “The Marker did this. That’s what it does, turns men into monsters. I know how it works. I’ve seen it. He’s just sick. He just needs help. He killed his wife and child, okay, so what about the nineteen men I killed only a few months back?! Why am I more worth saving than him? Why is my life more valuable than his? Why are my sins more forgivable when more lives were destroyed by me than him?”

Richard was screaming into the air now, frustration over everything apparent in his voice.

Daina was quiet, unable or unwilling to give him an answer to his questions. She sighed again, clearly defeated. “Alright, I’ll work harder on finding him. I’ll do what I can to lead him to me then go from there.”

Dick wiped at his sore eyes as he mumbled a sincere thank you to the patient woman on the line.

“Its fine, just continue on. And Richard, I hope we don’t regret this.” The comm. cut.

Richard was once again left alone. That seemed to be a running theme since being here. Alone. Quiet. With as much isolation as he was getting, Dick wondered if he would be able to function in a large crowd any more.

It didn’t matter. It was time to move.

Checking the direction to go in on his rig, Richard walked along the walkway admiring all the stores as he passed.

“Amazing that humanity can reach the stars and we still feel the need to visit something as common as a shopping mall.” The small grin on his face made his cheek and nose burn.
Digging through his inventory, Dick grabbed some gauze and pressed it on the wound. He hissed. “At this rate I’m going to run out of medical supplies fast.”

Pools of blood cover the ground and looking back Richard noticed with some grim fascination that he was leaving red footprints behind him. Another attempt at distracting himself, he knew. It wasn’t working very well.

Looking up from the route guide leading him to his destination, the ebony stopped. It was taking him straight towards the entrance of the Unitology center. The yellow light cast an eerie outline in the doorway of the Marker.

“Daina, what the hell? I thought I was making my way to residential. Why am I walking into a Unitology recruitment base? Where are you leading me?”

Richard didn’t give Daina a proper time to greet him when he suddenly bombarded her with questions. Auto comm. was up again not even ten minutes prior to their last conversation. Dick had almost forgotten that he wasn’t supposed to trust the woman on the other line. Not fully, she was hiding something.

“Richard relax, the recruitment center has an old maintenance access point. I know about your keen ability at hacking servers and other such mainframes.” Daina did her best calming voice to pacify the troubled youth. “The tunnels will take you through the waste disposal system and straight into the Cassini Towers.”

“Waste disposal,” Dick smiled. “You’re sending me through a sewer.” Memories of traveling through Gotham’s own fowl smelling sewage system made the teen’s grin widen. Grim faced Batman smelling like waste never ceased to amuse him.

“I know it’s not the best route but it’s the only one I’ve got for you without the tram. Just be careful, with those things swarming the upper levels and using the vents to travel its unknown how many could be down there.” Daina apologized. “Stay sharp.”

The line cut.

The teen breathed deeply. “It’s fine Richard. It’s just a way to get me to Daina faster; it is not the final destination. Move fast and you’ll be out of here in no time.” Gritting his teeth, Dick bypassed the security lock to the elevator and stepped inside.

The propaganda for the creed was plastered all over the walls in the confined space. ‘DISCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL’ ‘ONE PEOPLE, ONE MIND, ONE PURPOSE’ ‘FREE, WE ARE ONE, INFORMATION PACKET’. The back wall had a screen of a woman using her hands to form the Marker shape. The bright glow from the monitors made Richard feel sick.

“Don’t think about it. Just move.”

The doors opened and a welcoming voice sounded through the speakers. “Have you ever felt like you were meant to be part of something bigger?”

“Not particularly.” Richard responded deadpanned.

“Then maybe Unitology is for you,”

“Thanks, but I’ve seen your initiation ceremonies. I’ll pass.” He continued to respond as he entered the room.

“Founded by our savior, Michael Altman.”

“Is he the guy I should talk to then? Alright,” Dick stepped up to a desk found in the forefront of the room. “Can I have someone to the front please? I would like to file a complaint.”

“Unitologists believe that one day all mankind will be united through the power of a sacred artifact known as the Marker.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“We call this process Convergence.”

“It’s working out pretty well for you guys uh?” The teen had taken to rummaging through the desk for items as he argued with the prerecorded message.

“Imagine it.”

“Pfft don’t need to.”

“All mankind, brought together. With one purpose. With one mind. With one soul. No war. No fear. No hate.”

“Of course not. Everyone’s dead and zombified. Nothing says world peace like zombification.”

“If that sounds like an ideal world to you,”

“It really doesn’t.”

“then look no further. Convergence is coming.”

“I’d say it’s here.”

“And Unitology…is helping it happen.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Finding nothing of interest except a pack of gum, to which Richard helped himself to, he moved down the hall.

Posters filled the dimly lit hall with motivational messages about the group. Dick sneered at them as he passed. Glass separated smaller rooms with desks from the main foyer. Toward the end of the corridor was a window that held a view of the city.

The message on the speakers looped on repeat as a series of inhuman screams pierced the air. Richard watched as the vents in the room broke and a large group necromorphs gathered at the end of the hall. Slashers, Infectors, Hunters and even a few of the new Pact were all making their way into the room.

Dick watched as they all organized themselves for an attack. Just as they all were to charge, elongated limbs and bone and visible muscle, Richard aimed his cutter, smiled and shot. The bolt flew past the army of dead and made a direct hit on the glass behind them.

The shattering sound was accompanied with the harsh force of air being sucked violently from the room. The teen laughed breathlessly as he was swept off his feet toward the emptiness of space.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Trash Compactor

Sprawl, Titan

Waste Disposal

21:14 Hours

Dick was beginning to hate crawling through vents. His knees and elbows were bruised as he pushed himself along the confined space. Even with his petite frame the constant climbing into tight spots to get from point A to point B was wearing on him. Richard didn’t think he was capable of developing claustrophobia what with the dozens of other small spaces he’s needed to fit in before. However that might change here real soon.

The boy grumbled and complained to himself, used his discomfort as another form of distraction from the fact that he came close to committing suicide.

Again.

‘How long will this go on? How much worse can it get? Will I even feel anything if I pass in one of these fits?’ Richard struggled to clamp these thoughts out; it was hard to do without any form of entertainment. Although Dick wasn’t sure if the situation’s idea of entertainment was one he wanted to partake in right now.

Upon reflection, space doesn’t seem all that bad an idea. It was only seconds before he join the abominations in the vacuum that he shot the safety latch and sealed the room. His face kissed the metal door and he found himself once again on his back relishing in the pain that meant he was alive. The busting sound of air reentering the room was the only thing making noise. Richard had lain on the ground for a few minutes coming to terms with the fact, as new air was introduced, that he was okay with being blown into space. There were worse ways to go. Better than the alternative.

Dick had gotten up and watched from another window as disfigured bodies floated outside, twitching at random. He nodded. Yeah, space is a lot better than the alternative.

Now Richard pulled himself from the maintenance tunnel and landed on the ground in a less than graceful way. His muscles burned and his joints felt torn, and his face was on fire but he picked himself up and got into defensive position. Muscle memory placing his back to the walls.

Brown. That was the only thing that came to mind as Dick looked around. Brown. Brown walls, brown floors, even the flickering lights gave off a brown light. The area was muggy and humid, smoke filled the narrow space. It even smelled like the color brown. Richard grimaced.

‘Didn’t think it was possible for brown to have a taste, but there it is.’

This was a maintenance area alright, not pretty to look at and definitely not a place you would visit willingly unless it was for a paycheck. His boots gave a loud clank as the boy advanced into the room. The sound echoed, with how much noise he was making Dick was surprised nothing came to investigate yet. Further in a corpse was sat on top of a small table.

It looked fresh. Blood poured from a deep laceration on his side. Pinned to the wall opposite was a Slasher held off the ground with one of its own appendage. Richard looked back and forth at the two unlikely occupants. ‘This guy didn’t go down without a fight.’

Stepping closer to the dead man Richard considered looting his body for any weapons or ammo. Just as he got within reach however a video feed turned on. Dick was glad for the solitude if only that no one saw his amazing impersonation of a car alarm. ‘Motion detection’, Richard thought after his breath returned to normal. The man sitting in his own blood now had a recorded version of himself speaking his last words.

“Okay. Whoever sees this, listen up.” The individual gave no introductions and Dick watched silently, giving the deceased his undivided attention. “You can use the kinesis mode in your suits to pull the blades off dead ones, and shoot it back at them, watch.”

‘He had an accent, when he was alive.’

The man looked away from the monitor and activated the device on his wrist. A bone from one of the monsters levitated toward him. The man looked back as he addressed the camera again. “I’ve stayed alive three hours using this trick.”

Richard observed the man as he waited for something to round the corner. “Three hours,” Dick muttered. “He survived three hours on his own before they got him.”

The boy blinked when the man shot the appendage forward and pinned the Slasher to the wall behind it. Richard didn’t even hear the thing coming. The boy’s eyes glowed with interest and awe. He had never thought to use the kinesis like that, it was brilliant.

“You see?” The man was breathless and faltering, unable to keep his arm up. “Just- just shoot it back at them. Uh.” He turned back and faced the screen, his face was pale and he was shaking, a resigned appearance in his shoulders and tired eyes. “I’m going to bleed out soon. I got clipped pretty badly earlier. So I hope this helps you out, whoever you are.”

The screen went dark. Dick stood there for a moment, thinking. Reviewing the helpful tip the dying man had given him. To anyone who may have come this way before him or after. He died, just like so many others before him. And just like so many others he left what little information he thought would help another in need of it. A message, given through sacrifice, designed to give another a fighting chance at life.

The boy had seen it before. Warning messages written in blood on the walls, panicked audio logs found in deserted halls, and now a video message lying next to the recorder’s body. All of these attempts to help another unknown party left Dick with a small bit of hope. The Marker never touched them. Their last moments in this life dedicated to humanity and someone they will never meet.

Richard stared at the body. The corpse was slumped; chin resting on his chest, eyes closed. He could pass for sleeping if not for the blood. Dick nodded his thanks lifted his cutter and shot at the base of the neck. It wasn’t much but it would assure the man wasn’t brought back as something……unrecognizable.

Men and women like them deserved to rest in peace and that was all he could offer at this point. At an attempt to honor the dead man further Richard arranged his body on the floor and placed the decapitated head back on his shoulders. It looked unnatural but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

‘His heads crooked. Wonder what he would have been.’

“If he had changed then I wouldn’t even know it was him who left the message.”

‘Yeah. Still curious though, have to admit.’

A name tag on the man’s chest said Micah. Dick pulled the tag off and stuck it in his pocket. “Rest in peace Micah.”

‘Or pieces’

“Not funny”

He left the corpse and headed for the door on the other side of the room, with a sign over head that read ‘Zero G Garbage Compactor, Warning Extreme Danger’. That was his destination. The outer door opened to another air tight circular door. But when Richard tried to open the magnetic seal it wouldn’t budge. The boy was tempted to shoot the damned thing.

“Of course not, that would be too easy.” The teen growled. “Of course there has to be another button or switch away from the door, because why the hell not.”

Stomping out again and into the room with the corpse Dick turned and went up a nearby ramp instead. It lead to an ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ Control room.

“Who the hell else would be down here willingly if not authorized personnel?” Richard needed someone to snark with. This talking to himself was going to get him into trouble.

The room inside was circular, the large window that took up the entire far wall showed the process of cubed garbage floating to the middle of the room and being smashed into oblivion by a large machine. Holographs not unlike that of his own hacking tool shined blue and orange along the glass awaiting instructions, most likely from the individual slumped on the other side of the room.

It was a matter of seconds before Dick found the proper control to turn the machine off.

“Diagnostic mode initiated for Waste Compression Chamber 752. Compressor piston offline. It is now safe to enter the chamber. Authorized personnel only.” A robotic female voice sounded over head giving Richard the information he already knew.

“Yeah, Thanks.” The boy nodded his head to the ceiling.

There were lockers in the back that he rummaged through. Turning up more ammo and another plasma cutter, Richard left the room with a skip in his step. Inventory stocked, new weapon in hand and a new tip that would hopefully save him the newly found ammo, the boy was ready to head into hell.

Just as he turned the corner of the ramp the vent over head blew open. The thing that fell out didn’t even look human ‘Do any of them look human’. It landed face first from the ceiling and slowly staggered up; Dick froze as he observed the thing in front of him. Another unknown mutation and it was grotesque.

“God, I really need to stop trying to find the silver lining in this f#cking place.”

It had no eyes, or a face for that matter just a gaping hole where it should have been. The lower jaw was missing, not entirely uncommon, but its whole torso was split from the chin down. What was left of the flesh on its body and head was melted and the original human legs were merged together. Additional muscle, nerves and what could only be intestines had somehow grown to form an additional leg. The lungs were visible on its torso, inflating and deflating with each breath it took. They were filled and leaking a fowl smelling liquid. It heaved and choked on the air.

Robin narrowly missed having his face coved in whatever it was that took residence in its lungs. The fluid hit the wall and immediately began to eat away at the metal.

“Holy Shit!”

The boy backtracked and had to maneuver quickly to avoid the toxic chemical that was shooting from the thing’s face. It wasn’t fast but the rate at which it was, for lack of a better word, puking its corrosive acid was not something to underestimate. The corridor was soon filled with the bile, eroding away the floor and walls. The smell and smog made Robin dizzy.

Having been backed into the far wall with no other choice, the vigilante ran toward the threat stepping in the sick that began to stick to his shoes. Instead of being slippery like the boy had first thought it was like paste, fixing him to the ground as it began to rust the armor of the boots.

“Awe shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.”

Richard had to struggle to move his legs and get out of the mess. It was like walking through molasses. The vomit stuck but failed to glue him fully to the floor and it was a matter of time before he was able to finally clear the ramp. Unfortunately while Robin was distracted, the monstrosity was able to get close enough to latch onto the scruff of his suit. The force of the pull sent the boy to his knees. Talons grabbed hold of his head digging the digits into his skin and forced his neck up. Any faster and the thrust would have snapped his neck like a twig.
Apprehended Richard watched as the monstrosity gagged and choked more of the acidic bile up its throat. The sight of the visible sick making its way up its esophagus held Dick in captivated fascination. Muscle contorted, burned and melted as the fluid passed, the smell was doing hell to the boy’s senses, but it was impossible to look away.

‘MOVE DAMNIT!’

Inner workings and basic survival instant went into overdrive when the vomit finally found its way out. It all passed in slow-motion. Clicking the kinesis mode on his wrist Robin launched the appendage that was stuck to the wall through the thing’s head. Jerking his own head away from the spray of deadly chemicals, Robin was able to roll out of the necro’s grasp as it stumbled away.

“Sorry, but I don’t plan on competing against Two-Face in extreme chemical makeovers.” The Puker, ‘Okay Dick you can be more creative than that’, turned to face the boy, snarling and choking with the blade penetrating its head. Using kinesis again, Robin pulled the Slasher’s limb free and threw it back again completely severing the legs from beneath it.

It thrashed and clawed at the ground as its own sick began to eat away at the exposed muscle. It had eventually still, but the aroma it released when its lungs collapsed nearly sent the boy to the floor. The whole room filled with the scent. Coupled with the humidity and lack of fresh air the toxic gas was as visible as scarecrow’s chemical weapon.

Tears blurred Richard’s eyes and his lungs screamed refusing to take in oxygen. Dick staggered toward the ‘Zero Gravity Chamber’ in hopes of finding a breathable space. The circular door opened with no problem and its closing allowed the boy to cough the fowl taste from his mouth.

‘Entering Zero-Gravity’

“Note to self. In future encounters don’t allow the damn Pucker things to make a mess then die in their own filth.” Shaking his head to extract whatever remained in his nose Richard chastised himself. “Pucker. God I sound like I’m in Left 4 Dead. Here let me just name a monster after what they do. That’s brilliant, well done mister Grayson. Truly a bright mind we have right here.”

Dick stomped as the magnets in his soles kept him on solid ground in the midst of floating garbage, arms waving as he continued his one man conversation. “Can you imagine the amount of shit I’ll get from Wally if he finds out my names for these things?”

“Gee, Dicky bird that the best you can come up with I mean really?”

“Well I’d like to see you come up with something better smart guy.”

“Anything is better than Pucker.”

“Enlighten me then.”

“I know. Something scientific, since I’m super smart about anything sciency. Maybe I’ll give it a name of an element on the periodic table.”

“That’s super lame man.”

“Better than Pucker.”

Richard dipped his voice doing his best to mock his best friend’s speech as he spoke back and forth to himself. Using body movements to match that of Wally’s as if the boy where right there himself. Dick stopped at the end of the ramp and stared at a drifting hunk of trash. The realization of what he had just been doing hit him like a truck.

“Wow…. I’m defiantly a solid candidate for Arkham.”

Looking across the way Richard saw the door that he needed to take to get out of the room and leapt. Using compressed air in his suit and boots Dick glided slowly across the room. His lack of experience with Zero Gravity found Richard reaching the other side upside down and struggling to right himself again.

“Shit, this is embarrassing. Megan makes it look so easy. Maybe I can ask for lessons or something.”

The lack of gravity made the boy feel motion sick and wasn’t helping the small pressure in his head he’s had since the tram. Flailing his arms in circular motions and attempting to steer the compressed air had Dick land softly on the platform on his back. Dick grabbed the grated floors to keep himself from going air born again and flipped himself over to lie on his stomach.

“Alright I got this. Yeah.” Instead of standing up however, Richard used his hands to pull himself to toward the door.

Once inside a long window gave a view of a cylinder tunnel and roader. “There’s my way into the Cassini Apartments.” A terminal on the other side of the hall held the controls for the sanitation system. The simple act of pressing a button activated the chamber and sent the roader to the far end.

The new door that opened in the Z-Gravity room would allow the boy to access the ventilation shaft that led to the tower. The fan that pushed garbage into the other room was loud and was spinning so fast the air was visible.

Stepping back into the other room, Richard could already see trash start to fill it. Pushing off the ledge again, Dick steered himself toward the opening. He ended up passing through sideways this time. Unfortunately there was no time to really right himself as he was forced to dodge the giant clumps of compressed litter.

“This could be a fun game, waste evasion.” Richard smiled as his sideswiped another rubbish pile.

Reaching the end of the windblown tunnel Dick found the balcony that would lead him to the apartments. “Alright that wasn’t so bad.” Richard passed the door still sideways before gravity threw him to the ground.

“Whew, I think I’m getting better at this.” Dusting himself off Richard grabbed his weapons from his holsters and started forward. "Guess I'm lucky that vomit didn't completely ruin my boots."

The next room was pitch black. The noise level was still atrocious and the shape and design of the area reminded Dick eerily of the Ishimura’s engine room. “Not a lot of fond memories there.”

Using the light on his plasma cutters proceeded into the room. The dim glow of the space was offset by a dark green, made the area seem smaller than it probably was.

Grates separated the room into parts and the far end had the lights flickering on and off. Coming closer the blood that cover the end wall was highlighted with each spasm of light. There was no body and a vent was broken through. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.

The next room was well lit. Upon spotting a sign for an elevator Richard rushed toward it, only to be stopped by what was in front of his way out.

Bodies, a lot of them. The suits marked them as workers for the sanitation system. They were all crumpled and broken together, stacked on top of one another. Blood and gore coated the wall around them. None of their heads were attached. The markings on them weren’t that of a necro. They were cut open with a plasma cutter.

Someone down here lost it, and they took everyone else down with them. It was a habit that Robin went into detective mode, using everything the bat taught him to uncover what happened.

There wasn’t much of a fight. No one else had a cutter or any other weapon on them or in hand. The individuals furthest from the elevator are all slumped facing the exit. They were shot from behind. The men by the doors were facing away and had slid with their backs against the walls.

Robin stepped back and raised one plasma cutter attempting to recreate the scene.

All of these men were waiting for the elevator; based on the color of the blood this was hours ago. Perhaps at the beginning stages of the infection? An alert was made to evacuate, judging by how they were all congregated by the elevator but with no real rush no one took it seriously. Just another day on the job.

Someone lingered behind. Obviously not unarmed, attempting to carry a plasma cutter outside of its designated area. Someone had noticed. A male body further away from the door was facing exactly were Robin was now standing, a few feet from the wall. This person was trusted; the man had stepped close to them. He was confronting the individual, most likely questioning why they had the cutter, and it cost him his life.

The first shot was taken and then they turned their attention to the rest by the elevator. The first few had not time to react still having their backs to the threat. The shots where in quick session giving no one a chance to realize what was going on until it was too late. None of the shots were clean, but the individual made sure to sever all of their heads and spinal cords.

None of them would be coming back; this guy knew exactly what they were doing. Knew exactly what was going on. Whether it was because they were somehow involved, informed or sicken by the Marker that they knew what was coming. Murder, suicide didn’t happen this time as it has so many others. The assailant wasn’t among the dead in the room. There were blood soaked footprints on the floor between the bodies. Only one pair, no one else has been down here since the incident.

The thought made Richard sad. No one knew what happened to these men. No one came looking for them when they failed to show up, assuming most likely that they were lost to the chaos that was happening to the colony. Dick wondered if perhaps they would have made it if one of their own had not lost their self to the influence of the Marker.

With his investigation finished Robin could only conclude that the individual responsible had used the elevator and left their co-workers to rot. Now if this person was still alive remains to be seen. Some part of Richard hoped they were if only to try and get them help, the other half prayed they died quickly so he wouldn’t have to end another life in self-defense. It was a selfish request, not one Bruce would approve of.

Kill or be killed, there was no in-between in this place.

The elevator was silent, the walls somewhat rusted and the lights were unnaturally bright. There was no music to listen to, no signs to read and no voice from the speakers for him to argue with. In all this was the most boring elevator ride to date.

“That is a whole shit can load of nope right here.”

The narrow hall the doors opened to was dark, but the open room across was illuminated by dozens of candles that were fixated all over the shelves on the walls. It didn’t bode well and Richard was half tempted to just sit in the well lit boring elevator for the foreseeable future.

“For the love of all that is holy, why? Why does this need to be here? Why is this a f#cking thing? Just huu.” Dick wanted to stomp his foot at the unfairness of it all. The soft chime that rang a tune down the halls echoed through the boys head. “God, it’s like I walked into a cliché horror movie, where everyone is screaming at me to not go in the door.”

Peeking his head around the corner and shining his light around the room on the other side of the hall, Dick saw the scrawling of odd symbols on the walls in white paint. A body was lying on the ground in what looked like a bathroom through an open door.

Richard groaned and slowly stepped out of the elevator. Closing the gap between himself and the room. It was small living space that contained only a small room and a bathroom. There was most likely a shared dining area everyone in the apartments could go to and eat.

The whole space seemed cramped and closed in. Books were shelved on a good sized bookshelf; a full bed took up the other half of the room. There was a picture of a man of gold shadowed by the Marker’s image. A crude drawing of little stick figures holding hands was next to it drawn on the wall. Added to the Marker’s symbols filling the rest of the walls it was obvious who lived here.

A single candle was lit in the middle of the bathroom floor with markings circling it. The body slumped over it. Richard backed out slowly, there was nothing for him here and the sooner he left the sooner he was out of the apartments that were clearly a housing ground for Unitologists.

Dick walked out and was stopped by the whispers that filled the air alongside the melody of chimes. Raising his Cutters, Richard used his flashlights to examine the halls. All the doors were closed, the monitors attached to show the inside all dead with static. Little candles set on the floor near each room. Designs on the wall were elaborate with the center forming into the relics symbol.

One other door was open and upon closer inspection held the exact same scene and the room before. Markings on the walls and a single candle lit in the middle of a circular message. The whole feel of the place had Richard on edge, his finger twitched on the trigger and the whispers had him jumping and glancing behind him at every turn.

Dick could swear on his life he heard his name among the small voices. Something was calling out to him and he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

“Don’t think about it. Just keep moving. It can’t hurt you if you don’t think about it.” The lie wasn’t helping, but it was all he could do at the moment. The complete lack of enemies and any other sound did nothing to ease his growing anxiety.

The large door to enter the next hall was sealed shut. Magnetic locks stuck in place most likely do to the blackout Richard guessed had happened. It would explain the candles somewhat. All the other doors were locked down in the area and his only other option was the one open room to his right. “Oh god, this is not going to end well.” Swallowing his collecting spit, Dick entered the doorway.

The small entry that lead to the rest of the living space had a miniature Marker statuette sitting on a shelf. Richard was half tempted to push it off. Above it painted in red, ‘or blood’ ‘not helping’, read in symbols with the only legible word being survive.

It was the joined bedroom that had Dick falter in his movement.

The lullaby that chimed across the outer halls was coming from this room. Horses made of light dance around in circles from a spinning lantern hanging from the ceiling. A small train set was set in the room, toys scattered around it and pictures taped to the walls. A twin sized bed with flower covers rested next to a little crib.

Instinct was screaming at Richard not to enter the room. To ‘turn around and find another route’. That something about this innocent children’s bedroom was ‘wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong turn back now, run away’. The boy’s knees were locked in place and his grip on his weapons tightened.

However another compulsion was driving him to go it. Some sick part of his mind was curious at what possible dangers will present itself to him here. ‘Go in. She’s calling for you.’ The whispering of his name did sound as though it was coming from somewhere in the space.

Without realizing it Dick entered and was suddenly struck with a sharp, agonizing pain in his temples. The horrid static and background screaming filled his ears so suddenly it sent the boy to the floor. One hand held to his eye, Richard felt the hair on the back of his neck stand to attention.

He didn’t have to look up to see what was present in the room with him. He glanced toward her anyway. Her distorted voice was enough to make him ill and his ears feel as though they were bleeding. She was sitting on the little bed, legs tucked beneath her. She was rocking the crib and staring at him with nothing in her eye sockets but a bright light.

“It hurts.” She moaned through a ruined jaw. “I don’t want to die. I want to stay with my baby. My little bird. It hurts so much.”

Dick forced his eyes closed and breathed hard through his nose to stop the tears that made their way to his eyes. He didn’t need to hear this, he didn’t want to. It was too much for his thin shoulders to bear. Richard shook and willed words past the lump in his throat.

“You are n-not my mama. My mama is dead, she’s….she’s gone. You are not here. You are not real.” Dick chanced his gaze toward her. She was gone, the room was silent. The music absent and the static was no longer present.

Richard remained on the floor, struggling to clear his head. ‘I’m almost there just a little further.’ Taking in the little girls room Dick wished he had never stepped inside. The clear sight of blood that covered the bed and nearby wall, it was all over the crib.

Richard had to look away only to turn his head to the opened bathroom door. Small sock covered feet lay limp in the doorway. Thin legs half cover in a pink blood stained dress. There was another smaller bundle next to it and Dick turned his head before his mind had time to process what it could have been.

'Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.' The chant ran through his head as if it would erase the scene in front of him.

Getting a better view of the opposite side of the room wasn’t any better. Richard choked on a sob at the child’s scribbled messages in crayon on the walls.

‘God keep us safe from monsters’

‘Help’

‘Mommy is sick’

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Take me to Church

Sprawl, Titan

Outside the Church of Unitology

22:03 Hours

“In 2006, a geophysicist named Michael Altman made a discovery that would change history. Buried at the impact site of a crater near the Yucatan peninsula, he uncovered a divine alien presence- the Marker. The Marker spoke to Altman and revealed a plan that would unify mankind and lead them to a bright, new future.

By the millions, people set to colonize the galaxy flocked to hear more about the Marker and the unity it promised after Michael Altman told the world of his profound discovery. But there were those who felt threatened by Altman’s message. On March 15th 2013, Altman was assassinated and thus became the first Martyr for the church.

Altman’s followers mourned his death but found divine solace in his message of unity. They would not allow the truth to be silenced and formed the Church of Unitology to bring his teachings to the galaxy.

Today the Church of Unitology can be found everywhere in the known Universe. Its message is just as strong and relevant as the others back home. Billions of believers can be found across all social, economic, and cultural groups and more are joining every day.

Growing quickly from a small group of devout miners on Titan, the Titan Station Church of Unitology has flourished into a hub of Unitology worship, practice, and learning. It boasts one of the largest and most beautiful Churches in the Sol system and is often the site of the annual Unitology Enigma Symposium.

As we await glorious Convergence, it is important to continue to nurture our relationship with the Marker and understand the future it is preparing for us. The Marker calls to all of us. It is our duty to approach it with an open heart and open mi…..”

The man’s calm voice exploded when Richard punched through the recorded box that held an odd picture to it. The glass projector bit shards into the armor plating on his hand as he stuck it again and again.

“Open mind my ass.” The boy inhaled harshly, lungs working hard to circulate oxygen to his bloodstream and into his pounding heart. “How many people are dead because of your bullshit?”

Richard rubbed at his face, careful to avoid the bandage on his nose and cheek.

‘Careful now, wouldn’t want to reopen a wound that needs stitches.’

‘Tell me something I don’t know.’

Dick wasn’t going to lie he was rattled. The apartments were horrid, a red tint was all there was in the candle lit rooms. ‘Who the hell thought it was a good idea to make the rooms look that red.’ As he made it out of the area Richard had his first encounter with Tiedemann’s men in hours; ‘Almost forgot about him’ via a gunship.

They were quick to find him. Dick would have to find a way to take his rig off the grid. The small teen was easily able to dodge the search lights as the swept across the large common area. The large guns visible on the front and the sides of the ship were a bit intimidating to say the least.

“I understand I need to be put down but this is a bit overkill wouldn’t you think?”

‘Out of the pot and into the fire as they say.’

“Who says, I’ve never heard anyone use that, like ever.”

‘Says the kid who butchers the English language because it’s funny.’

“……got me there.”

Dick had managed to avoid detection but had walked into a wide hall bathed in a blue light and was filled with recorded history lessons on the religion responsible for this nightmare. It was curiosity and the need to calm his nerves that made him listen to what the voice had to say. It didn’t help.

‘Did you really expect it would?’

“No but can you blame me for needing a distraction and time to catch my breath?”

The information on Titan holding the largest and most decorated church was new, and it was just his luck that he would be taken to the Unitology capital of the galaxy after the Ishimura. If he ever got out of here and never saw another Marker image in his life it would be far too soon.

Richard knew exactly where he was headed, as much as he tried to deny it. Leaving the area the opposite way he came in, Dick was greeted to a room with a dome ceiling with beautiful glass stained windows. The grey walls were accented nicely with golden statues carved in, and pictures of what Richard could only guess were priests set a glow to the darker room. The only thing that ruined the whole look of the entrance to this new building was a damned Marker sculpture sitting ten feet high right in the middle.

Dick wasn’t able to completely process where he was being lead when the glass walls shattered inward and the opposite wall was being torn through by bullets. The magnets in his boots kept Richard on the ground as the air was sucked from the room. Frantically accessing his rig the boy was able to find his helmet in the commands and it put itself together around his head.

A meter just by his face in the helmet let him know just how much oxygen he had left in the suit. But a lack of air was the least of his problems. Even without sound the sight of bullets rapidly destroying the room was frightening. The gunship had found him and as desperately as he wanted to retreat the way he came, Richard found himself charging forward toward the large church doors.

The entrance closed and sealed behind him and with air refilling the area Richard never felt more trapped. He disengaged his helmet and it folded back into his suit.

It was dead quiet. Not a sound to be heard. The lights were nonexistent but for the wax candles melting on the floor. ‘Where the hell did they even find this many candles?’ The gate in front of him cutting off the next room made the boy feel as though he were in some kind of fancy cell. Small details carved and painted in the walls would have been lovely to look at, were they not all Marker symbols.

“Daina? Why am I in a Church? Of all the places to lead me why am I in the f#cking Church of Unitology?” Richard could hear his voice shaking as he took in the room. The surrounding area and the stress of it all was threatening Dick with a nervous breakdown.

“It’s one of the few places on Titan Station the Tiedemann can’t monitor. Separation of Church and State.” Daina must have heard the tremor in his voice, she spoke quietly and calmly to
hold his attention on her words.

“No, no, no. Daina, we shouldn’t be in here. This is the last place we want to be right now. These things-” The boy’s voice raised an octave as he spoke, panic lacing his words.

Daina cut him off, she sounded pissed. “Richard damn you, my brother died trying to get you out, the least you can do it make it the rest of the way yourself.”

The words felt like a sucker punch to the ribs. Dick grabbed at his chest in anxiety and guilt. “The informant from before…..he was your brother.”

The woman on the other side of the line breathed deeply. Richard could hear her trying to compose herself enough to speak. “This is important, it will work. It has too. I’m in a safe room at the top of the Church. I’m not too far off, please hurry. The sooner you’re here the sooner we can get out of here and find a way to stop this.”

“And find Stross, right?”

“Meet me there, okay?”

The call disconnected. Richard didn’t bother calling her out on her evasion on Nolan. Her brother was dead because of him. ‘God, it’s no wonder she’s been so short with me the past few hours. Why she’s so determined to get me out.’

Pushing aside his crippling fear of the decorated walls around him, Richard used the guide and followed it around the church’s corridors. Traveling through the gift shop and making his way toward the reading room.

The feeling of dread that formed a pit in the boy’s stomach with each step he took inside the death trap had him on edge. It was way to quiet. Richard knew these things were drawn to anything involving the Marker like Bane to Venom, and Dick lost count of how many Marker replicas he’s past in the last five minutes alone. A Church of Unitology should have had these things swarming the area by now.

The holo feed opened on his rig with an incoming call. The sudden sound of it terrified the shit out of the boy and he shot the wall on accident. Nolan’s angular face came in to close to the screen. Richard had to stop himself from glaring to hard at the man, least he scares the other off.

“Little bird? Little bird. I know you see the symbols too.” The man sounded out of breath and just like before glanced behind him at odd intervals. “They mean something, and you know what it does. Just like me.”

“Nolan,” Dick licked his dried lips and discreetly tried to trace the call. “Yeah, I see them. But only during hallucinations.”

The older man continued like he didn’t even hear him. “We’re a threat to them. I know it. That’s why they want us dead. Cause we can stop this. We have to work together!”

“Alright, I agree. Tell me where you are Nolan and I’ll come find you.” Dick spoke slowly hoping to get through to the disoriented man. Then the other’s nose started bleeding, Richard felt sick.

“…..oh, my nose is bleeding? When did that start?…uhhh.” Nolan rubbed at his face, smearing crimson all over the top of his lip. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched at his head and walked away from the screen.

“Wait Nolan, Mister Stross! Tell me where you are? Who’s them? I’ll come find you right now. It’s Tiedemann you talking about right, is he after you? Nolan? Work with me here, just talk to me!”

The line cut off and Dick knew it would be pointless to try and call back. The boy was left along again. Richard punched the nearest wall in frustration and while the surface did little more than crack beneath his fist it made him feel better. A little.

The boy continued his exploration of the Church. Part of him wanted to find as much incriminating evidence against the religion as possible, the other half wanted to get the hell out of here.
A small text log under his foot in a small office gave his detective half what it wanted.

‘TOUR STAFF: Attention: Tour guide staff. Please remember to keep all visitors in your sight at all times. The indoctrination centers are strictly off limits to the casual public. Remember, be the light in the room for those who walk in darkness.’

“That sure is convenient.”

‘What do you think it is the Church doesn’t want the public to see?’

“Only one way to find out.”

‘Oh we’re snooping again, I like it.’

“Maybe find something that will prevent this from happening again.”

‘Won’t find it standing here.’

Placing the log in his inventory, Robin gave himself another side mission.

Find what the Unitologist Church is hiding and expose it.

‘Good plan.’

There were bodies everywhere. They were laid out on the ground, arms folded neatly on their chest and a small white sheet covering their faces. The circular placements of the symbols covered the floors. It looked like the living spaces on the Ishimura.

Richard made sure they wouldn’t be able to follow him later.

Climbing up a fancy stair case and to the upper floors where a sign with a recorded message sat in front of an open door. Dick was beginning to become annoyed with his own curiosity.

“Welcome to the Unity Hall.” It was the same calm voice from the history lessons. “This magnificent library holds copies of the Church’s most sacred text and is a regular meeting place for the Unitology scholars as they debate the glorious mysteries of the Black Marker. Notice the intricate details of the stained glass roof, forged from the hand-filtered sand of Titan itself.”

Dick pushed the sign over in a petty attempt at revenge. “Maybe you guys should have had someone test the thing for radioactivity first.”

The room beyond the door had floor to roof bookshelves. Papers were scattered across the red carpet and more candles near the edge.

“That’s a fire hazard.”

‘I think that is the least of their current problems.’

Indeed, looking over the railing to the floor below Dick got a lovely sight of an infector bringing more of its creations to the living world.

“Shit!” The amount of bodies lying untouched on the floor would give the damn thing an army in less than a minute. Robin vaulted over the side and landed in a roll.

Three of the several corpses were already staggering up to their feet. So far only Slashers were made. ‘That’s okay; we can deal with a few Slashers, no problem.’ Unfortunately with each threat the boy took down another took its place. The necromorphs coming at him may be the immediate danger, but killing them wasn’t taking out the source of the problem. He was running out of ammo.

Sliding and dodging the attacks made at him Robin charged toward the little shit cause his strife. It was currently latched onto another corpse but just before it could begin its disgusting process the boy jumped and drop kicked it off with the heel of his boots.

The abomination screamed in rage as it skidded across the floor. The young vigilante slid on his side to match its pace. Using the kinesis and one of his plasma guns, Robin shot the arm off of one of the Slashers, spun and sent the appendage soaring through the air and pinned the smaller necro to the wall where it thrashed against the restraint.

With the trouble maker out of the way, it was easy to do away with the rest of the monsters in the room. He was just lucky it wasn’t anything else but the average Slasher. The corpses meet the same fate as their mutated brothers and sisters and were dismembered so they wouldn’t cause future stress.

With the chaos over, Richard could really look around the room. The bodies that were here were placed around the area oddly. Wrappings covered their faces just as before, but the way the room was arranged and them with it made it seem as though they were set up as a sort of sacrifice.

It didn’t sit right with him.

The infector still thrashing and screaming at him on the wall brought the boy out of his musings. ‘We should leave it there. Let it die alone. Slowly’

“It’s already dead. Leaving it would only give it a chance to get out. I don’t know how these things think, but I’d rather not have an infector out there with a ton of dead bodies and a grudge.” Richard finished the squirming necro off with one shot.

‘Buzz kill’

“Better than being killed.”

The lift in the center of the Hall quickly took the boy to the next level and right to a door into a testing center. INDOCTRINATION: session in progress, was all the top of the door said.

‘Look at what we found.’

“Time to get indoctrinated.”

'That was terrible.'

"Shut up."

The indoctrination room turned out to be a simple room with a large window and a small row of chairs set up in front of a projection. The voice coming from the images on the screen was just the lady Dick argued with in the elevator.

“Awe so we meet again. You’re still not very convincing about the whole peace thing. But I guess we all have our faults.” Richard shrugged his shoulders.

There were two other doors to go through. The first housed a room filled with computers and seats in front of them. It looked like a testing room, something someone would go into answer trivia questions. Dick figured what with the Unitology being a religious cult it was more sinister than that. Unfortunately the computers didn’t seem to be functioning and he didn’t have the time to fool around with them and investigate.

The next door was clearly malfunctioning. It opened and slammed shut and opened again, with a loud bang each time it made contact. With nowhere else to go Richard crouched low and waited, watching the doors pattern. After a few seconds the boy bolted from his spot on the floor and rolled under the door just before it took his head off.

No sooner did he get through the screaming started. Dick stayed knelt on the floor clutching at his ears. The world glitches in his vision, sending symbols alternating across his view, monitors placed all across the room flashed with such intensity the boy thought he might seizure from it all. Richard bit the inside of his cheek to try and keep himself in reality.

“I’m so cold, baby bird. It hurts. Where are you going?” The boy’s mother was sweet and saddened. Her dead face and empty eyes stared at him through the screens, surrounding him with her gaze. “Are you- are you trying to leave me?” The accusations made Richard curl into himself a bit more. The phantom’s voice grew cruel and she hissed at him, words burning him in terror. “My baby bird, you can’t run from the pain forever. Soon you’ll beg for a way to end it all. And I’ll be here for you, always here.”

And just like every time before, it was over. So quickly Dick had to wonder if anything had happened at all. Not wanting to risk letting his guard down Richard stood slowly and only uncovered his ears after a few minutes. The woman’s voice on the projector in the other room was the only sound to be heard. The door was sealed shut behind him.

Richard swallowed and grabbed at his chest. She was becoming more aggressive. She was never this hostile before on the Ishimura, always gentle and loving towards him. Even as he tried to hang himself with a power cord, kindly egging him on to be with her and his father again.

As much as it shouldn’t, her words hurt. He wasn’t running from her because he didn’t love her. It was because she was gone, and the thing that took her place in his memory was corrupted by his own head and the Marker. ‘That thing isn’t mama. It’s not mama.’ The manta replayed in the boy’s head until the guilt he felt at her words lightened, if only just.

With the rooms and monitors no longer haunted by his visions, Richard saw the room with the testing computers from security cameras.

‘They were watching them.’

‘Why, what’s the point in that?’

‘Recruitment maybe?’

‘It’s a possibility.’

‘No time to find out either.’

‘Later then.’

The only way out was another maintenance tunnel. Dick wanted to pound his skull against a wall. “Are you flipping serious right now? How many of these things am I going to have to go through?”

Moaning at the ceiling and punching coding into his rig to hack the damned door a little too hard, Richard lifted himself in and began crawling. The small space was pitch black, the only light coming from his rig. Blessedly it was a short crawl.

The exit was a homing beacon of light and Richard didn’t hesitate to pull himself out. Closing the access doors behind him and turned.

She was so close to his face their noses were touching. The smile on her face was a thing of nightmares and her eyes glowed white, threatening to blind him. In his initial shock Dick backed up only to hit the wall behind him, dropping his cutters in the process. The boy wasn’t able to draw in breath, his lungs burned with the need to scream but it was as if she seized his voice.
Richard just barely caught her arms. One hand latched onto his throat immediately cutting off his air supply, she squeezed. But the thing that held his attention was the syringe needle she held in her other hand. She was bigger than him and the lack of oxygen was beginning to darken his vision but the needle was close, Richard could practically feel it gently touch his pupil. He held her back ignoring her hand on his neck and used all his strength to keep the syringe from puncturing his eye.

The last thing Dick needed was to be blinded, if the needle didn’t reach his brain first.

“MAKE US WHOLE.”

She whispered, broken jaw never moving.

Richard was unable to hold both their collective weight. The tumble to the floor almost allowed the needle threw his skull. A sob echoed from his closed wind pipe, bottom lip trembled and arms lost their strength slowly allowing the object closer.

Dick had to close his eyes. He didn’t want to see or hear what the Marker did to the image he held of his mother. Her long reddish hair framed his head, such pretty hair he remembered brushing with her favorite brush. This was the closest he’s been to her in five years, and he was terrified.

“MAKE US WHOLE.”

The weight was gone, his throat opened and he was no longer struggling to hold up a dead woman. Instead when Richard opened his eyes the needle was being held just above his eyelid by himself. Dick screamed himself hoarse as he threw the syringe across the room and scrambled into a sitting position in the corner.

The boy clawed at his throat and rocked himself back and forth. It was happening again, only this time she didn’t gently coax him into doing it. She initiated it, determined to finally end his life with his own hand. Richard could feel the phantom pain of bruises around his neck that would never show. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and Dick noted with disdain that he had pissed himself during the confrontation.

Richard felt shame and discouragement, choosing instead to sit and hold his head in his hands. The suit was designed to the fact that it is impossible to hold your bladder in a zero gravity situation given you can’t feel it. The fact didn’t make him feel better.

‘My nose is bleeding.’ That was the only thing Dick could think of after minutes of staring at his hands. He hadn’t even noticed the cut across his face opened again. Everything felt sore, his ribs, his back, his head spun. Richard was a mess and he could bet that he looked worse than he did before. He sure felt it.

‘Get up.’

……

‘It’s just a little further.’

……

‘Daina is waiting for us, come on now.’

……

‘We can go home soon.’

“I don’t want to go home.”

‘Why not.’

“I’m tired.”

‘That’s not a good excuse. Let’s go.’

“No.”

‘Bruce is coming.’

“No, he’s not.” Saying it out loud made the boy's voice break.

‘You don’t know that.’

“He’s not waiting and he’s not coming. Besides I don’t want to see him anymore.”

‘What about Wally, and Roy?’

“No”

‘Alfred?’

“No”

‘Why?’

“Because I’m not me anymore. I haven’t been me for a while. It’s better right? For them to remember me from before.”

‘You’re being self centered’

“I’m tired.”

‘……doesn't change the fact we still have a mission to finish.’

……

‘Mission Objective: Find and destroy the Marker…. Secondary Mission: Locate and protect Nolan Stross….Optional Objective: Discover evidence against the Church and prevent another Marker being built.’

……

‘On your feet solider, the job isn’t done yet.’

“….It’s hard.”

…..

‘It was never supposed to be easy.’

Richard blinked.

Tearing his bottom lip with his teeth, Dick used the wall to slowly bring himself to his feet. There was no motivation in him to continue but sitting here and waiting to die would just hurt Daina and the other civilians who were trapped in this nightmare with him. They didn’t deserve this. Nolan didn’t. Daina didn’t. She had already lost her brother it wasn’t fare of him to sit down and give up.

She and Nolan didn’t know who he was before this, even if Daina knew his secret, there wasn’t any real expectation from them other than surviving. He would do this. He would survive. Even if it was only until he got them out.

The room he was in must have belonged to a higher priest. It was decorated with wall covered bookshelves. A nice desk and a chair, a little too fancy for someone not important, was in the middle of the area. A good sized office, not a bad place to have a nervous breakdown, there were worse places.

Dick limped to the exit. His gait made from stiffness and an uncomfortable wetness on his legs. The boy made sure to pick up his forgotten plasma cutter from the floor. He was gonna have to glue the damned things to his hand at this rate.

The area outside the office was beautiful, if you could ignore the blood that painted the blue room red. He was on a second floor balcony, and the ground below him held the foundation to four gracefully crafted women in the center of the room holding a ball. A blue light came from the top highlighting the softened features of the statues. They were likely representations of angles, if the surrounding statues of praying men along the balconies were any indication. The whole room was stunning.

Until an unfamiliar screech echoed through the room.

‘MotherFu….’

“A new enemy. How different is this new Marker that it’s causing such mutations?”

There were many odd alterations on the Ishimura, many of which the boy’s already seen here but these new threats….. They were getting smarter, baiting then swarming in pacts. While they did it often on the old ship, there was something about these new mutations that seemed more menacing. More knowing.

A small lift let Richard access the bottom floor. Keeping his back toward the wall he semi circled the room. The exit he saw was on the other side of the large statues. He would have to cross the center of the room to reach it.

The shrikes and chirps sounded like a wounded animal. The thought stopped the boy for a moment.

‘Were there animals on this station? Could the mutation reach them as well?’

Robin tensed and slowly worked his way into the room. Plasma cutters held out in front, eyes searching every corner and ears listening for the slightest off putting noise. The chirping was echoing along the tall ceiling making it hard to pin point the exact location it was coming from. There were blood written messages at the base of the statues but Robin was too preoccupied trying to find the new threat to read it.

Richard was surprised he made it to the other side without conflict. Still not one to take chances, Dick turned and backed his way to the door. It was quiet. Either the threat left or it was watching him. The feeling of eyes on him made the boy swallow hard.

The door was clear and Richard was home free.

Then something on the other side busted the door inward. The sheik of metal bending in was nails on a chalkboard and the sound the thing made on the other side made the boy’s head throb. Whatever was over there, it was big.

That was his way out.

“Daina I’m locked out.” Dick could only stare dumbly at the broken door, breathing shallow on the thought of what was in there. “There’s…something….something in the church. It broke the door.”

The woman on the other line didn’t seem fazed by the news. ‘Of course she’s not. She’s not out here with it.’

‘Not the time to be bitter about it.’

“Hang on. I’ll try to override all the gates in the area.” Her voice was almost drowned out but the chirping that sounded once again.

“Hurry, there’s something in here with me too.” Richard whispered, backing up till he hit the broken door.

Moments later the gates on both sides opened. He wasn’t able to move toward either when the thing staking him poked its head round one of the statues’ base. Richard was temporarily horrified at what stared back at him.

The massive, three pronged head didn’t even have eyes to stare at him with. The shape of the skull was didn’t match any form of human bone structure, it looked more like a velociraptor, especially when it tilted its head to the side at him. Its gums and teeth were all there exposed and frozen in a permanent grin. The spinal column was arched out and looked thicker than any other necro he’s seen. The talons that reached out and grabbed the side of the foundation it was hiding behind were larger than Dick’s arm.

The thing actually f#cking chirped at him, glued smile showing off human teeth in a monster’s face.

Another one ran behind it, racing to another statue base. Dick startled and took his eyes off the one staring.

That was mistake number one.

The small second Richard’s gaze was away from it, the bird like horror charged forward. Robin brought up his cutters and fired away at the thing coming at him with great speed. The blast from the plasma cutters did little. In fact it looked as if it did nothing at all. There was nothing to aim at. Limbs were tucked carefully behind its back and its lowered head shelter the legs. The head and spinal cord itself took the punishment of the weapons without flinching or slowing down.

“SHIT!” Robin had to roll to the side when it came seconds from hitting him, at the speed it was going and how hard the head was it would have easily broken his ribs. It was reflect that had Dick dropping one of his plasma cutters and using his free arm to flip himself out of the way. Instead of continuing forward in its rush the beast stopped short and swung it’s talons at the boy as he dodged its charge attack.

Dick screamed out.

The attack struck true, ripping through armor plating like tissue paper and the fragile skin beneath. The boy landed on his back and clutched the new laceration on his waist. Blood pooled in his hand, nothing vital was hit but had he been any closer at all there would be two of him on the ground. Using one arm and both his legs while he held to the fire on his side Dick scooted back.

It followed his movements, head tilted to the side just watching as the young vigilante struggled back to his feet. Seeing it stand to its full height it was easily the size of Killer Croc. Its ribcage was open wide, like something inside blew it out. Chirping and clicking it walked toward the downed child, movements controlled, and calm. Richard choked, this thing wasn’t just smart. This thing was downright intelligent. While others would mindlessly go in for the kill using easy to follow strategies; this one was playing with him.

The light from his flashlight as Richard raised it again reflected off of teeth and with mute horror Dick found its eyes. Tiny pinpricks sunken into its head that trail his every movement. If there was ever a monster to compare to Joker, this was it.

Richard’s whole arm shook as he tried to aim straight. The creature reared back and then charged again. Its weight crushed the fallen cutter. Robin rolled onto his stomach and twisted himself away from the assault. It was a narrow miss but the action got the boy to his feet once more, even if his injury burned like hot steel. Gritting his teeth, and aiming at the offenders back Robin was able to sever its arm and leg.

The abomination went down with a terrible shriek. The boy didn’t let up on his shooting, plasma tearing the monster apart one limb at a time. It thrashed and squirmed on the floor, its cries of pain were answered with several other clicks and chirps.

This thing had friends, and they were pissed.

Somehow Richard found himself back in the middle of the room. The four statues surrounding him. Dick could catch just a glimpse of them running from cover to cover. It was hard to tell just how many of them were circling him. With the sound bouncing off the ceiling he couldn’t tell which one posed to attack first. One chirp alerted him to the right and he aimed and shot at the head peeking around the corner.

That was mistake number two.

Having been successfully distracted, Robin was unable to fully avoid the hit from behind. The force of the blow sent his small frame into the statue’s base. His previously injured shoulder clipped the side of it, and Dick was sure any harder would have torn it out again. His own blood covered the red message left from someone before.

They were using one another as bait, they’re playing cat and mouse with him. It was no wonder the whole room was colored with blood. They were learning. At least the newer mutations were. The thought scared him. He was barely making it with the mindless necros what was he going to do about the ones that could actually think and plan.

His rig activated suddenly, opening up a line. Oh, he did not need this right now. “Richard, I don’t think I can ope-“

“NOT NOW DAINA!” The line was silent then disconnected.

Dick hadn’t meant to scream at the woman. She was only trying to help, but he was stressed out, bleeding and pretty sure he wasn’t making it out of this fight alive. There were too many and far too well organized.

He needed to think, come up with a plan. There was no time. The chirping and seeing them dash around the room was making him dizzy. Richard wasn’t breathing, holding it in to try and starve off the nausea. He couldn’t focus. Lights were dancing in his vision.

‘Stop relying on your vision.’ Richard flinched. “Bruce?”

‘There is more than one way to see. Don’t forget your training.’ Bruce’s deep voice and stern tone was the most soothing sound in the world, even if it was just in his head.
Breathing deep, Richard closed his eyes. “More than one way to see.”

The noises the creatures made became shaper as he focused his hearing. There was a difference in their pitch and length. They were talking to each other, communicating. ‘Not the time to dwell on it.’ He heard their movements and steps as they were stalked around the thick bases.

‘There are three of them. Same height and build as the other one.’ Gripping his cutter, Robin drew in a deep breath and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. Coming at him from behind the creature charged and the boy ran with him straight at the closest sculpture. Planting his foot on the smooth edge, Robin ran vertically and leapt away from the structure. His attacker struck the rock, hard, creating cracks in the marble. In the mid of his bock flip Robin aimed his cutter and blew off as many limbs as he could. It fell to the floor the same time the boy landed.

The clicks got more aggressive around him. ‘These things are aware enough to forge attachments to each other.’

‘And you just took out two of their friends.’

"Not helping."

This time one of the Stalkers, ‘God’, cut the hide and seek act and charged without waiting for the boy to turn his back. Using kinesis Robin grabbed its fallen brother and launched the body at the challenger. The monster tripped and its launching speed caused the monstrosity to slide on the ground, its limbs sprawled as it attempted to gain balance. Robin used that as an opportunity to remove them.

‘Three down, one to go.’

The clip in his cutter ran empty, and quite frankly Robin was surprised it didn’t happen sooner. His inventory was empty of ammo. He would have to find away to take this last one out without a gun. Speaking of the last one, it got really quiet.

Richard had returned to the middle of the room. It could be hid behind any one of the statues. It wasn’t making a sound. If it wasn’t for the feeling of being watched sending his senses on high alert Dick would have thought it left. Holstering his cutter, Richard brought out his scalpel.

‘What the hell is that gonna do?’

“Shut up.”

Richard tried to use the silence to come up with a strategy, and from the quiet that surrounded him the remaining threat was doing the same. Something told the boy these things won’t fall for the same ticks the other did. Dick could feel blood gluing his suit to places on his leg, it was uncomfortable. He could image his whole side was red by now.

‘Stay focused.’

The clicking started again; it was coming from behind him. Richard swung around and brought his arms up.

That was his third mistake.

There was nothing peeking at him from behind a corner. Instead there were quick footsteps coming from behind. Robin realized his error and swung back around and brought his arm up to block. The thick skull make contact and the resulting snap in the boys arm made him choke on his collecting spit.

‘Its voice. It threw its f#cking voice.’

‘Clever girl’

‘NOT HELPING!’

Richard was thrown to the floor with a cry. The boy gritted his teeth as pain seared his whole arm. He couldn’t move the limb and he knew through experience without needing to take the suit off that the bone was coming through the skin.

“Compound fracture, s-shit.”

This was bad; on top of the lacerations on his waste and face, now he could feel blood fill his glove. He was shaking with adrenalin and pain, his thoughts raced. He was screwed. Robin could hear it, just out of sight chirping at him. The boy could tell it was laughing.

The creature waited until he was back on his feet to show itself again. It wasn’t even trying to hide anymore. It knew it had him beat. Richard bared his teeth at it, swaying where he stood holding his fore arm tightly.

It knew already knew his tactics for them, it watched him take down the others and it adapted to it. He needed something new, something that would catch it off guard. Robin smiled.

The boy looked it in the eye showing it his blood stained teeth. The monster clicked and charged forward and Robin matched its movements. They meet in the middle of the room. Just before they collided Robin fell to his knees and used his momentum to slide inches from its skull. As soon as he was through its legs the boy turned and swung his scalpel and sliced through the Achilles heel

It dropped like a sack of rocks. Without the use of its legs the Stalker resorted to crawling toward the boy, and by the sound it was making it was beyond pissed. The kinesis mode seized one of its fallen brothers and Robin sent it down on top of the other. Again and again and again and again.

Richard was left gasping for air and what remained of the threat laid crushed under the weight of the other corpse. The room grew quiet once more and with nothing else attempting to take his head the boy let out a pained moan and sunk to the floor.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit.”

Dick had to carefully work his hand out of the glove and roll up the sleeve past the break. His whole fore arm was crimson and slick. There it was, white showing through all the red. It wasn’t bad or even the worst break he’s had, but he was alone and with no incoming aid. It needed to be cleaned and cast to avoid infection. Because running around with a fever was sure to lower his already nonexistent survival rate to the negatives. The cast would have to wait but he could get it sealed.

‘Wow this sucks’

“You don’t say. I was better off sulking in that office for a few hours.” Richard dug in his inventory for the first aid kit, which was already looking pretty sad from when he first found it. Taking out the gaze and wipes from the box he set to work.

‘Says you.’

While he worked Richard opened up his rig and called Daina. He figured she wouldn’t have called unless it was important, plus he needed to apologize. “Daina, you there?”

“Richard, I can’t unlock the elevator in the room.” Well she didn’t sound upset at being yelled at. “Can you do anything from your end?”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.” Dick finished wrapping up is arm as tightly as he could and injected the last of his aid syringes into the laceration on his side and wrapped that as well. It needed stitches but this was the best he could do at the moment at least he wouldn't lose anymore blood. For now.

“Alright the broken door was the only direct was to me so you’ll have to go the long way.”

“I feel like we’ve done this before.”

“Cute.”

“I try.”

“Are you alright, you sound terrible.”

“Just asterous. Where am I headed?”

“Okay, once you get the elevator open you’ll have to go through the Funerary wing of the church and down into the crypt.”

Richard wanted to throw up. The last time he was in a morgue surrounded by dead people he had to fight off the captain and most of the risen crew. It was like walking through a graveyard in a zombie outbreak. “Is that the only option?”

“Unfortunately, now once your there it’s very important you’re not…”The whole rig began to malfunction. Dick could barely hear the woman over the static. “No, no, no. Shit, Earth gov can’t jam us in here. Not in here, we’re supposed to be safe…”

“Daina? Daina, important that I not what? Tell me what’s important.” The static eventually took over the whole line and dropped the call. When he tried the line wouldn’t even connect. The boy punched the wall with his good hand. “Don’t they have anything better to do than hunt me down and make my life harder.”

‘Nineteen dead.’

“I know damnit but I’m not even the most dangerous thing out here right now. What more harm could I possibly do?” Dick stomped toward the elevator and began working on the wires. Before long the elevator was back online and Richard was on his way to the funerary.

'Out of the pot...'

"...and into the fire."

“Children of the Marker, we are gathered now to pay respect to the bodies of the dead, those who have been fortunate to be called ahead of us.”

Richard punched the wall again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Frozen Cryptic Hearts

Sprawl, Titan

Church of Unitology Crypt

23:00 Hours

Richard’s gloves stuck to the frost on the walls as he descended down the stairs. The process was slow. With thick condensation on each step and the feeling of being held together by mere skin and tendons, Dick was not making it anywhere fast. His present dependence for a vertical surface to keep upright wasn’t making it easier either.

Limping through the funeral parlor was quiet enough; Richard was okay with quiet for a while. He even found a long scarf on one of the bodies in the room to make a makeshift sling for his arm. So all was not great, but it wasn’t too terrible.

‘That is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve heard out of you yet.’

“Shut it, can’t you see I’m trying to be positive here? You’re the asshole who told me I needed to keep going in the first place.”

‘Doesn’t mean you gotta be a blind optimistic.’

“Pfft, I’m the definition of blind optimism.” Richard hissed at himself through his teeth. Shadows were overtaking the staircase. “Why does every room in this damn place have to be so dark? You’d think they’d need it lit up nicely to avoid accidents.”

Every step down the stairs jolted something, causing spikes of pain to radiate from everywhere. The teen’s breath came in puffs and pants. He was folded in on himself to lessen the aggravation movement did to his abused ribs. The shaking from before hasn’t stopped and the space around him is swimming in his vision.

The aid syringe isn’t doing much to help with the pain this time; it had barely resealed the injury on his face and side. A very thin layer of regrown skin and muscle cells were all that was coving the injury, nowhere near the amount of effect the syringes before that did. Dick could feel the lack of blood in his system and figured its stopped replacing the lost blood cells as well.

“Wonder what the side effects are for using those aids too often?”

‘Not good I imagine.’

Dick could only pray he doesn’t pass out from blood loss.

The door at the end of the staircase opened to another room covered in more ice with fans on both sides of the wall. The entrance at the end of the small hall wasn’t promising of fun times and ice cream.

“A crypt, why does it always have to be a crypt or a morgue? Wasn’t the first time on the Ishimura enough? Why not just let me walk on the surface of the building till I get to the floor I need?”

‘Now who’s being pessimistic?’

“Quiet.”

‘You wouldn’t get far outside with that tear in your suit.’

Dick stopped in his journey to the other door and looked down at his side. The soiled bandage wrapping his waist was visible through the torn suit. The protective fabric frayed away and the metal plating sharp in some corners where it was broken. He’d be dead before he realized he was out in the vacuum.

“Can’t argue with that.”

The next door took longer to open, ice broke off the access point as it allowed entrance. Behind that was an extra door to keep the cold in. The second it opened Dick could feel the chilled air freeze his cheeks and nose. His breath came out in tuffs of white, and in front of him held pods of people frozen in an eternal peaceful sleep.

“They freeze their dead here. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just cremate everyone? Less storage space.”

‘You mean less possible enemies for you to deal with.’

“Well I wasn’t going to say anything but shit, fine, you got me.” The boy rolled his eyes and shimmed along the walls. “Gods above, this has got to be the worst idea I’ve had to date.”
‘Quit your bitching and move before you freeze to death.’

“Yeah, cause out of all the ways to die on this f#@king station, freezing to death is defiantly number one on that list.” Dick had to rest his head against the wall and lean down to catch his breath again. The cold was making him shiver more than before and it wasn’t doing his injuries any favors. He tried not to think about how his vision was darkening more and more along the edges.

‘How bout we try not to die at all.’

“Dear god, you’re a genius. How did that never occur to me? Don’t die. I can’t believe I never thought of that before now. Clearly you have opened my eyes to the error of my ways. I’m going to live my life by that decree ‘try not to die’. It’s….. God, its brilliant.”

‘…..This is the exact reason why you don’t have very many friends at school.’

“F#@k you, I’m hilarious.” Richard huffed at the conversation he was having with himself.

The crypt was not unlike a labyrinth, narrow halls that connected to little rooms; each holding dozens of frozen corpses along the walls. Every turn led to a new room, a new hall. Dick had to constantly refer back to his rig to ensure he was going the right way. The silence was eerie. And every moment something didn’t happen sent a deep seeded dread through the boy’s stomach.

Something was coming.

Richard didn’t know what or when. Not a single sound could be heard apart from the fans and his own footsteps and breathing, but he knew. Peace was a short-lived luxury here, nothing stayed this calm for long without there being some sort of price.

As a door opened revealing another maze of halls and rooms, Richard paid his due.

The misty room was thrown into a red, and white noise chaos so fast the boy couldn’t register what it was he was looking at. The silence suddenly pierced with a screaming so loud the noise didn’t make it to Richard’s ears until his back hit the wall. Movement came from the pods, rapid and spasmic in nature that the figures were blurred.

Dick could only watch in muted horror as the lurching beings came more into focus. They were trapped in the broken pods, everything from the waist down fused with something fleshy into the compartments. Arms were held back leaving only their heads and torso to toss and turn.

Richard closed his eyes and opened them in an attempt to keep from recognizing the thrashing corpses in the pods. But he saw. And he knew.

Knew his father’s, his aunt’s and uncle’s faces. He saw Wally’s hair and Connor’s build, he could point out the twitching figures of Artemis and Kaldur in the corner. Megan and Roy screeching on the other side. Uncle Oliver, uncle Clark, uncle Berry, aunt Diana, aunt Dinah, uncle John. All of them decayed and mutated but recognizable all the same in their uniforms.

Dick couldn’t move from his position on the wall. Tears ran freely down his face and he couldn’t hear his own distraught voice over the noise. The screaming was too much, the movement was too much, the overload to his senses was too much.

It was all too much.

Too much.

Too much.

Hands grabbed the boy’s shoulders. Large hands with flesh and muscle missing from the fingers. Dick followed the hands to the shoulders and finally met eye to eye with the man attached to them.

Bruce was just as decayed as the rest of them. His skin was grey and his eyes vacant. There was the way he held his head up that suggested his neck was broken and his jaw was missing from his face. All the same, he screamed too. Right in the boy’s face did he scream. It sounded choked and painful. It sounded like death.

Dick wrenched himself away from the wall and out of the monstrosities grip. He needed to find some form of exit. But the movement and flashing of the lights was making him nauseous and dizzy.

Everywhere he turned was a familiar face shrieking for his attention. The boy was finding it harder to breath in his increasing panic.

Richard tore his eyes ways from the madness in front of him and found his mother. She stood by the doorway at the other end of the room watching him as the figures on the walls continued to dance around her. The flashing lights framed her destroyed face and pronounced smile in a demonic glow. Her eyes sockets shined, her hair floated around her.

She didn’t move, didn’t speak.

She just stood there watching.

Waiting.

Smiling.

~

Dick blinked.

His thoughts were sluggish, and his limbs felt like lead.

The boy didn’t know how he ended up on the floor, but there he was. Laying in the middle of the room, with frost biting into his cheek, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Everything hurt, but he couldn’t remember why.

There was a fire in his waist and arm that greatly contrasted with the cold of the room. It was all he could think about. His muscles ached, his head spun.

He wanted to be held.

He wanted to cry in pain.

He wanted to scream in agony.

He wanted Bruce.

There was someone talking.

It was low, it sounded far away. Dick tried to turn his head to find out where it was coming from but he found he didn’t have the energy to, his eyes wouldn’t focus. The person talking must has seen him move, they stopped. Richard thinks they might have asked a question. He didn’t respond and they resumed speaking like before.

It was quiet, calm, soothing. The voice made Dick want to go back to sleep but something was telling him that was a bad idea. That if he slept now he might not wake up again.

That was a scary thought.

‘Is it though?’

So, he laid there, and listened. Dick wasn’t sure how long he rested before the words started to register to him. It was a woman talking. Moving his eyes Richard found an open video feed sitting a foot away from him. As his vison slowly became clearer he saw the woman inside the feed. Her blond hair was in braided buns and her face looked tired and stressed, but she spoke confidently.

She must have felt his eyes on her because she stopped again and stared back. She asked another question. Dick was finding it hard to understand with the stuffing in his ears so he simply blinked back. She looked frustrated, or was it worried. Dick couldn’t be sure.

It wasn’t long till she started talking again. Richard realized she was trying to ground him. Bring him back into reality. So, the boy tried harder to listen to her words and piece together what she was saying.

“… idiot yelled, ‘watch this’… swear to the … anytime anyone … words something stupid is …and sure enough … stupid happened.”

Her voice was cutting in and out, but it was easy to put together that she was telling him a story. She wouldn’t look up from her hands, but Dick was sure the story was meant for him.

“He jumped… instead of the table … weight like he thought it would it … underneath him like I said it would. Broke his wrist, but … too busy laughing at him like everyone else to do anything about it. Should of seen the look on his face.” She smiled slightly then stopped.

The woman looked up at him to find him staring but not reacting so she went on. “Another time, we were working on a project for our department and he thought it was a good idea to involve a cat in the presentation…”

Richard like the sound of her voice. It was helping, slowly, but everything was starting to come back to him. Her name was Daina Le Guin. She is helping him escape the station, Titan, they are both trapped on. The creatures from the Ishimura followed him here. Something is wrong with him, he’s hurt, he’s sick. He needs help. He needed to get to her.
If anyone could help him it would be her.

There is still something missing though. Moving his face off the floor and rolling to his back Dick looks around the room. The pods remained intact. ‘why wouldn’t they be?’ Nothing was moving, nothing was screaming at him, nothing was watching him.

Except maybe Daina.

Looking back to the woman on the screen he found her staring him with apprehension.

“Richard? Can you hear me?”

Dick blinked and nodded.

Daina sighed. “Okay, okay, good. That’s good. Do you remember me?” She spoke slowly making sure his attention stayed with her.

He nodded again.

“Good. Now listen to me because this is important Richard. Can you move?”

Richard didn’t do anything for a minute, thinking. Could he move? He knew he was hurt but nothing that would incapacitate him. He was just tired. So damn tired. Everything felt heavy. He didn’t understand how he ended up on the floor. But Daina was waiting for him to do something, respond in some way so he did.

Slowly Dick moved his good arm underneath him and tried to push himself up. The boy made a keeling noise in the back of his throat. The fire in his side spread and threated to pin him to the floor once more.

Dick laid back down to catch his breath. The room was spinning around him.

“It’s fine, just try again. You can do this Richard, just take deep breaths.”

His good arm shook with exertion but eventually he was sitting up and leaning against the wall, panting. His lungs burned and his vision darkened for a moment but he did it.

“Good job, good job. Okay just take it slow, you’re doing great.” Daina didn’t stop talking to him, probably to keep him from relapsing into, whatever it was that happened.

Richard could feel his eyes rolling up into his head, and he fought with everything he had not to pass out again. “Daina?” Dick could hear the slur in his words.

“I’m right here okay. I’m right here. You’re okay.”

Dick didn’t feel okay.

“What happened?”

“What do you remember?”

Dick didn’t like that she answered his question with a question but he was to disoriented to complain. “I don’t…. I was walking into the room and then I woke up on the floor, with you talking to me.”

Daina didn’t look pleased, but she didn’t say anything against him. “I’ve been monitoring your vitals since I first connected with you, back in the hospital. You have lost a lot of blood Richard, just barely enough to not be life-threatening. The aid syringes have been doing a decent job of building back your blood supply, but by the looks of things you just lose it all about as fast as it can be replaced. I think that was a contributing factor to what happened. The amount of first aids you’ve been using in such a short amount of time didn’t help either, I imagine.”

“You’re stalling.” Dick closed his eyes to keep the room from spinning.

“You suffered a seizure. Seeing your vitals go off like that on your rig, I thought you were having some form of stroke at first. Scared the shit out of me.”

Dick stared at her uncomprehending. “A seizure?”

“Yes. I’m not entirely sure what triggered it, but I can only assume blood loss and shock had a big part of it.”

The boy could only nod. It made sense. He closed his eyes again.

“Hey, don’t do that.” Daina spoke firmly, but not unkindly. “I need you to start moving again. You’re almost there just a bit further and I can help you. I can’t do that unless you make it to me.”

“Tired.”

“I realize that, I really do, but you’re going to end up dead if you don’t get up now.”

Dick sighed. He didn’t want to move. He wanted a nap.

“Richard.”

“I know, I know. I’ll get up, just, give me a minute.”

They sat in silence for a while. Before Dick spoke again.

“Daina.”

“Yes?”

“Would you keep talking to me. Please. Just a bit longer. I wanna hear the end of the story.”

The woman on the other line, huffed but smiled. “So this project is going to be a huge deal if it succeeds, or cause us to become the laughing stalk of the whole department. So of course he wanted to bring a cat into it. But I guess that’s just what brothers do…”

~

It took another twenty minutes before Dick could get off the floor. He still clung to the walls as he walked, and he had to stop constantly to catch his breath but he was getting to his destination. Albeit more slowly than before.

Daina remained with him this time, switching to auto comm. and keeping him company. The audio constantly cut in and out but it remained online for the time being. She talked to him as he walked and encouraged him when he stopped. She didn’t yell at him to hurry or scold him for needing to rest.

Dick figured she was telling the truth when she said he scared her. The small teen felt guilt close his throat. He didn’t mean to scare her. He didn’t mean for a lot of things to happen.

Richard noted with passive interest that he was leaving an alarming trail of blood behind him. He didn’t voice his thoughts to Daina, he didn’t want to scare her away.

He limped quietly, listening to her stories about her time on the station with her brother. Their misadventures as children back on Earth. Their expeditions to Titan for the first time.

It was nice.

He focused on that rather than the burning pain that was growing with intensity in his waist with each step. Dick bit into his lip when he stumbled to keep from crying out, but his breath was becoming more and more ragged. If he cared to listen more carefully he might have notice how wet the inhales and coughs were getting.

If he cared.

He tried not to care.

He didn’t care at all.

Just listened to Daina’s stories.

They were good stories.

They made him want to laugh.

It hurt too much to laugh right now, or smile.

When did his face start hurting?

Daina seemed to care though. She heard him, he could tell. Her words of encouragement became more frequent, and the promise of relief as soon as he made it. That he was doing good, so good, just keep going now. Just a little further.

One major surprise though was the complete lack of enemies. None of the pods had been touched, no necromorphs were in the area, it was just them. It was a blessing considering Dick couldn’t move without vertical help and no ammo in his inventory. If anything came up against him now, he was not surviving the encounter.

Finally, after traversing the maze of frozen corpses, Dick had made it to the exit. The door was finely crafted with two figures etched into the metal standing guard. The door opened to a barely lit, metallic colored, room with a machine in the middle. The temperature was higher in here, Richard could no longer see his breath.

The machine in the middle compiled of several arms moving at random attempting to grab something that wasn’t there. A circular hole was in the middle, big enough to fit the pods found in the labyrinth behind him.

“This is it. Now your exit is above you, you’ll have to turn off the gravity control in the room and float to the opening in the ceiling.”

Richard looked up to see what she was talking about and sure enough there was his exit. About thirty feet above him. One singular closed hole the size of the pods and himself.

“This room is where they transport the newly frozen corpses in their pods for safe keeping. Based on recent records though the transport has been experiencing issues with keeping the bodies on the tracks so the system was cleaned out. There should be nothing in your way when you go up.”

The boy nodded and used the railings to make his way to the center of the room. The machine in the middle had a computer screen in front awaiting commands from its user. Dick had to blink hard to bring the words into focus. Getting into any computer system was second nature to him, but a new problem had presented itself when he attempted to shut down the gravity control.

“Shit.”

“What is it?”

“The gravity controls are locked out. While I can say my acrobatic skills are something to be admired I don’t think I’m in a position to demonstrate at the moment.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah”

“Okay just, let me think. I’ll try and bypass the lock from my end. Do what you can on yours but don’t strain yourself.”

The line went quiet as Daina worked.

Richard wandered around the room using the railing for support and looking at the floor beneath him. The machine was big, needing two floors to work. Spotting a lift on the far side of the machine Dick made his way towards it.

On the ground level was an impressive looking reactor. Dick whistled. Blue light shines behind three large metal spheres that rotated around it.

‘No doubt doing an excellent job of keeping the gravity in the room stable.’

“How bout we fix that.”

Richard shimmied along the wall until he found what he was looking for. A wired control panel.

Ripping the casing off the wall and exposing the cables Dick set to work. From there it was easy, stopping the spheres from rotating and cutting off power supply to the core. Once finished Dick could feel his tired bones grow lighter. The only thing keeping him from flying weightlessly off the ground were the magnets in his boots.

The little bird smiled as his hair floated around him and the burden was temporarily lifted from his muscles.

“Alright, flying lesson part two.”

Releasing the magnets in his shoes the boy wonder used his suit to steer toward the opening in the ceiling.

“Daina, I did it.”

When he pulled up the video feed all he was meet with was static.

“Daina?”

Coming through the ceiling brought Dick into another room with nine more sealed holes at the top. Containers and objects that where not bolted to the floor floated aimlessly along with the boy.

“Daina, can you hear me? Daina what happened? All I’m getting is static. Daina?”

After the continued silence stretched on the boy gave up.

"She'll call back when she's ready." Dick tried to reassure himself.

Maneuvering himself to land on the catwalk attached to the walls of the circular room the boy made it. Upside down but he made it. Richard grabbed the rails of the walkway and set his feet on the floor. The magnets in his boots clunked and scraped the steel floor as he struggled to pick up his feet to move to the control panel on the far wall.

Opening the panel and turning the gravity back on everything in the room fell. Dick could feel the weight return to his body and grimaced as he fought to stay upright.

A call came through the rig and Dick sighed in relief upon seeing Daina’s face on the screen. The relief was short lived when the boy noticed how frustrated she looked and the poor quality of the call.

“Daina?”

“Richard? Dammit! Tiedemann managed to jam our signal again. I’m doing what I can to override it but I think their jamming it from a mobile device.” Daina turned and yelled to someone off screen. “Someone get me the frequency on that jammer. They must have that damned gunship positioned near our compound.”

“So now what? Change of plans?”

“No, if they knew where we were, they’d have killed us by now.” The screen cut out a moment before resuming the chat. “Shit! Signals fading!”

Daina was typing rapidly on a keyboard in front of her. “Listen, there’s a computerized shop in the next room. Go to that. I managed to hack into the servers and left you a few things that may help with your injuries. Follow your locator and hurry, don’t know how much longer our lucks gonna hold ou-”

Static filled the screen and cut off the chat.

Dick breathed hard through his nose to keep from screaming in frustration.

After calming himself down the boy walked around the room till he found the door Daina was talking about. Sure enough a computerized shop lay on the other side. Dick activated the hologram and found the storage. The bright blue of the hologram stung the boy’s eyes, but the contents in the storage area brought a different type of tear to them.

Inside waiting patiently for him to activate the contents were five large aid syringes, and a large, fully packed first aid kit. Ammo for his plasma cutters, so much ammo.

He didn’t know how he was going to fit it all in his inventory. Dick was confused however when he spotted a separate set of ammunition in the storage as well.

“Pulse rounds?”

His unspoken question was answered when he saw the weapon next to it lying in wait for him.

“No f@#king way.”

The Pulse Rifle was a heavy weapon to have. Usually only given to security and officers out in the planetary colonies or ships. Bruce would not approve but Dick couldn’t keep the smile of his face, even as his cheeks burned. Typing the pictures on the screen the items shown were materialized onto the pad next to him.

Dick felt light headed and giddy as he picked the new gun up. His good arm shook from the weight and his shoulders burned but it was a thing of absolute beauty. He lifted the gun, swaying on his feet, setting the butt of it against his shoulder and aimed at the far wall as well as he could with one hand. It was sleek, three barrels that would rotate as you fired, rounds that could tear through necro flesh like tissue paper, and the best part, no recoil.

There wasn’t nearly as much ammo for it compared to the plasma cutter but that hardly mattered. Dick got a new gun and he was itching to test it.

Taking his prizes to the floor with him, Dick made effective use of the med kits. Stripping off his suit and armor showcased a collection of multiplying injures.

His previous dislocated shoulder was slightly swollen and dark from broken blood vessels under his paled skin. The unnatural lean of his chest and visibility of his bruised ribs only further proved his lack of a decent meal in a while. A back in varying shades of colors and an arm that looked alarmingly inflamed with his break and the deep gash that wrapped itself lovingly around his waist was just at the top of his long list of concerning ailments.

The boy had to hold his breath to keep his ruined hands steady as he threads a need that was provided in the first aid kit. Pinching the open wound on his side together Richard began the lengthy process of sewing himself shut, made more difficult with only one hand.

Slowly the shaking began to subside as the higher grade of aid syringes went through his bloodstream, replacing the blood cells lost and keeping anything else from breaking open with movement.

A numbing effect was immediate once the agent was introduced to his system; blocking off all painful signals from reaching his brain and relaxing his muscles. This made disinfecting and rewrapping his arm easier to deal with.

By the end of it, Dick had taken on the appearance of a mummy. From the bridge of his nose and cheek, to the wrapping on his chest and waist, right down to the whole of his hands that he had torn to shreds during his first breakdown.

Sighing in relief, the teen stood prepping to climb back into the suit when he glanced at the screen of the shop.

Richard didn’t think it would get better until he noticed the last present Daina had left him in the stores storage. Reading the specs the boy wanted to kiss the woman in question for her generosity.

The Security Suit was an EarthGov issue, dark blue grey armor plating and green reinforced fabric came together to form a very stylish uniform. That and it had twice the protective plating and less bulky than the engineer’s suit he currently had.

Activating the hologram of the suit cause a small room to open in the back of the store. Dick smirked again and climbed inside allowing the machine to remove the old suit and replace it with the new one and resetting the rig on his back.

The process took less than twenty seconds with only a few painful moments as the sleeve got caught on his injured arm. Richard had to blink the spots out of his vision and exited the small room. Examining himself in the stores mirror Richard had to admit. He looked good. Well considering.

Moving in his new suit and testing some of the common features with his rig, Dick deemed himself ready to go.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Why does it hurt?

Batjet

On Course for Titan

600 hours

Alfred stares at the man he raised from childhood through the video feed on the bat computer. The man on the other end is the emote of exhaustion. The bags under his dimmed eyes are dark, shoulders slumped in poor poster that Alfred has to stop himself from chastising. Neither man said anything for a long while, silence settling between them like a warm blanket.

The older man waits patiently for his charge to collect himself and hopes his presence alone is comfort enough. His lips are sealed in a firm line to hide his concern when usually sharp eyes remained as unfocused and lost as their owners thoughts.

Finally breaking the spell both of them were under Bruce rubs at his face hard, the hand running through his thick hair, messing up the already mussed locks. "I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for good news, I was just hoping for something more."

"All due respect, while not good news Master Bruce, it is certainly not bad news." Alfred watches the other grit his teeth in the same frustration and helplessness he himself is feeling.

"It puts us right back where we were to begin with."

If he wasn't trapped within the tight space of the Batjet, Alfred has no doubt Bruce would have thrown something. He clicks his tongue. "Hardly true, sir. We now have a more concrete destination in mind. We know where the Ishimura was taken and we know the name of the man in charge of the operation that recovered it."

"It doesn't seem like enough. I should have more information by now. Something about what happened, the extent of the event. At the very least I should know if he's still alive or not. If there were any survivors at all."

"More information will come with time, I suspect much will be on that station. For now all you can do is prepare for what you may find. For better or.."

The words were left in the air as the older man couldn't bring himself to say anything more. Bruce's shoulders tensed before sagging again. "I shouldn't have sent him alone. I shouldn't have sent him at all."

"He wasn't alone. Mister Flagg was a very trustworthy and dependable partner for Master Richard. Even you with all your paranoia and contingency plans could never have predicted an outcome like this. What has happened is in no way your fault. He wouldn't blame you, you can't blame yourself.

"He's a child, Alfred! A child I sent into enemy territory without any real backup and a secure way home! He was invited aboard in my place as Richard! That meant that even if shit did hit the fan he had no way of defending himself as Robin without completely breaking his cover! He was at a disadvantage from the very start! A disadvantage I set on him. If he's hurt, if he's... it's on me. My charge. My soldier. My boy. It's on me."

Alfred doesn't say anything. Words wouldn't do anything to change the other man's mind, there was no point in wasting them.

"I promised them, Alfred. I promised I would keep their son safe when I took him under my wing. When I made him my own. Now I can't even say I'll have a body to bring home to them. To bury beside them."

Bruce pushes the heels of his hands into his eyes. The billionaire is sure he can feel stares on his back. No doubt the man of steel checking up on him and hearing every word of their conversation the nosy bastard. He can't find it in him to care much. He has to swallow hard to keep the pressure in his eyes at bay.

"Go over everything we know at the moment." Alfred said.

The bat growls. "We've been over this five times now."

"And once more may bring insight we haven't caught yet."

Bruce pushes his hand through his hair in frustration. "Alright. Alright. We received a distress signal from Dick over thirty hours ago on a ship that wasn't fit for space travel. A solid reason for why he wasn't on the ship himself. The ship just so happened to arrive the day he was due back to Earth, despite the fact he sent it in the two weeks he was on the Ishimura, and the reports he had been sending me were tampered with. Someone knew he was there and why, but he was never approached. Could be whoever it was wanted these creatures to.."

"Aw, no theorizing right now. Just tell me the facts."

"Essentially, the Ishumura went dark for three month before a recovery team discovered it. EarthGov stationed on Earth was not made aware of this discovery until eleven A.M. yesterday morning. Three hours AFTER Dick's message came in. The Ishumura and her crew were said to have been...massacred. No survivors reported found... The planet, Aegies VII, was also in ruin. With the planet's surface being incredibly unstable. It's collapsing in on itself. Reports are stating that the loss of the Ishimura is a terrorist attack with no mention what so ever of the Artifact or the creatures detailed in Richard's report.

"Master Richard never mentioned anything happening to the surface of the planet they were orbiting is his message. So its destruction must have happened later. Perhaps the absence of the creatures in the report given by EarthGov may have a correlation to that. It was stated that they encountered no opposition when investigating."

Bruce nods. "I was thinking the same. Or, it's highly possible that EarthGov is hiding something. The terrorist responsible for the attack on Aegisi VII, the Ishimura, and another ship the USG O'Bannon has been captured."

The Dark Knight stares at the image of the supposed terrorist, Isabel Cho. "There is not one single reference to the part this Unitology church was involved with, nor that there was a colony on the planet at all, and Dick never mentioned any type of terrorist attack. If not for Dick's message, we'd be completely in the dark on the religious group and the creatures. We'd have no idea about this Artifact and what it did to the people on the colony and the ship." Bruce squeezes his fists tightly. "Without that message we'd have no idea what really happened."

"Something to be investigated thoroughly, then, Sir. We know that EarthGov and this Unitology are in alliance with one another, even with past hostilities between the two. Their reports are most likely entirely fabricated and their so called terrorist is just an unfortunate soul caught in their crossfire. There is also the troubling fact that someone knew of Master Richard's purpose. That ship should have arrived weeks before it did."

"You think the ship deliberately reached us when it did."

"Hard to say Sir. But the timing of it all is....suspect."

"Hm." Bruce rubs at his eyes again. The bright screen is burned into his retinas. He just wants to find his boy, go home, and sleep for the rest of the year.

"You're right. We have more information than we did. Enough at least to point out who we need to be suspicious of. But it also leaves more questions. Too much time in between left blank. And it doesn't tell me the one thing I need to know the most right now."

Alfred slumps his shoulders. Years are added on top of the years he already has. "As hard as it may seem to be at the moment Master Bruce, please, have faith. Master Richard has grown to be quite a stubborn young man. Much like his mentor, might I add. Believe that he will fight with everything he has so you can bring him home."

"And if I can't." Bruce can't lift his head to meet the others eyes. Can't bare to think of the expression on his face. "If I fail. If he's already gone."

"Then lay his spirit to rest. Finish his mission, and ensure 'this', does not happen again."

The men are both quiet after that. There is nothing left to do or say. Nothing but wait until he can reach The Sprawl and find some answers. Bruce knows Alfred is right. He usually is. But the waiting, the not knowing is eating him away inside.

It's not fair though, to assume the same isn't happening to the faithful butler as well. Dick is just as much his boy as he is the caped crusaders. Their family is so heavily traumatized by loss, he's not sure if they will survive the scarring left by this one.

The damage, the wound, the hurt.

It'll be too much for him to handle.

Despite doing his best to take comfort in the older man on the screen, it takes everything Bruce has not to begin raging in despair.

Why did it have to hurt so much.

~

Sprawl, Titan

Cassini Towers

Richard screams.

It’s all he can do is scream.

His throat raw. Voice torn.

Blood drips down his chin from his esophagus.

He should stop. Something is bound to show up soon. Come and investigate.

He should stop.

He doesn’t.

The flood gates have been blown wide open.

And nothing can tide the waves.

Richard is pissed.

Enraged.

Upset.

Hurt.

God, he hurt.

Everything hurt.

His fist hit the ground again.

Over

Over

Over

His hand is most likely broken, he couldn’t feel it. Could barely make a fist anymore.

His body refuses to cooperate. Refuses to pick him up, continue on. Injuries too high in number. Body too underfed and abused to function. Exhaustion turned bone into lead. Lack of oxygen causes muscles to spasm painfully. Blood loss spinning the world around him in a form of red painted hell.

So, he sits, slumped. On his knees, head on the ground and he screams.

“STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!! YOU DESERVE THIS YOU STUPID GODDAMNED MORON! YOU DESERVE ALL OF THIS!”

It hurt.

It wasn’t supposed to hurt this much. Because he knew. It isn’t supposed to hurt this much because it happened, just like he predicted it would. It all fell into place like puzzle pieces. Creating a picture he already knew was there from the start.

And he still let it happen to him.

He still let it hurt him.

Break him down into the screeching mess that’s currently curled on the floor in some pathetic attempt to escape from the reality of it all.

He can’t move any further, isn’t able to lift his arm to plant his mutilated fist into the ground again. Can do nothing but scream into the floor as all his rage and fury drains out.

In the end the hatred fueled shrieks dwindles down into helpless sobbing.

“You deserve this. You deserve this.”

Dick can’t breathe. He can’t see through the blood and tears in his eyes. The little Robin can’t hear past his own weeping. Can’t feel anything beyond the pain stemming from his nervous system, the ceaseless pounding in his head, and the heartbreak in his chest.

"I deserve this...I..."

It shouldn’t hurt this much.

"I...I'm sorry. So, so sorry."

It shouldn’t.

"Please."

It does.

"Anyone?"

It hurts.

"Help."

~ Two Hours Earlier ~

“I can’t see shit.”

Dick was sure muttering profanities in a Church is taboo somewhere. But his flashlight wasn’t doing anything to pierce the oppressing darkness from the storage hall he found himself in.

‘I’m pretty sure the magical rock they have here is gonna kill you whether or not you say a few naughty words on its ‘sacred grounds’.’

“Yeah? Thanks. I was worried for a second there.”

Dick didn’t know if these things could see all that well in the dark but as it stood he was a shining beacon right now. It wouldn’t even matter if he turned off his flashlight either, his stupid glowing rig would still Give him away. He might as well try and see them coming if their going to see him anyway.

The door at the end of the room opened and gave way to some light. Dick would have sighed in relief, if you know, the single working light in the new room wasn’t flickering ominously. The teen could practically hear the Michael Myres theme playing in the background.

More painted symbols scattered on the walls and crates made their appearance when his light passed over them.

“Oh my god, I hate this fucking place.”

The only sound was coming from him and it was making him paranoid.

Everywhere he looks, shadows are crawling along the walls. The single light source in the room doing nothing to scare them off and only adding to the building migraine behind his eyes.

Despite his earlier glee at the new suit and gun Dick could feel the weight of them both beginning to pull on his muscles. He felt sluggish, not really able to pick his feet up fully to walk.

The medical syringes are only masking the more serious injuries. He knows even with the numbing effect they have that his arm isn’t setting right in his makeshift sling. Knows the gash on his waste is burning hot with fever and infection. His ribs shift unpainfully but not comfortably either.

And his breathing.

There is something wrong with his breathing that he can’t quite place.

The air is too sweet when he inhales, comes out almost painfully when he exhales. There is a pressure in his lungs that makes him nervous and the sound of it all, even when he’s trying to be quiet, is a slight wheeze.

“You’re fine for now Dick. Worry about it later.”

He pushes himself, with an odd gate he hasn’t been able to shake since the seizure, through another door.

It’s another darken hallway. The fancy rugs leading down it suggests that the boy is finally close to the main chamber of the church. And that much closer to Daina. Richard moves up toward the incline down the hall.

He stops.

Such an innocent looking thing too.

Not something that should send trepidation running down his spine.

It’s just stroller.

A pretty, shiny, red baby stroller.

Sitting at the end of the hall.

No wait.

The stroller is a pretty blue, beneath….

“Fu-“

Dick recognizes the wet gurgling above him.

“-ck!”

The teen doesn’t have time to do much else but look up before it plummets.

Dick heard more than felt his neck pop from the added weight. The thing lands on his head, latching onto his face and hair with grubby little hands.

The stringy, sticky substance leaking from its small abdomen joins the little paws in attaching itself to his face. Small, but no less, sharp teeth dig into his forehead and starts to naw at the skin there.

In an attempt to compensate for the additional weight Dick drops his cutter and forces his good hand to grab at the creature. Regardless of his thrashing and pulling of rotted flesh the gremlin stayed firm in its grip.

Richard knows what happens next and he can only look into the little demons soulless eyes as he feels one of its tentacles try and impale the plating on the back of his suit. The plating held but Dick could feel a dent form near his shoulder.

The suit is formed of strong armor but eventually that plating is going to give.

Dick fell to his knees and releases his hold on the creature, blindly searching for his weapon.

Without anything to hold it at bay the sharp teeth dug even further into his hair line. Dick is blinded by the blood that pours down his face. His body racks forward making the teen almost lose his balance as the other two tentacles joined in denting the defense on his back in their ruthless attack.

“Shit, shit, shit, YES!”

Robin grabbed the handle of the plasma cutter and aimed where he was sure the creature’s barbed appendage was. He stood once more when the first fire misses hoping being on his feet would give him more balance.

The next shot causes the thing to scream out.

Dick remembers the first time he killed one of these things. How his hesitation at its apparent cry of pain almost cost him an eye.

He doesn’t hesitate now.

Its grip slackened on his face and dropping the cutter again Robin rips the thing off his head.

The jawless round cranium was almost lost in the mutation of its body. It thrashed in his grip; the exra extremities whipped wildly behind it from the thorax. Dick watched disgusted as it made little gabby motions with its hand toward him, his pulled hair is still stuck to its slick fingers.

Instead of thinking further, Robin raises the beast above his head and slams the thing to the floor. The sound of multiple bones breaking was masked by its raged shrieking. Before it could even think to move out of range Dick pulls back his foot and kicks it across the room as hard as he could muster.

The force of the blow causes its head to explode against his boot. staining the new material red and black. The rest of it flew to the other end of the hall. The monster hit the other side with a splat and didn’t move.

Dick gasps for air where he stood.

“Fucking Lurkers.”

He wiped at the blood coming from his forehead and out of his eyes as best he could before giving up. The last of his water cleared out his vision. Dick tries not to mourn the loss of it.

Retrieving his fallen cutter Dick followed where the thing lay and up the ramp. And then up another.

The door at the top was nice, red and gold in color, and opened to an even nicer hall than the last. Black stone with gold boarders and a beautiful red rug.

Well, it would have been nice. The aesthetic was ruined by the marker symbols etched in gold on the pillars, but the white candles in their tall holders were a nice touch.

‘Thinking about your future career as an interior designer?’

“Think I could convince Bruce to lose the all the wood in the manor and replace it with dark stone with gold cracks?”

‘Isn’t there enough stone in the Batcave and Gotham to more than make up for all the wood in the manor?’

“Can’t argue with that.”

The room beyond the hall was casting a bluish glow into the hall. One that reminded him of his recent encounter with the Stalkers.

“God, that felt like years ago.”

‘Sure does.’

“Wow.” Dick whistles as he enters the room.

Beautiful doesn’t cover it.

The dark stone continued, leaving behind the red in the hall. ‘If you don’t count the blood smears along the walls and floors.’ Instead, surrounding the walls of the auditorium were grey statue figures. Gold mask adorned their faces, their arms sculpted to hold a familiar gesture. The figure in the front stood almost to the ceiling and was highlighted from a stain glass window, casting a kaleidoscope effect on the white marble.

Arches, reminiscent of old gothic architecture, held the room tall and open. With rising balconies littered with more white candles and planets and constellations carved from the stone the room was a true work of art.

Shame then that the beauty of it was once again ruined by the appearance of the Markers presence. The pillars holding the grand arches up had been twisted and malformed to make the shape of the ‘holy’ relic.

It was carved into the floor with intricate detail, its symbols surrounding the piece in an abstract design. Even the damned preacher podium was in resemblance to it.

“Crazy how such a small detail in a design can make me wanna burn the whole fucking place to the ground.”

‘Hm.’

Dick froze when he looked behind him.

The main door leading into the auditorium.

It was dented outward, making the door unusable.

He already knew that. He was on the other side when it was hit.

By necro, loud and big.

This was bad.

Dick was thrown to the ground when something heavy crashed to the floor behind him. Pain exploded from his broken arm when he landed on top of it. His shouts were cut short when a thick tendril wrapped around his leg and yanked him forward. Richard’s face burns as he’s dragged across the floor.

The position brought back unpleasant memories of being dragged across the hall of the Ishimura by an equally thick tendril.

Using the momentum of the pull Dick uses his good arm to twist onto his back.

The teen was met with the odd site of a pair of tits attached to the creature looming over him.

“What the hell?”

Taking in the rest of the towering figure Richard can make out multiple bodies, malformed and decayed beyond recognition, spliced on to the main body. The resulting creation was disturbing if only because the main body was not touched beyond the limbs.

Their face was that of a normal woman, aside from maybe the glow in her eyes. The torso was bare, leaving Dick with the imprint of a naked woman with an unnatural swelling in her stomach and pelvic region above him to live with.

The fusion of their legs together gave Dick the impression of a mermaid. If the tail wasn’t currently wrapped around his leg.

Robin aimed his cutter, while he would have loved to try out his new gun it was currently being pinned down by his back and he couldn’t reach it damn it all. His sights strayed to one of the creature’s arms. That tactic hasn’t failed him yet.

Before he could shoot however another extremity made itself know nearly decapitating the teen. He rolled to the right feeling the bladed bone crack the stone beside him.

“Oh shit!”

Before he could right his aim again he was yanked across the floor once more. The pulse rifle on his back created sparks on the stone beneath him.

When he was in the center of the room Robin was finally able to right his aim at the new threat.

It was coming from their mouth. Not like a tongue but something jutting from their stomach. It looked like a scythe. And in the middle was the trademark glowing sack Dick was looking for.

Only, when it came closer to him, Richard got a better look at it.

Dick roll to the left, his whole body screaming in exhaustion, and his mind reeling.

‘Don’t think, just shoot. Don’t think, just shoot.’

It was hard not to think though, to empty his mind of the facts swimming together.

The odd swell of the belly, the fullness of the breast, the appendage springing from the abdomen.

The underdeveloped arms and legs, hands and feet attached to the pus-filled sack.

“Jesus Christ!”

Richard is dragged further into the room, this time he stays focused and shoots at the sack. Every hit Dick swore he saw the small legs kick.

The final strike popped the sack and separated the appendage. The thing flailed, thrashing violently, taking the boy in its hold along for the ride.

Dick’s vision blacked out when his leg was finally released. And when the ringing in his ears stops and he’s able to see again the large beast was gone but the horrifying sight and sound of a Pack quickly took its place.

“Nonononononono!”

He had succeeded in blocking out the memory of his first encounter with them. He didn’t want to do it again.

Dick got to his feet as rapidly as he could manage, which wasn’t as fast as he would have liked.

The first of the small white bodies was on him before he could even plant his other foot on the ground. Instead he brought it up, screaming in fright, and delivered a kick to the deformed child’s head.

“Get Away!”

The soft cranium collapsed in on itself.

Richard fought the urge to vomit. Now on his feet the teen saw the entire auditorium fill with its new devout members, all released from Sunday school. Each bringing with them their own hymn to the choir of screams.

The boy didn’t think. He ran.

At some point in the fight with the mermaid creature his broken arm had come lose from the makeshift sling. Dick did his best to keep it pinned to his side but to not much success. With his other hand occupied with his plasma cutter there was nothing else he could do but pray the numbing of the syringes lasted a little longer.

The ramp leading to the exit on the second floor was jam packed with…the Pack.

‘You are such a Jackass.’

“If you’re not gonna help me shut the hell up.”

Looking behind him Dick saw he was quickly being surrounded. The Pack are everywhere he looks. Screaming, clawing, and snapping their little teeth.

With no way up and no way back down..

“Aw geez, this is gonna suck.”

Dick climbed on top of the ramps railing and without taking to long to consider just how stupid this was leapt to the other set of stairs. He made it.

Barely.

Richard wheezed as his chest connected to the outside of the opposite railing. He scrambles for purchase.

Any other time in his life he would have made that jump without an issue. Dick could only thank his luck that he made it at all right now. Pulling himself up and over, Richard didn’t stop moving.

Running to the other end of the room from the second floor he could hear them.

Hear them racing for the same door he was.

Some deranged part of his mind conjured the image of all these little ones racing for the door another time before.

And they didn’t make it.

A yelp sounded through the room, and the vent in front of him burst outward.

Instinct took over. Raising his cutter, Robin severed the pulsing sack of pus and grabbed it with the kinesis model, kicking the downed Exploder in the head for good measure. The boy nearly cried in relief when he crossed the threshold of the door. Spinning around Robin threw the sack at the open door. The resulting explosion when it hit the first of the brats to follow him caused the entry to collapse and throw the adolescent off his feet.

The pain was back.

It was all encompassing.

His arm burned and spasmed.

His ribs were thrashed.

He’s bleeding again.

From where, he’s not sure, but he is.

It took more effort than Dick would like to admit to get up.

“I’m okay. I’m up.”

His vision has gone grey around the edges again. Its completely dimmed all the lighting in the new room. Not that there was much light to begin with. A thick smog was also hovering low to the ground, but that could have been just his imagination too.

Dick flinches back from the faces on the walls before he realizes they were just decorative carvings. The second flinch, he thinks, is more justified.

The Marker sits in front of him, casting a menacing shadow across the room. It’s just how he remembered it. Elegant in its design but with a sharp frame that screams accursed.

He cowered. Shaking so hard he was making himself dizzy.

He waited for it.

To speak.

To whisper to him just like it did all those months ago.

Nothing happened.

When Dick found the courage to look away long enough to wipe at his eyes, a clear view of it showed it to be a replica.

The teen laughed nervously and picked himself back up from the wall.

“Holy shit. I though for a second there-“

“YoU THoughT WhaT?”

Richard smacked his head, hard, back against the wall as his eyes franticly searching the room for the voice that shrieked in his ears. For the woman that isn’t supposed to be here.

“WhAts hapPeNing to YoU, MY liTTle BirD? YOU trIed to KILL YoUrseLF. WHY do you THinK that iS?”

“It’s not real. It’s not her. It’s not real. It’s not her.”

Dick crouched into a ball doing his best to block out the condescending question. The pressure in his lungs was fit to bursting the organs. He wheezed and coughed against the stress.

“That’S RIGHT. Litte bird. igNORE the PAIN. BURY it DeeP INside.”

A hand squeezed against his injured shoulder and he choked. Refusing to look up at the thing that stands behind him.

“leT ME FesTER-”

Or he does, until a disfigured hand gently guided his head back. His head landed tenderly against her thighs and his eyes met her sockets and she bents over him. Her red hair cascaded around him like a bloodied waterfall.

Her smile wide.

“-let mE ROT!”

Dick blinked.

She was gone.

The light in the room was suddenly too bright and too much to bare.

Sucking in deep breaths, or as deep as he could manage, Dick closes his eyes and decides that navigating his way around the room blind and from a crawl is the way to go.

“Okay. I’m not gonna deal with that right now.”

His voice is shaking and cracks against the lump in his throat.

But all things considered he thinks he handled that pretty damn well for himself.

‘Sure you did.’

The teen wasn’t sure if the wetness of his face was blood or tears but he’s to tired to care at this point.

“I really don’t need you criticizing me right now.”

He patted the wall around him and led himself to the elevator on the other side.

It was only when the door closed, and he felt the familiar jerk of the elevator move, did he open his eyes. He would have kept them closed if he knew the sight that would greet him was another image of the Marker carved into the door.

Dick was real tempted to punch the door in, but he had one working hand left so he figured it wouldn’t he worth it. Much.

Watching the numbers on the elevator move up the boy came to the sudden realization.

“Daina you still with me?” Richard didn’t remember standing or opening the commlink in his excitement. “I did it. I’ve reached the top of the church. I made it.”

“You’re almost here! I’ll be waiting by the shuttle.” The call disconnected.

The boy wanted to weep. A small smile beaming across his face. It causes his damaged nose to itch but he couldn’t care less.

This was it.

He made it.

He had his chance to finally go home.

To see his family one more time before he’s locked up again.

It’s both everything

And not nearly enough.

‘But you’ll deal with that later, right?’

Dick nods.

In the immediate future though Dick can only think of his first up close and physical interaction with another human being in almost six months. Daina is just past this elevator, her and other survivors.

More than anything in the world, right now, Dick just wants a hug.

And he’s determined to get one damnit.

The vigilante is well past the point of dignity at this point that he’s not afraid to even beg for one.

Just one.

A long one.

Maybe a pat on the head on top of it.

That’s not asking too much given the circumstances.

Right?

Dick whips the tears and snot off his face.

Daina probably won’t give him one if he’s crying like a baby. She might not care, but he’s not going to take that risk.

The elevator doors were opening, and Richard is bouncing on his heels. The pain and exhaustion long since fading into the background of his mind.

The hall that came into view through the elevator had the boy burst out laughing.

“Oh my God! They ripped off Star Wars!”

The red plush padding on the walls and the stone carved art at the end of it was an almost exact replica of Chancellor Palpatine’s office in the prequel series.

The curve and small set of stairs into a circular room only cemented the idea.

The view of the city beyond the glass was stunning. The far-off sun did nothing to dim the stars surrounding it.

Dick stopped. Allowing himself one last gaze at the beauty before him.

Climbing up another small set of stairs and down a short hall, Dick came to a pair of double doors. According to the locator, this was it.

The boy couldn’t stop the glee from taking over his face. Smile wide and eyes shining, hopeful. He opened the door.

And there she was, Daina. Her back was to him looking down at a data pad and a shuttle right outside the window. She was cast in a glow given by the sun.

“Daina!” Dick’s voice trembled.

His heart soared when she turned to greet him a gentle smile on her face. She was here. Really here, in the flesh. She nods.

“Hello Richard.”

He’s crying again. He wipes his eyes hard and gives her a breathless laugh.

“Hello.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The boy nods aggressively ignoring the way it hurts his head to do so. He has no more words.

Dick steps into the room, ready for that one long hug he feel he more than deserves. His good arm is shaking when he raises it, the other doing its best but not making it higher than his waist. Dick shuffles his feet past the door. His eyes glued to hers with a silent plea, ‘Just one hug, just one.’

Her eyes move away from his when he fully enters the room nodding to something he didn’t care to acknowledge.

Until there were hands holding him still, holding him back.

Dick blinks.

He looks to his right at the grim-faced man that towers over him.

He looks to his left at the man that stares back with sympathy.

“Daina?”

His voice is small, uncertain.

His brain not fully catching up with what his instincts knew all along.

“It’s okay, Richard. We’re going to take good care of you.”

Dick looks back at the woman, she was still smiling but there is something else in it. Something he didn’t notice until now. When she moves forward a silver bracelet caught the light.

Everything clicked.

“You’re a Unitologist?”

Dick can’t breathe past the horrible feeling in his chest.

“Of course you are. Why did I trust you?”

The venom in his words is directed more so at himself than at the cult member.

Daina brings her hand down on his hair, patting the greasy locks. Dick rears back as much as he is able. The purity of the one thing he needed at that moment had been tainted, corrupted. A growl erupts from his throat.

“You didn’t have much of a choice, Richard. I told you I could help you, and you came running.”

“Why? Why me?”

She bends down to meet him at eye level.

“You’re a dangerous secret, Richard. EarthGov won’t leave you alone because they are afraid you’ll destroy their men and their Marker. After all you did build it.”

Every thought in Dick’s head stops. The sentence ran on repeat in his head. His breath comes out in a gag.

“What are you talking about?”

She steps back; the smile gets wider.

“Well, that’s why you were brought to Titan. Why Tiedemann couldn’t kill you when you so clearly deserved it.”

Dick flinches and holds his gaze to the floor. The pressure in his eyes is too much. Tears of a different sort make their way down his face.

“There is no need to help you, Richard. You are just the way you are needed. You are special. You were chosen to help us in our quest to spread glorious Convergence to the entire galaxy.”

“Bitch.” Any heartbreak Dick had is burned away in the rage and hatred that had him seeing red. “You people are responsible for the death of millions! This quest of yours is nothing but a fancied-up pursuit to commit genocide! Your religion! Your Convergence! And your fucking Marker can all burn in hell! And if you think I’m going to willing help you then you’re out of your damn mind you stupid fucked up cun-“

Dick saw stars.

He can’t breathe.

Bile and stomach acid race up his esophagus and out his mouth before he even realizes what happened.

The men held him up as he gasped and wheezed for air.

Shaking, Richard looks at the man holding his broken arm upward in a painful position.

His fist posed to strike at the damaged appendage again.

No coherent thought passes through his head. He feels the tender fingers brushing his hair back again and a smooth hand on his face whipping away his tears with a thumb. Everything aside from that felt very far away.

If this was an out of body experience, he didn’t like it.

Someone is cooing at him, but the words are foggy.

“Now, now. Be gentle with our package. He’s been through a lot today.”

Dick let the hand on his face guide him to look at the woman he thought to be his salvation. He only sees a demon swimming in his vision.

“I imagine you’re tired. Don’t worry. Once on the ship I can assure you, Richard, you will sleep peacefully for as long as is needed. No more pain. No more nightmares. No more guilt. Doesn’t that sound nice.”

She must have been satisfied with what she saw on his face because she nods and smiles sweetly. She turns back to the pad she placed on the floor and starts walking away. “Will you gentlemen please escort Richard to the shuttle and put him in stasis. The last thing we want is for him to die.”

Dick can’t move.

He can’t think.

His instincts are screaming at him to move, fight back, go down swinging. But nothing is being signaled to his limbs.

He is helpless.

Trapped.

And no one was here to save him.

The world around him flashes white.

For a moment Richard is convinced he went blind or finally lost consciousness. Until he heard metal hit metal at a rapid pace.

The shuttle outside the window went up in a ball of flame before the lack of air quickly snuffed it out.

Daina is screaming.

Bright lights blind the boy again before his vision adjusts and he sees a gunship firing rounds into the room.

Daina isn’t screaming anymore.

But the surprised expression on her face as the ship rounds blew her to pieces almost made him laugh.

Her body is thrown into space.

Dick isn’t sure when the man holding his broken arm was hit but his body is slumping against him, that grim expression gone with the rest of his head.

He too, flies into the vacuum.

It was then the boy realized the magnets in his boots were keeping him glued to the floor.

The other man held to him in a tight grip. Their eyes met and Richard can see the fear and panic on the man’s face.

From the corner of his eye, bullets sweep across the room.

There wasn’t much thought put into the action.

When the hero steps to the side and uses his momentum to throw the man in front of him.

When he watches the rounds get closer and the poor man shakes his head begging.

When the man is torn to shreds by the gunfire that was clearly meant for himself.

Dick lets go of the body and lets it disappear into space.

The man was still screaming.

When gunship rounds once again Richard throws himself to the floor. The air that rushed from the room was knocking the ship off balance giving the boy enough time to see the hidden hatch in the floor next to him and open it.

The fall hurt.

Gravity didn’t give one single damn about what it did to the boy as he fell through the vents. His weight busted through the grating of another room and Dick plummeted twenty feet to the ground with a splash.

The blood he coughs up isn’t surprising, nor is the inability he has to taken in a breath longer than a second. His arm snapped again, and his chest isn’t expanding right. What is surprising is his ability to silence himself immediately when he hears the thing swinging on the railing above him.

Looking down Dick is laying in a death pit. Shredded bodies and gallons of blood pools up to his wrists. It drips from his hair and stains the right half of his face and suit. Richard dimly wonders if the blood he spat up was even his. A head is bobbing next to him. He landed on top of at least six different corpses but it’s hard to tell for sure.

He’s in a nest.

‘Fuck’

Richard forces himself to stand he checks his holster. Still there. He moves as slowly as possible knowing the necro is watching every movement.

There is an exit in the form of an archway to the right. He eyes it. There is a ten feet wet valley of corpses between him and freedom. The room shakes as it moves from ceiling rail to ceiling rail. He couldn’t see it but the fucker behind him is huge. It’ll have him pinned before he makes it two steps.

Richard sets his feet anyways. Positioning himself to bolt is agonizingly slow.

He stops.

The creature stops.

Dick isn’t sure how he makes it to the entrance as fast as he does.

It didn’t matter.

Richard screams in agony.

A jagged arm lifts the teen off his feet and right towards the fanged maw and mandibles protruding from its face. The jutting bone fragments digs into the teens ruined arm as it pulls. The boy kicks wildly, screaming profanities as his body swings like an abused ragdoll.

A large metal beam hits the beast in the skull before it could wrap its mouth around his head. Dick thrashes, clawing at the elongated limb holding him hostage. Debris continued to rain down on the both of them as his tormentor raged. It’s screeching threatened to burst the teens eardrums.

Pulling the cutter from his belt Robin shot at the arm opposite of him, zeroing in on the soft tissue exposed between the thick muscle and armor.

Pus and other unidentifiable fluids burst from the arm. With the ligament shot to shit, Dick is pretty sure that was a spinal cord at some point, the serpentine mass of necrotic tissue collapses on itself.

Robin drops.

Richard lands on all fours, three if you count the fact he can’t feel his broken arm anymore. His feet are moving the second they hit the ground attempting to put as much distance between them as possible. His only saving grace at this point was the beaming pinning the damn thing to the ground.

Dick falls on his face after only a few steps. The arm that held him before latched to his ankle. Lifted upside down, the creature holding him strick the boy against the metal wall twice. Richard is smart enough to curl himself inward to avoid any head trauma, but his back was going to be completely black and blue later.

Another steel beam stops it from continuing its assault, but its elongated and flexible neck arranged itself to snap at Dick’s head again from where it was trapped.

Robin shoots at the mandibles blowing one of them off the side of its head. It rears back and exposes the weakened arm again. It takes the last three shots in Robin’s cutter before the limb completely severed.

Richard isn’t sure how he got to the other end of the long corridor. ‘Must have passed out.’ Not for very long though. He’s propped up against a large hanger door. The archway, that has his newest headache, continues to collapse as the beast does its damned best to escape.

The boy slumps slightly, content to watch the thing struggle for a bit. He idly notices that there are splatters of blood down the hall that lead right to him.

‘WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? RUN!’

The fog in his head diminishes when the Tormentor frees itself from another bit of debris. Its soulless eyes never once leaving Richards’.

“SHIT!”

Adrenaline turns to outright panic when none of his limbs respond to him. For a split-second Dick is convinced his neck was broken after that last hit. That he’s going to die unable to defend himself, doing nothing but watch as that thing rips him to pieces. But no, his muscles twitch, he can curl his fingers, on one hand at least. Now he just has to stand up.

Instead of that Richard flops to the ground and tries to push his feet under him. He only succeeds in rubbing his face against the ground. He’s not sure what kind of sounds he’s making but Dick has half a mind to be grateful no one can hear him.

All of his limbs shake and the world tips from side to side when he lifts his head, but death is at the other end of the corridor and it just succeeded in getting rid of another beam pinning it.

Dick uses the hanger door as leverage, leaning heavily against the metal until he reached the handle to pull it open.

It stuck.

“Fuck.”

Richard sobs, his arm so weak he can’t even get the thing to budge. He watches the last bit of debris fall from the beast’s shoulders. Watches as it shakes itself off. Then on small hind legs propel itself forward.

Dick isn’t sure which emotion is winning out as he observes how the thing moves. On the one hand seeing how disproportionate the creature is brought out a laugh that is boarding on hysterical. On the other, it was charging straight at him and Dick is pissing himself trying to force the door open.

The combination of conflicting emotions has the laugh and screaming mix into some unhinged sort of sound Richard didn’t even know he could make.

Changing tactics, Dick is surprised he can even strategize right now, instead of pulling the teen switches sides and starts to push at the handle. Never once does he look way from the approaching end. The godless noise he’s making never stops, only increasing in intensity with every yard the monster gains.

The door gives.

Not much, but enough that Richard can frantically squeeze his small frame in between. And with no time left to spare.

The door bulged inward. Dick barely miss a flying bit of metal that came from the door as the thing crashed into it.

It won’t hold.

Dick runs.

He lists from side to side, but his gate never slows. He doesn’t know where he is, where he’s going. All he knows is he need to get away. Get away. Get away.

There is a glass window at the end of the large hanger. The city glows against the light of the planet above.

A blinding light fills the room from the window and Dick is forced to cover his eyes in the face of it.

In front of him, the gunship takes its aim.

Behind him, the hanger door blows of its hinges and the Tormentor enters the room.

Glass shatters and Dick is thrown on his feet as the air exits the room. He grabs at the grating in the floor to stop himself from being launched into space. His hand slides from grate to grate. If not for the heavy gloves Richard doesn’t think he’d have fingernails anymore.

As the air level in the room continues to decrease, Dick’s rig activates his helmet to fit around his head. Sound is gone save his rapid breathing and the distant pounding of bullets that just barely missing him.

Richard keeps his head low and clings to the last bit of flooring he managed to fix on. Creates fly all around him, and out into the vacuum.

A high-pitched wail reaches his ears and Richard looks up to see the thing in the corridor fight to stay upright as the void calls it. The gunship’s assault does nothing to the beast but knock it off balance. Its arm and legs do their best to keep it from exiting the building. But being an arm short it never had an advantage of holding its own weight. It closes the distance between them. Dick is unable to do anything else but let go of his purchase. Being sucked into space as the thing rolls and collapses on the spot he was occupying a moment ago.

Richard is weightless for a few blissful seconds until he collides against the gunship. He yelps at the impacts. It veers to the left and Dick rolls along its belly reaching wildly to grab onto anything.

He succeeds.

The motion of the gunship fleeing from the scene is making the boy sick and directionless. When he turns around to better pinpoint his location…

SHIT!

The ship is thrown into chaos as the necro collides with the structure. It spins out of control and Richard clings from dear life as explosions erupt from the inside. Dick makes eye contact with the Tormentor.

“I think this is my stop.”

Robin uses his legs to launch himself from the ship. With nothing but open space in front of him Richard knows he just signed his death certificate.

And then his leg is caught once again.

“Give me a fucking break! Just one!”

The necromorph is the same size as the damned ship. It’s latched to the exterior, staring after him and clinging to his leg. Then with deliberate pulls, yanks Richard back towards it, maw open wide.

Until one of the ships many fuel canisters hits it in the face. It balks, Dick could almost hear it snarling as it whacks the container away with its tail. More emerge from the torn underbelly of the ship making the already irritated beast even more enraged.

Robin saw his chance. With no gravity to hinder his movement the teen reaches behind him and pulls the pulse rifle from the holster on his back. With easy movements he targets the canisters and pulls the trigger.

The barrel of the gun rotates and the rounds that are released make a direct hit.

The atmosphere turns white.

It engulfs the ship.

Engulfs the Tormentor.

Flings Dick across the sky.

He flies.

And flies.

And flies.

Until glass shatters against his back.

Until he is thrown into a room and through a door.

Until he lands face down on a red carpet.

Blinking he’s suddenly staring at a red room. With white symbols crudely drawn against almost every surface.

He hears a hiss as a guard is thrown up to keep anymore air from escaping. New recycled air enters the room. His helmet disengages and folds back into his suit.

Richard lays there.

Quiet.

Still.

It ends when the boy opens his mouth

And all that comes out is screaming.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: To Old Friends, and New

Sprawl, Titan

Cassini Towers

??? Hours

“How. The. Fuck, am I still alive?”

It’s the first coherent thought to float through his head.

The teen grits his teeth as he tries to shift his weight. Dick isn’t sure how long he’s been slumped against the wall like he is. How he managed to drag his half dead body out of the Cassini hallways and into one of their apartments he's sure he'll never know.

The bathroom he barricaded himself in is small, but somewhere in his delirium Richard must have thought the shower was the perfect place to pass out. He wasn’t wrong. It’s kind of cozy. Despite the cramped position and slime on the wall.

His rig says he’s been out for over twenty hours.

Well, no matter. Not like anyone is waiting for him anyways.

And god, doesn’t that just fucking hurt.

Dick continues to stare at the shower tile. He doesn’t want to think about anything right now. Not the Sprawl, not Daina, not the Marker. He’s happy to just lay here, face squished against the shower wall, and breathe. Or try to.

In all honesty Richard is positive if he closes his eyes right now he can sleep for another solid twenty hours.

Occasionally his rig chimes a little tune for him. He knows what it is, but he’s not really up to seeing just how badly injured he is. He can feel it, doesn’t need some computer to tell him his blood pressure is dangerously low or that he needs immediate medical attention.

Richard shuts his eyes.

‘You look like shit.’

“If I could move at all right now, I’d kick your ass.”

‘Yeah, you seem to really enjoy kicking your own ass.’

“Fuck you.”

Dick’s tongue feels gross and swollen. Even muttering as he is he can feel it stick to the roof of his mouth. He smacks his lips in an attempt to gain saliva that doesn’t taste like blood.

He doesn’t want to acknowledge anything around him so the teen smushes he face further against the wall and keeps his eyes clamped shut.

‘You need to get moving.’

Richard giggles. “And go where? No. No, I think I’m good here.”

‘Their gonna find you. Sonner or later. Something is gonna knock down those doors. Then what?’

“Hm.”

Dick hopes it’ll be quick. When that something comes and rips into him. Hopes there wont be enough of him left to come back. It scares him, just how tired he is.

He shifts again to try and ease the pressure on his neck when something occurs to him.

He can’t feel his arm.

The medical syringes have worn off by now. He can feel at least three dislocated fingers and a broken knuckle on his ‘good’ hand. It aches. His ribs squeeze at his lungs. The cut on his face and along his waist are just beginning the long journey to becoming scars, they both burn and itch. His back is just one large bruise. Even his ankle throbs slightly, but there is nothing coming from the arm that has snapped twice in under a day.

Richard watches the unresponsive limb, waiting for a finger to twitch or for pain to make its way into existence now that he’s actually focused on the injury. There is nothing.

Distantly Richard knows he should be concerned. He needs to examine the limb and make sure it’s not more serious than it already is. Make sure infection or, god forbid, necrosis hasn’t set in. Ensure that if he lives past today he’ll get to keep his arm.

Dick re-rests his head back against the wall.

‘I really don’t think this is something you can put off till later.’

“Hm.”

‘I’m serious here.’

“And if it’s already dead? Not much I can do about it.”

‘You can make sure.’

Dick blew at the bangs in his face. His hair is getting pretty long. And gross. Clumps of blood, not all of it his own, was making the strands stick together. He needs a shower. Ha

‘Focus.’

“On what.”

‘Thinking of a new plan. You need to get moving here soon.’

“Plan.”

Richard giggles again, it pulls at his chest and ends in a series of coughs that sound ragged. It takes an eternity for it to stop. The teen sucks in recycled air through his teeth.

“Fuck. Plan, there is no plan. I’m done. If I’m going to die on this stupid station then I’m ready to go.”

‘What about the Marker?’

“What about the fucking Marker? If the League got my message then let them come and take care of it. I took out the first one by my damn self, I’m sure they can fucking handle it.”

‘You want to subject them to all of this?’

“They’re big boys and girls. I did it.”

‘And look where you’re at. You want Uncle Barry to see those halls? Want Uncle Clark and Aunt Diana to witness what happens to those mutated by the Artifact? You want Bruce to wonder which one of these creatures is you under the gore, to run into his own ghosts roaming the station.’

Dick pressed his face harder against the tile. He would cry if he wasn’t so damn tired.

‘What if they send the Team to investigate.’

Dick opened his eyes and swallowed back the bile at the back of his throat.

“They wouldn’t send them. They saw my messa-“

‘If they saw your message. For all you know they have no clue what happened. All they know is that you're missing in action.’

“They wouldn’t send the Team. They wouldn’t do that.”

‘They sent you. And who’s to say that the one tampering with your messages before didn’t do it again. They could be-‘

“Walking into a trap.” Dick tips his head back, his voice soft in the surrounding silence.

The headache Richard has been nursing beats at the inside of his eyes. It’s making him nauseous.

He wants to throw a fit, scream in frustration, punch something. The unfairness of it all is getting ridiculous. But he still hasn’t fully recovered from his last tantrum, so it can wait. Instead he sits there, doing the last thing he wants to do.

Think.

Dick isn’t sure when he closes his eyes again, or for how long, when the sound of his com chimes. Richard didn’t have the energy to be startled by the noise, but he watches the video feed open.

Stross’s face is too close to the feed, as it usually is when he calls him.

“Little bird? Little bird, are you there? C-can you hear me?”

Richard frowns at the nickname. “What do you want Stross? Look, it’s over okay. I’m sorry. All my plans have been blown out the window.” Literally. “Get yourself out if you can. Find a ship Stross and run. Okay?”

The older man didn’t look happy at the confession. If anything, he becomes more and more distressed, looking behind him and shaking his head.

“No. no. no. no! It’s not over. At least, not yet.” The man bobs his head up and down gesturing wildly at the both of them. “Little bird… Little bird, we built it. We… we can tear it down!”

‘After all you built it.’

Dick swallowed again. Daina’s voice echoed in his head.

“You mean the Marker?”

Stross looks behind him again, turning his head frantically. The video feed statics and glitches a bit before the screen returns to normal. The man has his back to him hands on his head and bowed, muttering to himself. No doubt suffering from said artifact.

“Mr. Stross, do you…do you know where the Marker is?”

Stross straightens and turns back to the camera. His voice is almost desperate. “I…it’s in the Government Sector! The Government Sector! But we have to move now! Now! Now! Now! Because time is running out for me…for us.”

The video feed ended so abruptly Dick worried something attacked the other man.

“Mr. Stross, Stross! Where are you going?” There is no reply. “Shit!”

Richard kicks out his legs in an effort get off the shower floor, its slick tiles making it hard to find purchase.

“Fuck!”

Dick slumps back down, breathless.

‘You need to get up.’

“I know.”

‘If you are responsible for the Marker being on the Sprawl then it’s your responsibility to destroy it.’

“I fucking know damnit.”

‘If Stross is still alive and fighting against the Marker then so can you. He is a civilian, you are not. On your feet.’

Richard has to crawl out of the shower, his dead arm, ‘you don’t know that yet’, dragging behind him. The teen smacks his hand on top of the toilet and uses the porcelain to leverage himself into a kneeling position.

He’s left gasping by the end of it. And with the last bit of strength he has lifts himself onto the seat. His head lays on the tank.

‘See? That wasn’t so bad.’

“’m gonna kill you.”

‘Later. Patch yourself up and go.’

Dick grumbles. “I don’t remember my inner voice being so damn annoying.”

Still, Richard does as he’s told. He starts with his hand first, and the awkward angles of his fingers under the glove. Dick can feel the swell of the extremities and the throbbing with each heartbeat, so at least he has that going for him. He’d be in big trouble if they were numb.

Using his teeth, Dick pulls off the glove. He hisses.

“Oh yeah, definitely swollen.”

Three fingers, all at slightly off positions. It would be four fingers if he wasn’t, ya know, missing one. Richard almost laughs.

“This is gonna suck.”

Placing one of his fingers in between his knees, Dick clamps down and without giving himself much of a warning jerks his arm forcing the digit back in place with a pop. He does the same thing with the other two fingers, though the second one had to be done twice when it didn’t go in right the first time.

By the end of it, Richard is panting, and saliva builds in his mouth in preparation for being sick but he holds and eventually the sharpness of the pain fades to a dull ache.

Richard doesn’t consider himself lucky by any means, but the plating on the gloves make for great splints when he shrinks the size of them.

“Fingers down, fifty other life-threatening injuries to go.”

Dick maneuvers his way out of the suit, his back muscles scream and torment him with each movement, but his main concern is the dead weight that is his arm. Richard goes over everything he knows about Necrosis, and when his arm is finally pulled free of the suit and the bandages, the symptoms become more apparent.

Dick leans to the far side of the toilet and vomits.

If the numbness and swelling of the limb didn’t make it apparent then the god-awful smell of infection it emitted cleared things up nicely.

‘Fuck. This is bad. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.’

Richard looks back at his arm. Even in the bad lighting he can see the unnatural angle it sits at. The bone didn’t reemerge, small miracles, but the multiple blisters from fluid collection and the discoloration of the skin from his wrist all the way to his bicep is alarming. Inflamed red spiderlike veins run up and down the limb, the tips of his fingers are almost bone white.

And despite how bad it looks, despite how painful it should feel.

There is nothing.

No sensation.

It just sits there.

Dead.

Richard feels blood well up in his mouth as he bites his cheek and tries to take deep breaths to starve off the panic attack he knows is coming.

‘Just detach yourself from what’s happening. You don’t have any time to waste on this.’

The laugh that startles from him sounds closer to a sob. Dick nods.

The disinfectant from the med kit drenches the arm, and as carefully as he can manage Richard starts to work on the blisters. The smell is horrific, and the sight of infection being extracted from his arm is unsettling. Dick doesn’t dare try and realign his arm again. Not when he can’t feel it.

‘Relax. Don’t think about it. Tell me what the plan is.’

Richard didn’t realize he was shaking as bad as he was till now.

“Plan. Plan. Okay. Well I know that the Marker...that it’s in the Government Sector.”

There is no response when he waits for one. He swallows.

“I imagine taking a shuttle is out of the question, not with Tiedemann’s men looking for me. So, the Sprawl's Transport Hub is my best bet.”

‘Because that went so well last time.’

“I mean, what are the chances of the tram crashing twice. Don’t answer that.” Dick was quick to cut off the resort that he knew was coming. “I’ll tell Stross to meet me there and we’ll head to the Marker together.”

‘And after?’

“Look, I’m making this up as I go. You can’t expect me to have this all mapped out right now.”

With the limb rewrapped Dick figures that’s the best he can do. If his arm is really on its way to necrosis, then all the field medical training in the world isn’t going to save it.

The laceration on his waist was bleeding again at some point. It has since stopped, no doubt thanks to the syringes, but the gauze comes away soaked in blood. Like his arm, the injury has become infected. The inflammation stands out against his pale skin. It’s not as bad as it could be, but it will become a problem eventually.

The disinfectant is gone by the time he finishes cleaning the cut. He makes sure there is enough to care for his face too. The last thing his needs is that one to get infected and possibly blind him on top of everything else.

One more syringe in his neck to aid in the healing process, or at least dull the pain, and everything he can do is done.

Richard sits on the toilet seat slumped. He stares at his bare chest examining the multitude of colorfu bruising there. He can count at least four ribs on his right side that aren’t sitting in the proper position. He’ll have to tighten the fabric on his suit to act as a makeshift bandage to hold the ribs in place.

There is a definition to his muscles that stand more from dehydration and starvation than actual strength. His stomach is slightly concaved, and he knows his collarbone shouldn’t be that pronounced. He’ll need to try and find something to eat soon.

Dick is ready to crawl back into the safety of the shower corner and fall back asleep.

He works his way back into his suit instead. Dick uses the bloody gauze from his waist to tie his useless arm to his abdomen. No sense in letting the appendage flop all over the place.

From where he sits, Richard eyes the sink only a few feet away from him and wonders if the water is still running for the apartments.

“Oh, thank fuck.”

It is.

The counter is the only thing holding the teen up. His head is under the faucet turning the sink under him red as he scrubs the blood from his hair. Between each scrub, he tilts his head and fills his stomach with the cool liquid. It sooths the burning in his throat, the swelling of his tongue, and the heat from his skin.

He stops before he can make himself sick again. But the water bottle in his inventory is full and he’s regained a tab bit of energy to continue on.

He opens the door to the bathroom and finds a deserted master bedroom. Candles light up the room, the king-sized bed calls out to the boy. He’s half tempted to take another nap on the soft mattress. But the symbols of the Marker painted all over the room stop him.

He’s tired not stupid.

On the nightstand next to it lays a hundred-dollar credit. Richard almost leaves it before rethinking and snatching it.

“There’s bound to be a vending machine or something around here.”

Dick laughs when he walks outside the room and into the hallway.

Laying in the middle of the floor, surrounded by glass and debris, was his plasma rifle. He limps to the fallen weapon and checks it for damage.

“I can’t believe I actually held onto this.”

In the chaos that threw him from place to place Richard is surprised it didn’t fly off into the void. Small miracles.

He still lost his cutter, but any weapon is better than no weapon.

~

Dick takes it back.

He wants his plasma cutter.

The rifle drags behind him on the floor. With as heavy and clunky as it is, Richard can’t hold it up with just one hand that has three healing fingers. He doesn’t dare holster it to his back. Doesn’t trust himself to be able to reach it when the time comes to fight.

Moving from room to room in search of supplies and money is agonizingly slow. The gait he’s stuck at doesn’t help either.

Dick is grateful for the dim lighting of the apartments. His head hurts too much to be able to handle any brighter lights. In the distance he can hear one of the necros cry out.

The whispering is back. The soft chimes that filled his head the first time he passed through the apartments. His name echoing down the hall in gentle tones. He’s too tired to care.

He’ll focus on the tangible things that want to rip him to shreds thank you very much.

‘And deal with everything else later?’

“You’re getting the idea.”

He passes through a laundry room and down another series of halls. Bodies litter the floors.

In one room a corpse sits on a sofa facing a projection screen showing what looked like family pictures. A small girl is prominent in the pictures, smiling in the arms of her parents.

Dick doesn’t take anything from that room.

He makes sure the man on the couch doesn’t get back up though.

Richard wastes a pulse round on an alarm clock when the thing starts going off suddenly in another room. Scared the shit out of him.

“Fuckin.”

“LITTLE BIRD!”

“SHIT!”

Dick fell on his ass when the video feed opened to Stross shouting his name excitedly.

“Damnit Stross. Don’t do that shit.”

The man either ignored him or was too lost in his own thoughts to acknowledge him. Richard picks himself off the floor with some effort.

“They were afraid of us after the sessions. I remember! They took us to the machine. For our sessions. For the steps!”

Richard remembers the video log of Stross being interrogated by one of the Sprawl’s doctors. Of the sessions that were mentioned. The same was done to him, but.

“I don’t remember any sessions.”

Stross sniffs and breathes like he’s in pain. “You’re lucky you don’t remember.” His eyes dart back and forth between Dick and the floor in front of him. “When you do, he starts coming back.”

“Who? Who comes back, Nolan?”

Dick keeps his voice soft. The other man is visibly upset at the mention of Him. He looks seconds from a break down.

Stross doesn’t say anything from a moment. His pinched expression gradually relaxes, and a smile softens his face.

“Oh, look at you! You’ve grown up so much. Where are you going?”

Richard panics. “Stross don’t follow him! He’s not really there!”

But Stross is gone. The video feed lingers a few moments after the man disappeared from view. Following an apparition.

“Damnit.”

Richard can only hope nothing attacks the man when he’s not in his right mind.

At the end of another corridor is a body. Wearing a Sprawl security suit. A video feed plays on a loop in front of him. Dick grabs the pulse rounds off the corpse as he watched the message.

“This is Director Tiedemann. All surviving squads are ordered to fall back. Repeat. Fall back to Government Sector. Operation: Endgame is in effect. Contingencies are in place for our fallen assets.”

The loop begins again, and Richard feels a knot form in his stomach.

The Government Sector is most likely where many of the Sprawl’s civilians were evacuated to if they were unable to make it to a shuttle. That many people crowded together so close to the Marker isn’t painting any pretty pictures in his mind. And the ‘Operation’ Tiedemann spoke of, Endgame, did not make the boy feel better either.

Dick decided it’s better to contemplate these things later. The sounds of necromorphs echoing along the hall is making him nervous.

~

‘The building’s on fire.’

“Yup.”

Richard can honestly say he’s not surprised. After the shit show that’s been the past couple days why wouldn’t the main auditorium leading out of the apartments, his way out, be on fire.

He feels a tad detached at what’s happening in front of him. The whole room is lit up in the flame’s warm hue. Bodies and debris float listlessly in the air at the lack of gravity. The light coming from the burning walls is hurting his eyes.

“Warning: Fire suppression system malfunction. Please manually deplete the oxygen supply to contain the fire. Non-essential personnel should leave the area at once.”

Dick nods once figuring that made sense, he’s not essential personnel so that means this isn’t his problem. He turns away from the burning room with every intention to go find a peaceful place to nap.

‘That doesn’t mean you asshat.’

“Damn.”

Dick groans and pouts as he holsters his weapon and allows the magnets in his boots to release him from the floor. The lack of gravity is nice on his muscles, but he still stubbornly allows himself to float aimlessly upside down for a few minutes in silent rebellion.

‘Ya done.’

“Not yet.”

…

“Okay, I’m done.”

‘Then how do you fix this?’

“Sprinklers aren’t working. But if I sabotage the air supply of the room that will snuff the fire out.”

Richard floats to the top of the high ceiling and begins looking for a panel that would allow him access.

He doesn’t find one.

He groans.

‘Why would a civilian building have free access to shutting down their oxygen supply?’

“Because it would convenience me. Plus, the computer lady said to manually deplete the oxygen in the room, so you would think.”

The feeling of being suspended in midair was turning his stomach. It was when a piece of paper smacked him in the face did Dick decide he was better off figuring this out on the ground.

He landed on a balcony, giving him a good view of the fire as a whole. It reached to the high ceiling but didn’t spread out farther than the auditorium exit. Something was burning just inside the doorway but with how bright the fire is Richard can’t get a good look at what it could be.

Dick paced back and forth observing the room and looking for a clue on what to do. He stopped when his boot came down on something with a crunch. It was an audio log.

“I hope you’re happy. I never wanted to come here, but you had to drag us to this shithole! And now look what happened. My baby girl turned into…something…I had to…how could you…how could you leave us alone? Do you hear me? I HAD TO KILL MY BABY GIRL!”

Richard listened to the distressed mother sob and scream into the recorder. His heart ached for her. He wonders if the woman managed to escape the apartments, if he passed her corpse on the way by, or if he was forced to put her down himself.

The audio log is downloaded into his rig.

Dick rubs hard at his eyes. They burn. He wants a nap.

‘Would you stop hyper fixating on napping. You need to get to work.’

“Well if I wasn’t allowed a hug, then I want a nap instead.”

‘You had a nap. A twenty-hour long nap!’

Richard hummed. “Yes, but think, what about a yearlong nap.”

‘That sounds like a coma.’

“That sounds completely and totally asterous.”

‘Didn’t you just wake up from a medically induced coma like a day in a half ago.’

“Didn’t you only start pestering me after I had that fourth breakdown. Let me dream.”

Dick was getting real tired of listening to himself bitch at him. He could do his job and complain at the same time he didn’t need some inner voice guiding him like…

“Op, there it is.”

Somewhere in his whining he looked up at one of the thick pillars holding the room together and found an emergency panel containing a huge ass battery.

“See I can multitask.”

‘Uh hu.’

Richard let the battery float away once it was released. The computer's voice sounded in the room.

“Attention: Oxygen output falling to 66%. A service technician has been notified.”

Steering himself to the other side of the room Dick found two more panels on the opposite piler.

"Wouldn't come in if I were them."

“Warning: Oxygen output falling to 33% This area is now below life support minimums. Please verify your personal oxygen supplies.”

The fire was starting to be smothered by the lack of air. Richard himself was beginning to feel lightheaded but he moved to the last battery and pulled it from its slot.

“Life support failure. Oxygen output is zero. This area is unsafe for habitation. Personal oxygen supplies are now required.”

The helmet within the suit fixed itself to the teens face as the woman in the speakers voiced her warning. The fire smothered. A timer of oxygen pulled up in his hub. There was no sound other than his breathing.

Landing back on the main floor, the teen found what was causing the flames.

Bodies.

Lots of them.

Crowding the hall leading out.

They were all charred black and melted together, he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. But, none of them were changed. They all still held a normal human shape.

There were figures huddled together, others that held each other back, and more even still that were curled into themselves, accepting their fate.

Richard brought up his rig to confirm with facts what he already knew to be true. The boy tried not to be sick inside his helmet.

The area tested positive for shuttle fuel. It completely drenched the entirety of the walls and floors.

The people.

It would explain why the fire was still burning after so long and why the sprinklers failed.

The source of it was found at the end of the split hallway. Tanks and tanks of broken and empty fuel canisters. One figure stood at the head of it. Arms reaching toward the people in the corridor facing him. There was something grasped in their hand, but there was no making out what it could be.

Dick turned back to the figures in the hall, standing beside the figure in front. As horrid as it was, Richard is glad they found a way to escape.

Air rushed into the room as the doors to the maintenance elevator sealed behind him. The helmet disengaged and Dick sagged against the walls with the return of gravity.

The sudden combined weight of his pulse rifle and suit almost made him collapse. The movement of the elevator wasn't doing his stomach any favors.

“Little Bird, the steps. He wants me to follow the steps.”

Richard opened his eyes at the sound of Stross’ voice coming through a voice chat. He wasn’t quite sure when he shut them.

“Step one, crawl into the dark machine.”

The mention of the machine caused Dick’s heart to start racing, but why, he couldn’t tell you. Stross himself seemed overly nervous at even acknowledging its existence.

“Mr. Stross calm down, okay. He can’t hurt you.”

“He-he wants me to go into the dark machine Little Bird. I can’t go. I can’t. She’s in there. She’s waiting for me.”

The young vigilante bit his lip. Nolan was verging on a panic attack he could hear it.

“Stross.”

“Oh God, oh God, oh God.”

“Nolan! Listen to me! You don’t have to go into the dark machine okay. I’ll do it. But I need you to guide me there. I need you to keep moving. Can you get to the train? Can you do that for me? I’ll do everything else after that. You don’t need to go into the machine, I promise.”

“He’s coming. Can’t talk..”

The voice chat ended, and Dick rested his head against the wall dreading the promise he just made.

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

His answer was the door to the elevator sliding open.

Concourse Supply Storage.

He was back at the shopping mall. The station shouldn’t be much further from here.

He came out on a balcony that looked over the large shipping containers filled with goods. The storage room was huge, but his vantage point showed him his exit.

On the other side of the room.

Shrieks and chirps echoed across the expanse.

“Shit.”

He caught glimpses of the Stalkers running between the cargo. It was hard to count how many there might be. Regardless of how he tried to strategize Dick didn’t see anyway through without a fight.

A fight he would lose.

He looked at his dead arm, and the gun to heavy to lift without shaking. At the way his fingers were barely able to bend properly. His legs that felt ready to collapse under him at any given moment and the lack of energy to even think.

Despite how fast his heart was hammering in his chest at the sound of the creatures responsible for the broken arm and torn waist, there was no flood of adrenaline in his system. No sudden increase in stamina.

He stood there, staring mournfully at the exit just out of reach.

Then he looked up

“Oh.”

‘That will work.’

Dick set his pulse rifle on the ground next to him and activated the kinesis module in his suit. The large shipping container hanging in the middle of the room on a crane overhead began the slow journey toward the balcony the boy was standing on.

Richard had to press himself against the railing with a grunt to act as an anchor. Half his attention was brining the container to him, the other half was making sure none of the bastards downstairs got any ideas of climbing the ramp to meet him.

That was it. That was as close as the cargo was going to get to him. It swung on its hinge about ten feet from him. Any other time Dick didn’t doubt he could make that jump, but now.

“No time to think about it.”

Picking up the pulse rifle and holstering it to his back Richard walked back to the elevator and turned.

The echoed chirping made the hair on his neck stand up. It sounded closer They knew he was here.

If he made this, then he might have a shot of getting out of this room alive. If not, then he falls. It won’t kill him but will damn sure break his legs and then he’s as good as dead anyways.

‘So don’t miss.’

“That’s the idea.”

Richard spends a moment to get as much air into his lungs as possible. He watches the container swing back and forth timing his jump. before he takes off in a sprint.
He leaps onto the railing and pushes himself off throwing himself in to the air. Dick remembers what it is to fly.

Richard reaches the container, but just barely. Fingertips latch onto the bottom rung of the ladder attached to the side. Dick fights to keep s his grip, injured fingers scream for release.

The cargo rocks violently back and forth in its rail with the added weight and for half a second Richard is convinced he’s about to be crushed under its mass when it finally falls.

But the hinge holds firm and eventually the rocking calms.

His legs swing freely under him.

It takes an eternity but eventually Richard manages to pull himself to the top. He lays there for a good fifteen minutes just listening and grinning at the pissed off shrieking he hears on the ground under him. He breaths in deep and closes his eyes.

'You are not considering a nap right now.'

Richard opens one eye. "I was thinking about it."

'Get up.'

"Asshole."

Standing up the teen inches to the edge of the container and looks down. From this viewpoint he can see all the ugly fuckers wandering the maze below, trying to figure out a way to reach them. Dick sticks his tongue out. He'd throw up a middle finger but his digits were throbbing too uncomfortably for that.

Richard sits down at the corner of his perch, wrapping his legs around one of the thick chain holding the container up. Activating kinesis again and latching onto the far wall, Dick beings to pull himself across the room. The container follows the crane overhead without resistance.

“Hell yeah!”

‘Now, how do you get down.’

Dick stared at the long drop to the exit. Twenty-foot drop, ten feet away from the door. The door with the control panel next to it that’s keeping it locked.

“Um.”

The chirping was back. Seems like the assholes figured out his problem as well.

“Laugh it up you gross looking bag of dicks.” Richard yelled at them in frustration.

They stayed hidden, talking amongst themselves. Waiting to see what their prey would do.

Dick scratched at his head, tangling his hair around his fingers as he thought of his next move.

“This is going to hurt so much.”

Richard looked down and the metal floor below. Then with out giving himself to much time to think about it planted himself in the middle of the container grabbed his gun and aimed upward.

Dick felt the vibrations in his bones as the heavy metal met the floor. He was sent to his knees and the resulting bang that encompassed the room left his ears ringing.

Nothing attacked him as he regained his breathing so he could only assume the noise deafened his predators as well. Rolling off the container and landing sent even more spikes of pain through his nervous system.

Richard kept going pushing past the high-pitched ringing and shaking of his legs. It wouldn’t take long for the Stalkers to figure out what happened.

He made it to the control panel and was just starting to hack into the door when his heard their disgruntled squawks.

Talons racked across the metal as they started to clamber on top of the cargo. The container having successfully blocked off any access to their target except by climbing it. The door opened just at the first of several made it to the floor on the other side, zeroing in on the boy.

Dick rushed through the door and turned to meet them grabbing the rifle back off its holster and aimed it at the access control on the other side. He fired a round into the panel and cackled as the door sealed right in the first bastards ugly face.

Its head connected with the door. The resulting dent ensured Dick that it would be a while before it caved. Enraged shrieking could be hear on the other side.

Richard wasn’t about to stay and see how long that might take.

His steps, though shaky, were confident. Dick against all odds was still alive and he felt it. He needed this win, as cheated as it was.

The corridor was dark, but Richard navigated the hall until he got up to a ramp.

“Little Bird?!” The video chat opened, and Dick sighed in relief.

“Doing okay Mr. Stross?”

“He’s gone now.” Well, the older man sounded calmer than before at least. “Listen, the steps can destroy the Marker. Step 1, crawl into the dark machine. Step 2, the screws go tight, all around…”

“I don’t understand. What screws are we talking about here?”

“Oh. God, he’s back! NO! No no no no no no!”

The call stopped at Nolan’s panicked screaming.

“Shit!! Mr. Stross!? Nolan!?”

Dick tried to call back.

Again.

Again.

Again.

But Stross didn’t pick up. Didn’t answer. Either because he was to occupied with the ghost haunting him or because he was dead.

“Fuck. Shit. Okay, calm down. Mr. Stross is resourceful. He’s made it this far. He’ll be okay.”

‘Keep telling yourself that.’

“Whose side are you on here?”

The ramp leading out of the hall didn’t bode well. It was covered in blood. But if it was any consultation, it was dried. Possible hours old.

The room the door at the top opened to was small. A Titan ticket station and atm situated in the corner. The echoes of goading shouts and gunshots in the next room. Advertising posters for shops along the wall.

Wait a minute.

“Come on you motherfuckers!”

Richard ran so fast out of the archway he hit the wall at the end of the hall. A hall that lead to the main area of the mall he passed through yesterday.

It was more trashed than before. Half the walkway was barricaded with chairs tables and store shelves blocking off his view of the person sharing the room with him.

The shrieking of the necromorphs in the room was drowned out by the equally loud shouting of a woman firing a plasma cutter at anything that moved.

“I’m still standing.”

Dick moved carefully around the barricade. Not wanting to catcher her ire and end up with a round in his head. She was a good shot.

Grabbing at his gun, Dick balanced the end on a chair and used the leverage to aim.

“Come on! Come and get it! Piece of shit, come on!”

She was standing behind a sealed store gate, right in front of the elevator. An effective barrier from the monsters that tried to swarm her. Not that they were. Like Richard noted before. She’s a good shot.

Nothing got too close, and with Dick providing back up fire it wasn’t long until the whole room was cleared.

A round embedded itself in the wall right next to Richard’s head.

The teen threw himself to the floor ignoring the way it made him gasp. He raised himself to his feet in a panic, leaving his gun on the ground and his arm high in the air.

“I’M NOT ONE OF THEM!!”

The woman flinched back at the sight of him. “Christ, you're just a...You stay back. You wanna talk, you talk from there. And don’t say you’re here to help. The last person who said that tried to kill me.”

Richard caught his breath and slowly lowered his arm. It ached something fierce from the movement. He kept the wince back in his throat.

“Okay, okay. That’s fair. Same here honestly.” The boy licked his lips. “I’m not going to hurt you-“

“Yeah, you got that right. You try it and you’re dead.”

Dick nodded.

She walked away from her stand at the gate and toward the elevator. Richard took the opportunity to pick up the rifle and move toward her. The teen could tell she was watching him from the corner of her eye. He made it a point to walk slow and keep his gun lowered. Not that he could really lift it without help right now anyways.

He reached the gate and watched as she messed with the control panel to the elevator.

She was wearing a red tank top with tan worker pants and thick work boots. Her brown hair was tied into pigtails that hung low on her chest. She was covered in grime and blood, but the skin underneath was pale and only slightly bruised.

‘She’s pretty.’

“Not the time.”

“What?”

“Oh. Um. Just. Look, I think we got off to a bad start here. I’m Richard.”

Dick reached his hand through the gate to offer it up in a handshake.

The woman eyed it and him critically, possibly looking for a threat. Richard was sure if the two of them were to go at it, at this point he has no doubt in his mind who would win.

She must have reached the same conclusion because after a few more moments she spoke but never closed the distance between them.

“Ellie.”

Richard dropped his hand and smiled.

It was a start.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

Missing Homework

Sprawl, Titan

Concourse Shopping Mall

1600 Hours

“What do you want, Richard?”

‘Right to the point then.’ Dick had barely lowered his arm away from the gate and already she’s interrogating him. He wanted to be annoyed. He wasn’t. The boy messes with the hair hanging in front of his eyes.

“Dick.”

“Excuse me?”

“People…My friends…Richard is too…I prefer being called Dick.”

“Dick?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s an…unusual nickname there.”

‘Unfortunate, really.’

“Hm.”

Dick is having a hard time keeping her eye. She watches him, and he watches the ground in front of her in turn. She’s trying to be civil, but the boy can tell she wants out of the conversation. He can see he’s making her uncomfortable. That knowledge brings warmth of shame to his cheeks.

“I’m trying to get to the Transport Hub. I need to get a train to the Government Sector.”

“What do you think we were trying to do?” She scoffs at him.

He doesn’t say anything at that, but his heart breaks a little. She said we, and she is alone. He wonders if the person who tried to kill her before was a friend, someone close. If he killed others before she put him down. The last one left standing.

She must have misread his expression in some way because she backtracks into an explanation.

“Everyone was trying to make it to the Government Sector. Figured they had a plan to evacuate everyone. They locked the whole area down instead. No one has gone in or out since this shi- crap show started except EarthGov security.”

Dick smiles at her attempt to keep her speech PG. He’s said worse in the past hour alone. He nods.

“I don’t think any amount of planning could have prepared them for this honestly. But I need to get to that Sector. It’s very important.”

“Well good luck with that I guess.” Ellie turns back to the elevator and continues to mess with the controls.

Richard bites at his lip as he watched her. Before he could even think his thoughts through he starts to word vomit at her.

“I- I can help you. Besides, we got a better chance if we stick together. Don’t you agree?”

The last question comes out uncertain. How many people has he gotten killed in the past six months? Even large groups were taken out in mere seconds. But it would be nice, having a solid presence next to him. It might be enough to block out the ghosts for a while.

“Not a chance, Dick.”

The boy’s heart sinks to his stomach. She won’t meet his gaze, her shoulders stiff.

“Other people are just a liability. I can’t…I can’t focus on keeping someone else alive on top of myself. I can’t…”

‘Risk getting attached.’

A laugh almost makes it past his throat at the irony of it all.

He remembers the baby, at the start of this hell. Locked in an apartment as he ran down the halls. Crying for companionship, for comfort, for help. How he sat in front of that door weeping as he justified his actions to himself. How he left that infant to die alone because bringing it would only inconvenience him future pain.

And now he’s on the opposite side of that door. Crying and begging for companionship, for comfort, for help. She looks at him and finds him wanting. A deadened arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen, bandages and gauze fastened to his face, pale sickly skin, covered in gore, body trembling and swaying where he stands.

He’s injured, he’s sick, he’s scared.

He’s a liability.

It hurts.

Karma is a bitch.

Dick lowers his head and hides behind his hair. Tears are burning his vision, but he refuses to guilt trip her into anything she doesn’t want to do. She has made her choice. He will respect that.

“I’ll release the door lock, but after that you’re on your own. And please. Don’t follow me. Okay?” She steps into the open elevator.

He can’t speak past the lump in his throat. But he manages a weak “Okay.” as the elevator doors close behind her.

He doesn’t see her stricken expression as she watches him disappear.

A moment later the gate opens, allowing him access to the now empty elevator. He enters and presses the button that will lead him the opposite way Ellie went but still a route to the tram hub.

He wipes at his eyes and struggles to swallow the sob locked in his throat.

The doors open and the familiar setting slams any thought process he had to a screeching halt. He sinks to his knees and holds on to the railing in the elevator.

“That isn’t fair.”

The room is darker than before, the candy and children’s clothing store are the only thing providing light to the area. The sweet melody of nursery rhymes echoes softly through the speakers.

The pile of dead children he left behind are gone. In their place was a mass of fleshy substance that pulse along the floor and walls. Vain like strands expand and contract.

The smell of the smog it emits is putrid.

Dick doesn’t need to look at the rig to know where the shortest route to the tram hub is. He stares at the once colorful entrance to the Titan Station Elementary School and knows.

The pretty pictures made by proud little hands are gone. Swallowed up by the tissue of expanding necro flesh. It’ll continue to expand until there is nothing left but what looks like the inside of a stomach.

Just like the Ishimura.

With shaky legs and a heavy heart Richard crosses the room.

The hallways past the bright door are just as colorful as the outside. Smiling paper stars hang from the ceiling and colored lights shine from the walls giving the room he is in plenty of light to see the blood and gore that stain the floors and toys that lay there.

There is a relaxing xylophone tune playing through the speakers. Dick is sure the aggressive whispering isn’t supposed to apart of the soundtrack.

Another voice joins the jingle, gentle humming and cooing. But the sound is coming from a sealed room. Richard tries to open it; the lock is broken leaving him with no way inside.

“Hello?”

‘Yes, lets announce our presence to an individual who sounds way too calm given the present situation.’

“Shut up.”

A babies happy giggling makes its way to his ears and Dick starts beating against the door in earnest.

“Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.”

It won’t budge.

There is a window looking into the classroom further down the hall. Richard races to the glass and freezes. The scene in front of him, he doesn’t fully grasp what’s happening until it’s far too late.

“Come to mamma! Yes, yes that’s it. Come to momma.”

The monster the woman inside the nursery coos at is bloated horribly at the stomach, not unlike the Exploders and their glowing sacs of unstable pus. The legs are fused together, the way it moves is not unlike a caterpillar inching its way over to its victim. Its body, its head are twisted backwards allowing the sac to face upwards.

It’s an infant. That much is clear. Younger than the Lurkers, a few days to weeks old maybe. There is a hospital identification bracelet still on its arm.

It giggles and coos right back at the woman as it stumbles and crawls towards her.

“Come to momma. Oh, right up here. Oh, oh! Yes, there you go…”

The woman circles her arms protectively around the, thing. It wraps its own little arms around her neck, but it was staring right at Dick. A toothless smile spreads across its face at the teen. Its milky eyes never once leaving his.

It giggles one last time before the window looking in is covered in gore.

Richard’s ears are ringing.

The world around him is more of a haze as he stands there, watching what remains of the two inside slowly slide down the glass.

‘Hey, don’t drift off. You need to stay focused.’

“Hm?”

‘You’re dissociating. It’s going to get you killed, stay here.’

“Hm.”

Dick comes back to himself after a time, fifteen minutes by his rig’s account, to a different area of the hall. If he looks he can still see the window. Instead he faces the wall with little Ishimura drawings decorating a corkboard on the wall. Above it is a generic teacher boarder with the phrase ‘Crack open your dreams’.

It’s as cute as it is unsettling.

Richard continues onward in a daze. He passes more corkboards of drawings, most of them are ruined by the blood splatters on the walls.

The way through the next hall is gated. A lock down to try and protect the students no doubt. It didn’t work.

“Okay everyone, 15 minutes for recess! Play nice!”

The prerecorded announcement rang through the empty halls.

“Who gives a bunch of kids only 15 minutes to play? It should at least be 30.”

‘You are in a school that most likely has your favorite type of necro roaming the halls and that is what your focus is on?’

“Why are you such an ass?”

‘Why don’t you get your head out of your ass?’

Dick stands in front of a door with a little sign on the side that says ‘shhh, friends are sleeping.’

“Another nursery.”

Doing his best Richard brings up his rifle. It shakes uncontrollably in the effort. He’s not entirely sure if it’s from exhaustion, stress, or fear at what he’s going to find on the other side of the door.

There are empty cribs scattered across the room. Some stand, others are toppled over, all are covered in blood. The room is dark, the light dimmed low for nap time, toys litter the floors and children’s books are tucked neatly in a bookshelf along the wall. A rocking chair is stationed in the corner of the room.

There is an adult corpse lying beside it.

Dick refers to his rig to ensure that he’s going the right way. Based on the map of the school he was able to pull up, all the classrooms flow into each other allowing for multiple ways in and out of the rooms. Traveling through this one and the kindergarten class in the next room over he’ll be back in the halls.

The teen barely made it halfway across the room before a harmony of girdled moans and baby giggles filled the air as one.

Richard almost collapses in his attempt to escape to the corner of the room. The door leading into the kindergarten was completely swarming with the bright yellow glowing sacs. They crawled their way towards him, the tops of their heads brushing against the floor.

Dick struggles to hold his aim steady but his arm and fingers can’t take the weight.

The little creatures are getting closer to his position. Their soulless eyes bore into him, wide smiles with happy hiccups.

Richard wants to scream but he can’t get any air into his lungs to do so.

He loses his grip on the rifle and it clatters to the floor. He’s panicking. Thoughts trip over one another in their attempt to strategize but all Dick can see are the milky eyes that hold his death.

The one closest to him coos and without thinking Dick kicks the nearest crib into its face. Something snaps, and it wasn’t the crib. The small body slumps forward no long making noise, Richard doesn’t allow that fact to stop him from using kinesis on the corpse and throwing the limp creature at the collective coming towards him.

The resulting explosion has the ringing return to his ears.

More are coming but Dick uses the same move as before. This time the closest child meets the bottom of his boot. The weight caves in its soft skull and lifting up the sac he chucks it at the swarm. Wash, rinse, and repeat until finally the baby noises stop completely.

Richard is panting painfully.

The floor is covered in small dismembered limbs, and a slick liquid that came from each exploded sac.

Dick swallows air and stumbles out of the room as quickly as he can. Not watching where he’s going the teen can confidently say he adds another bruise to his hip when he collides with a small desk.

‘There’s a desk there.’

“Yeah, I see that. Thanks.”

He leans on the table in question and breathes. He’s missing something.

‘You left your gun in the other room.’

“Damnit.”

‘Language mister. There are little ones roaming the building.’

“I swear to fu-“

‘Go grab your damn gun.’

It takes less than three minutes for Dick to retrieve his fallen weapon and make it to another hall.

The damage is getting more apparent the further he goes in. The ceiling has wires hanging down and the other end of the corridor is completely collapsed in on itself. The lights are almost nonexistent.

Despite being in a school the only bodies Richard has found are adult. And they’re torn to absolute shreds. It doesn’t bode well.

Following his guide and making adjustments for a new route as they are required leads him into the nurse’s office.

Jackpot.

The first aid kits he finds aren’t equipped with any aid syringes or painkillers, but they are filled with disinfectant and bandages. He’ll take what he can get. Dick stuffs everything in with his own sorry looking first aid kit.

On the nurse’s desk was a report.

'The kids are playing way to rough on the playground! Yesterday, I literally had a line of students with scrapes and bruises going out my office door. A few kids sustained injuries bad enough to need to go to the infirmary. Call me old fashioned, but I think this is the problem with kids growing up on a space station. Kids need a planet with fresh air and open ground to play on. Otherwise, they go stir crazy and start picking on each other. Space is no place to raise a family if you ask me.'

“Couldn’t agree with you more nurse.” Dick pockets the digital report and mades sure the body wearing scrubs hiding under the desk won’t follow him later.

Richard wonders around the room a bit digging through drawers and grabbing anything that may be of use.

“Remember, colds and flu spread fast in space. Be sure your children’s vaccinations are always up to date. See a nurse today!”

“Hear that anti-vaccers. Listen to the speaker lady.”

‘Yeah, you’re really telling them aren’t cha.’

Dick grumbles to himself not opting to respond and leaves the nurses office.

The next hallway is a bit better. Well better lit anyways. There was still blood on the floors and toys scattered about. Little lockers are stationed on the walls.
It’s quiet.

NOT QUIET! NOT QUIET AT ALL!

Dick grabs at his head and sink to the ground to try and escape the loud screaming that enters his head. The white fluorescent lights above turn red and the lockers open simultaneously with a deafening bang.

It’s quiet.

If you exempt the harsh breathing coming from a raw and abused throat.

The lights flicker a bit but nothing else has changed. The lockers along the walls are closed like they were before, and the screaming disappeared as though it was never there to begin with.

“It probably wasn’t.”

‘Talking to yourself is not a sign of a healthy mind.’

“What would you know?”

Dick gets to his feet and watches the hall with caution. “At least I didn’t have a little girl staring at me from the end of the hallway. Or some naked lady.”

‘Not out of the question.’

Richard shudders not wanting to think about it anymore and flees to the nearest door.

He’s in a gymnasium. ‘Or a cafeteria. A combination of both?’

The basketball court is blocked off with cafeteria tables and stadium benches all facing a theater with forest props and stage lights. The bright and happy song playing on repeat from the speakers is almost drowned out by the enraged screeching of its performers.

Dick is quick to act. He drops his gun and uses the kinesis on the tables, throwing the weight onto the Pack that charge at him from the stage. The table continues flying even after his attackers are smeared across the floor.

Small broken bodies, laying still after being crushed-

‘There’s a vending machine over here.’

Richard is sure he snaps his own neck in his hurry to spot the machine. There it is. Tucked into a corner, a vending machine.

Dick’s body slams into the glass and he presses his face to it to peer inside. Chips, water bottles, candy bars, soda, granola, wrapped sandwiches; the whole thing was full.

“They must have stocked it before the attack.” His mouth is watering.

With shaky hands Richard grabs all the credits he stole from the apartments and counts.

“$362.” More than enough to buy out everything in the machine. So, he did.

One by one, treat after treat fell from the machine. By the end of it he still had $239 left. For once his subconscious wasn’t nagging at him to move forward. Dick grabs everything he can in one arm and runs for the stage to take shelter behind the props. It took five trips before he had everything stashed.

His stomach gnaws and growls at him when he doesn’t immediately begin to stuff his face. Instead he sorts. It took a few minutes, but each category of snack is in its own neat pile. It’s a lot. Looking at it all, Dick realizes he doesn’t have enough space in his suit’s inventory to take it all. His shoulders slump.

‘Just eat already.’

A turkey sandwich is the first to get torn to shreds. It was followed closely by a ham. A bottle of water is downed. Four bags of chips picked clean. Dick doesn’t taste any of it but the hole in his stomach is gradually filled. The teen forces himself to stop after the third sandwich.

He doesn’t want to risk making himself sick. Well, sicker. But there is still so much food left in front of him. He really doesn’t want to leave it.

‘Quit being a dumbass.’

“I’m not! It’s easy for you to brush this off but I don’t know if I’ll get to eat again.”

Dick knows he’s whinnying like a child. But he doesn’t particularly care at the moment. Having food at hand is nice, and not something he’s likely to ever take for granted again. He doesn’t want to leave it.

‘You are in a school.’

“Yeah but I won’t-”

‘Filled with students.’

“I mean it was-”

‘Who all, at some point, carried backpacks.’

“Yeah?”

‘…’

“Oh.”

‘…’

“Oh!”

‘…’

“OH!!”

‘Oh my God.’

Dick is on his feet and leaving his stash to wander the hallway he came from. The lockers are still closed but it doesn’t take much to force them open. There are indeed many backpacks to choose from. He looks for one that would be big enough to carry all his loot.

Bingo

It was black with a blue strip running horizontally across. Dumping out the contents revealed finished homework, workbooks, and a good-sized stuffed animal hidden at the bottom. It was a stuffed bat.

Dick laughs, or he thinks he does.

One of the button eyes is missing and a patch was made on its fuzzy wing, but it is clearly well loved. Dick looks up and down the hallway to ensure no one can see him before he hugs the bat to his chest and rubs his cheek against the soft material.

It isn’t his pink stuffed elephant, Emma, but it is still just as nice.

Richard looks back to the locker he stole the bag from. A drawing of a family with a little girl holding hands with a black blob with wings was taped to the door. “I promise I’ll take good care of him.”

He shoves the toy back in the bag and retreats to his secret spot.

Not everything will fit. The soda cans take up too much room and are far too heavy with their combined weight, so Dick decides he doesn’t need them. He downs two that are labeled orange soda though. The caffeine makes his hands shake.

In the end the bag is filled to the brim and Richard settles the stuffed bat on the top leaving the zipper undone just enough that his new friend can poke the top half of its body out to see.

“Okay, we are ready to go.”

Dick moves to the door on the opposite door in the gymnasium and out into another hall.

“That nurse was right. I’d go crazy in a school like this.”

‘You’re not already?’

“Hey now, my new friend here doesn’t know that yet.” Richard gestures to the bat in his backpack with a shrug.

The rifle drags on the floor as he carries it. With the new inventory space latch to his back-holster Dick now had no choice but to carry the damned thing. Small sacrifices.

There is another body in the hall, but this one has an audio log strapped to his belt.

“I know kids are supposed to have a vivid imagination, but this is getting ridiculous. Nearly half of my class has imaginary friends now. Claiming that it’s their deceased grandmother or something. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s getting harder and harder to get these kids to concentrate this semester. I’ve sent more students to the time out chair than I have in all my twelve years of teaching. Maybe these kids are having trouble at home. I’ve noticed parental involvement steadily decreasing this semester.”

The voice ends but his words are on repeat in Richard’s head. A though that never occurred to him before now. Imaginary friends, harder to concentrate, deceased loved ones, trouble at home. Dick is only seeing the aftermath of months of influence from the Marker.

Three months, that’s how long he’s been here, and in that time they were able to build a replica of the Marker using the shit in his head. But the effect that damn artifact has must have started the second they began building it, getting steadily worse as more progress was made.

The Marker found on Aegis VII was only there for a week at most, and it took out the whole colony in that time. On the Ishimura it was on board for maybe a day in a half before the ship was lost.

The necromorphs didn’t show up till after the Marker was complete. Which must have been fairly recent, but in that time people were already being destroyed by it. Dick thought he had it bad, but he’s only consciously had to deal with this for a month in a half at most.

The thought makes his stomach drop. He leans against the wall for support “Deceased loved ones. These kids were seeing their dead family members for months.”

The image of his own dead mother haunting him made an appearance in his thoughts and he almost loses his lunch, again.

“This is my fault.”

‘So, fix it.’

“Yeah.”

The door at the end of the brightly lit hallway opens to a large playroom. Fake grass yields under his boot. Far away hills and skies are painted on the walls. A treehouse sitting in a fake tree sits in the corner of the room and a spinner made with little rockets is in the middle.

Despite the attempt at creating a large field to play in, the effect is lost by the clear metal of the wall with bolts in the seams, artificial light and bird songs coming though visible speakers. The room as a whole feel’s claustrophobic. No windows, no fresh air, no freedom to really move. It’s more akin to a prison cell than a playground.

Dick moves further into the room, determined to get the hell out.

He’s almost though the elevator on the other side when he feels himself being watched. A low moaning is emitting from behind him.

Taking a deep breath, he turns to face her.

She’s pushing the spinner, causing the little rockets to circle their anchor. She stares at him though empty sockets and a wide mouth, the ever-present light coming from her head.

“Still in deNIAl?” Her jaw never moves, nor does it cease in the moan it produces, but he can hear her clearly all the same. “AfrAID you’re going to SLIT YOUR wrists if you lISTen to me?”

The grip on his rifle tightens. “I’m not listening to this. You may fool Stross, but I know you’re not real.”

A smile is making its way along her ruined face. “OH, you CLAim I’m not reAL, and yet HERE I AM.”

“You’re just a hallucination! Stross knows how to destroy you.” A smile of his own makes Dick feel more sure of himself, he can do this. “He knows how to destroy the Marker. We will destroy you!”

His sudden burst of confidence is quickly snuffed out like a candle when she starts to march toward him. Richard scrambles to get back only to hit the wall behind him.

“How CONVENIENT! DEstoy the MARKER and aLL the HURT and aLL the PAIN goes AWAY! JUST LIKE THAT!” Venom coats her words and burns him in every way. He places his head against the wall begging for it to stop. “IMAGINE IT, MY LITTLE BIRD; you’ll NEVER have to lISTen to your HEART! You’LL never HAvE to thInK about MY DeaTH AgaiN!”

She hisses at him as she towers over his cowering form.

And then she’s gone.

Just like every other time before.

Nothing was disturbed, the spinner is still.

Dick gets up and rushes for the elevator with a newfound vigor. It’s only once the doors are closed did he let out the ragged breath he’s holding. He sinks to the floor and puts his head between his knees, he wraps his arm around himself and starts rocking. His back and ribs start to protest the movement, but his racing thoughts pay them no mind.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

He doesn’t want to cry, he really doesn’t but the familiar burn and wetness of his face made it clear he already is.

‘It’s not really her you know.’

“I know.”

‘That thing in there, that thing doesn’t know what love is.’

“Right.”

‘She would be very proud of you.’

“I seriously doubt that.”

‘Well, don’t. That’s what the Marker wants. Are you going to give it, that thing, what it wants?’

Dick shakes his head.

The teen hears his video feed open up. He hiccups and wipes at his face trying to hid the evidence of his tears. He doubts the man on the other end will notice them anyways.

“Mister Stross?” His voice is shaky and wet, but he needs to make sure the other man is okay.

It’s not Stross that answers.

“Dick? It’s Ellie.”

Dick snaps his head up to look at the woman watching him in alarm through the feed. He turns his face away and wipes even harder at his eyes.

“Ellie, hi. Are you okay?” His voice is more or less back under control and his eyes aren’t as blurry when he turns back to look at her.

“Yeah.” She stares at him uncertain. “I’ve found someone. Another survivor. He says he knows you.”

Stross pokes his face into the screen taking up half of it with the inside of his nose. “Little bird?”

Ellie flinches back and points her cutter at his head, forcing him away from the video in irritation. “I said stand still!”

“Wait!” Seeing the other man at the end of the weapon made Richard stand up in a panic. “Ellie, take it easy! Please. His name is Nolan Stross. I know him.”

There is apprehension in her body language, and she doesn’t remove the barrel of her plasma cutter from his temple. “He looks…twitchy. I don’t trust him. Don’t move!”

“Ellie, please. I need him to be – not dead. I need him. Please.” He sounds desperate. He knows he does but damnit all he can’t lose Stross to this. And not over something at stupid as paranoid survivors with nervous trigger fingers.

Ellie watches him through the feed. What she’s looking for Dick doesn’t know but she apparently finds it as she lowers her cutter and proceeds to cuss.

“Shit. Okay, Dick. I’ll march him to the hub but if he does anything stupid. ‘Anything’. I will shoot him.”

Dick sighs in relief. “That is more than fair.”

Ellie nods and cuts the feed, leaving the boy alone.

‘She’s not so bad.’

“No. She isn’t.”

Richard smiles and presses the elevator button that will send him to the hub.

The doors open again to an incredibly plain corridor. Grey, no decoration, dim lighting, giant bloody hole in the wall.

‘Hold up.’

“Sure hope that doesn’t become a problem.”

At the end of the curving hall is the door he needed to see. Titan Station Transport Hub.

The room is large, and circular, filled with everything you would typically see in a transport station. Ticket counters, time arrival and departure screens, benches and coffee shops, billboards advertising shows and shops. A skylight in the ceiling gave a perfect view of the stars above and cast a center piece statue aglow in its light.

It’s well-lit too, so that a plus, and no bodies.

“That might actually not be that great”

“Dick.” The teen in question turns to find Ellie making her way towards him, occasionally turning back to Stross to gently encourage him forward. “Come on, move.”

When Stross makes eye contact with Dick however the man makes a bee line for the boy. He grabs at his good arm and lightly shakes him in his excitement.

“Hello, little bird.”

Stross looks pale and a little sick but he was miles better than Dick himself so small miracles. Ellie is right though; in person the man was much twitchier than through a feed. Richard hoped they won’t be too late to save him.

Still a kind smile makes its way to his face. Dick places his rifle on the floor and takes one of Stross’ hands in greetings.

“Hello, Mr. Stross.”

Stross turns back towards Ellie, who is watching them, and smiles.

“You, you see. It’s him. It’s the Little Bird I told you about. He’s going to help me fix this. Fix all of it. Then, then we can leave cause then he can’t follow me anymore.”

There is a furrow in her brow. Dick doesn’t blame her. Hearing Stross talk is unnerving sometimes. He hopes he doesn’t sound like that. He tries to reassure her with a smile of his own. She turns away instead to scan their surroundings.

“Well, this brings back bad memories.” She points towards a set of employees only doors at the other end of the room. “I barely managed to escape the CEC Facility this morning.”

“You’re CEC? Like the Concordance Extraction Corporation? That CEC?”

Ellie is taken aback by his enthusiasm, but no one in the CEC on the Ishimura would give him the time of day.

“Yeah. Heavy equipment pilot, class four. Why?”

“My best friend Wally and I have been studying the designs of the CEC planet crackers for years. We always talked about how cool it would be to be to get a job with the company.”

“Oh?” Ellie is grinning at him in amusement. Occasionally glancing at the stuffed bat peeking over his shoulder. “And what positions were you both looking at?”

“Chemical engineer for him, and for me, definitely operations-research analyst.”

“Pfft, nerds. Figures.”

“Hey, nerds will rule the world one day just you wait.”

“uh hu.” Her grin gets wider at his declaration. If fact it looks like she’s struggling to hold in a laugh.

It feels…nice. Having someone look at him like a person again. Not a tool, or a weapon, or someone one step away from losing his damn mind, but a person. Ellie loses the stiffness in her shoulders and relaxes considerably during their conversation.

Stross is still tugging on his hand now and then but he doesn’t seem to want any particular attention, merely taking comfort in the company. Dick wonders how long it’s been since he had people he could trust as well.

The reunion didn’t last long.

In an instant the situation calls them back to reality.

The lights cut out.

“Shit!”

Ellie brings her cutter up and the flashlight attached swings wildly as she searches for threats. Stross collapses in on himself almost taking Dick down with him. He has to struggle to remove his hand from the other man’s grip so he can grab his rifle from the floor.

“It’s Dark! He’ll find me in the dark!” Stross wails into Richard’s shoulder.

“Shut up! It’s okay, it’s just a power outage.”

Ellie is scolding the man. Dick wants to offer some form of comfort to him but he’s having a hard-enough time holding the rifle up with Stross clawing at his suit.

“It’s okay, we’re okay.”

“Shit.” Ellie brings up something on her rig and is staring at the readings. “I think life support is out too.”

“That’s not good.” Stross mumbles into Dick’s back.

The three of them flinch when a video feed opens up on Richard’s rig.

Tiedemann is glaring at the boy with barely contained rage. Dick shrinks under his scrutiny. Ellie moves closer to him and Stross placing a hand on his opposite shoulder still scanning the room with her cutter.

“Our two remaining runners, Grayson and Stross. I figured the two of you would have survived the initial kill order.” Dick and Stross both shrink, Ellie glances at the two of them before refocusing on the feed. “And I knew it was only a matter of time before you reached the transit hub.”

Tiedemann is working on a computer if the movements of his arms is anything to go by. “You will find the trains inoperable.”

Dick swallows. “Are you insane? You cut off power to life support! There may be other survivors over here!”

“The public sector is already beyond acceptable recovery conditions.” He speaks as if discussing the weather and not the survival of countless other people. “And I can’t allow you to escape. Goodbye, Grayson.”

“No nonono, wait! Please!” Tiedemann waits. “Listen, I-I know I…what I did is…unforgivable. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Ellie is staring at him again from the side of her eye. The tension is back in her shoulders, but she doesn’t move or release her grip on him. The presence is reassuring. Dick is close to sobbing.

“I accept my part in that...and I accept whatever punishment you want to give me. But, please. People are dying and Stross and I…we know how to stop it. We can still save the station. Let us into the Government Sector to the Marker and we can end this. After that…I’m all yours. Please.”

Tiedemann isn’t emoting. If anything, Dick would say he looks completely indifferent to what’s been said.

“Grayson, even if I did believe you, which I don’t, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near my men nor the remaining survivors I have in my care. In a crisis, casualties are to be expected. In this case it is more than warranted. Goodbye, Mr. Grayson.”

The feed cut off, leaving the three of survivors in the dark. Stross is breaking down in tears muttering to himself. Richard wants to join him, but he knows he doesn’t deserve the luxury. He has a responsibility to uphold. Ellie is moving away from the two of them. The caution is back.

“What was he talking about? What did you do?”

Her gun is trained on his head.

Dick opens his mouth, but he can’t speak past the sob in his throat. It’s too much. He blinks hard in an attempt to compose himself but when he opens his eyes again the room has gone red.

“Not now, please not now.”

“Shit! It’s a quarantine!”

Richard almost bursts out laughing. “Quarantine. It’s just a quarantine.”

The teen looks back at the man clinging to him as if he’d be in on the joke. All he finds is Stross struggling to breathe as his head swings around. Ellie is in a similar state of panic. Scanning the area for threats, she appears two second from bolting out of the area entirely.

“Right, quarantine.”

The familiar sound of a vent busting open somewhere on the top floor has Robin going into vigilante mode. He has two civilians lives on his hands and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to ensure their survival.

There is a coffee shop to the right of them with a gate not unlike the one Ellie took shelter behind when they first met. Robin shoves Stross to his feet and screams at Ellie to follow him. He doesn’t look to see if she does.

More vents are bursting and something particularly loud and large has just entered the playing field with a roar.

They reach the shop with no problem and as soon as Stross and Ellie are on the other side Robin shuts the gate and locks it.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Little Bird?”

“Start building a barricade with the tables and chairs. I’ll hold their attention for as long as I can.”

Stross doesn’t hesitate, he runs further into the café and starts pulling chairs to the front. Ellie stands at the gate not moving.

“Are you crazy? Get in here! You’re going to get yourself kill!”

She isn’t wrong. He still can’t bring up the rifle to aim, his arm is too weak to do more than drag it behind him. He needs something smaller. Something more manageable.

“Trade me your plasma cutter!”

“What?”

The sound of Slashers and something else screaming across the large room is building panic in his blood stream. Panic he can’t afford to let take hold or they were all dead.

“I’ll give you my rifle and all the ammo I have. Ellie please you have to listen to me. I can’t lift the gun…my arm I can’t lift it. Please.”

Looking behind him Dick could see the outline of a swarm of necros. All converging onto their location. Razor arms and dead eyes locked on to his. Dick swings his head back to Ellie face pressed against the gate and arm sticking though. He’s sobbing in earnest now.

“ELLIE FOR GODS’S SAKE GIVE ME THE FUCKING GUN!!”

The grip is in his hand before he can even finish the sentence.

Robin veers to the left to avoid an attack that was aimed for his head. Ellie scrambles back as the sharp appendage get stuck in the gate. The teen brings his new cutter up and severs the trapped arm and its head. It slumps to the floor.

The closest Slasher to him loses its legs before its head explodes off it shoulders. The next three go down in a similar fashion. The lighter weight of the gun makes it easier to move, to dodge, to fight. Till the clip runs empty.

“Shit.”

He’s made it to the middle of the room, all attention is on him. There’s no time to reload. He tries anyways.

One of the creatures gets too close. Dick can only look up and watch as the Slasher raises its arm to bring it down on his neck. He squeezes his eyes shut.

Another shot is fired. The monster wails and Dick can feel blood splatter across his face. He opens his eyes to find the Slasher on the ground and further back Ellie aiming toward him with his discarded Plasma rifle.

She shoots another set of rounds. They fly past his head and he hears another Slasher go down behind him.

“Dick! Move your ass!”

He does. With some effort the cutter is reloaded, and he is back in the fight with Ellie providing backup. Enemies fall to their combined effort with ease.

They could actually do this.

“Holy shit! Dick, look out! It’s headed right for you!”

That large something else from before falls to the first floor. It shakes the room in its landing. It’s a Brute.

Large gorilla like necro of at least three corpses with an armored, spiked exoskeleton made from bone and calcified skin. Tough bastards with their only weakness being on the back of their shoulder joints and surprising agility for its size. There were more than just a few of them on the Ishimura.

Robin feels a grin on his face. “Piece of cake. Ellie keep the small fry off me! I got this one!”

The Brute charges, head low to strike him with. It crosses the expanse of the room within seconds. Robin waits, then at the last second rolls away. The impact the Brute makes with the statue causes the marble to crumble. The movement makes him dizzy and for a moment the teen is sure he won’t be able to get back up.

The beast is in a similar position though, shaking its head to reorient itself. Robin takes the opportunity to stumble behind it and attack the exposed tendons on its hind legs.

It went down with a screech that whitens out his vision. In the background Robin can hear Ellie yelling something at him but there isn’t time to focus on that. He trusts her to not shoot him in the back or let something else finish the job. His attention is solely on the Brute.

Unable to move it only has one last attack in its arsenal. Robin stands at the ready, holstering his cutter. It heaves like it’s going to be sick but instead lifts its torso higher off the ground to allow its chest cavity to open. The projectile that is launched out is a mass of bone and the explosive sacs of pus ready to burst into a shower of shrapnel on impact.

The kinesis module in the suit caught it in midair easily. It’s only a matter of launching it back and watching as the Brute collapses from its own attack.

The red glow indicating a quarantine lifts, leaving Dick in the middle of a corpse infested room panting from the fight. Sweat is causing his hair to stick to his forehead and his lungs and limb burn uncomfortably. As the adrenaline leaves his system, Richard is really starting to feel the exertion he put on his body. He’s tempted to use a syringe just to numb himself again.

“Dick, are you alright?” Ellie is still stuck behind the barrier. Encouraging Stross to help her move the tables out of the way. “I think that’s all of them, for now… Hang on, I’ll be right there.”

Richard needs to sit down, so he does. He wants a lie down too, but he can settle for this. He watches as Ellie finally opens the gate and pulls Stross out with her by the arm. Dick doesn’t move from his spot and does his best to calm his breathing.

“That was insane. Are you alright? Why did Tiedemann turn off the power? What did you do to piss him off so much?”

Ellie watches as Stross disentangles himself from her grasp and moves to grab Richard by the arm again. She isn’t as cautious as before, perhaps his action of putting her life before his has something to do with it. Whatever it is he’s to wired to care.

“Ellie…” She deserves an explanation. “Do you know what a Marker is?”

“Yeah, the Unitologists on my crew would never shut up about it. Why? Is it important?”

Ellie eyes him when he flinches at the cults name, but if anything, she just looks more confused.

“Yes, it’s important. The church made one using codes, patterns that were…forced…into our heads…mine and Mr. Stross. Everything that’s happening on this station is happening because of that Marker.”

“And it’s in the Government Sector.” Dawning realization paints her expression as her eyes go back and forth between him and Stross.

“I have to get to it and destroy it and I need Stross to tell me how.”

Ellie, still trying to wrap her mind around everything, shakes her head and starts to pace. “This is crazy. The church, I thought they were just a bunch of quacks but…”

“Will you help us? Please.”

If she says no, Dick isn’t sure what he’s going to do. How he’s going to get both himself and Stross to the Government Sector alive.

Some of his anxiety must be on his face because Ellie smiles tightly and kinda pats the air above his shoulder awkwardly. “We’re about to suffocate. So, I think I’d better.”

The sigh of absolute relief has him almost lying down on the floor. “Okay good, so we need power. Without it we have no air and no train. We’re in a public space, there has to be some sort of back-up somewhere right?”

Ellie nods. “Yes, the solar arrays up there!” She points past the skylight in the ceiling. “But they’ve been mothballed for years.”

“Okay…alright, good. That’s something I can work with. I’ll head there now. If I can, I’ll start them up and get them to direct all power to the trains.”

“You? You’re like ten, what do you know about solar panels or the steps necessary to get them running again?”

She isn’t being rude. It is honestly a fair question, and Dick is more than familiar with people underestimating him. It isn’t him that responds though.

“Oh, you shouldn’t underestimate the… the Little Bird. He knows what he’s doing when it comes to computers and machines. You… you point him in the right direction, and he’ll set the wrongs right. He’ll get us to the Government Sector…that…he can do… no doubt about it.”

Richard is both touched and unnerved by the amount of faith Stross is putting in him. Ellie wants to argue, he can tell by the grit of her teeth.

“You’ll need someone to open the collector panels. I can do that.”

Dick nods and looks up at the man that occasionally shakes his arm. “Can you take Stross with you? If I’m going to realign the solar panels I’m going to need to be outside. I don’t want to leave him by himself for too long.”

“Yeah…yeah, I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

Dick wants to hug the woman, but he restrains himself. The last time he wanted a hug didn’t end well for him. Instead he grabs Stross’ hand and makes sure the man is paying attention to him.

“Mr. Stross, I have to go and get the power back on. I need you to go with Ellie and do everything she tells you to okay.”

After a moment of consideration Richard removes the backpack from his back. “You see this,” He gestures to the stuffed bat and continues when Stross nods. “This is B. He belongs to…a friend of mine. I promised to keep him safe, but where I’m going won’t be safe for him. He is very important to me. Can you keep him safe for me till I get back?”

There is a clarity in the older man’s eyes that wasn’t there before. He nods with determination. “Oh, yes…I can do that. I promise. B will be safe with me.”

“Thank you Nolan. There is food in the bag too. Feel free to eat whatever you want.” Dick turns back to find Ellie watching the exchange with an odd look on her face. “You can have whatever you want too.”

Dick stands up and leaves Stross on the floor petting the stuffed animal. He walks over to Ellie. Placing a hand on her shoulder the teen causes her to bend down slightly. His words are at a whisper.

“He’s a bit sick. He sometimes loses himself. I’m hoping having a mission of his own will keep him present. Please take care of him. I’ve lost too many people already.”

Ellie nods grimly. He knows she understands the sentiment even if she doesn’t understand the situation. It’s enough.

It has to be.

“I’ll let you know when I’m in position. Here’s all the ammo I have for the plasma rifle.”

Ellie grabs the ammunition and stores it before giving Dick what is left of her cutter ammo. Nodding Richard begins the trek to the other side of the room.

“Be careful out there, Dick. You look one good breeze away from collapsing. Won’t do us any good if your dead.” She joking, the nervous smile is proof of that.

“What you don’t trust me without adult supervision? I’m offended. Completely and utterly traught. Heavy on the dis.”

There is a laugh. Loud, unrestrained, with a snot at the end of it. It makes his own smile wider.

‘We’re on a time limit here Casanova.’

Dick picks up the pace. Cutter out and shoulders lighter than they were since he started.

He has a plan.

He has support.

And there is no time to lose.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Going Up

Sprawl, Titan

1800 Hours

Dick hates it.

There is no other way to describe how he feels towards the creature fixtured to the wall beyond. He hates it. Not even because of anything it does, or how it attacks, how it looks.

But the sound.

God, the sounds it makes.

The continuous wails of agony it produces from its exposed trachea. Moans and whimpers and cries of pain that

Just

won’t

stop.

Richard rests his back against a wall facing the opposite side. There is another corridor next to him. A corridor he wants no part of. A corridor he would much rather ignore. A corridor that just so happens to be the way he needs to go.

A sudden sharp scream trails off into a wordless whimper.

“Shit.”

Dick curses to himself, rubbing hard at his eyes. He didn’t want to do this. There’s no time to find another way around, not with the life support system failing and two civilians, maybe others, counting on him to get the job done.

Not that he minds at all. It’s nice to have people who rely on him again. People who need him as a hero and not a cult device. People to protect. People who may just want him around afterwards. Does he have a hero complex, maybe, but that's hardly the point. He won’t fail them. He can’t fail them.

But…

The pained moaning won’t stop. Richard can hear the fleshy smack of the corridor’s Guardian trying to hit its head against the wall, only to cry out when it fails.

Dick toes the mutilated body on the ground in front of him, debating.

He only feels slightly bad that he threw the corpse into the line trap that was in the previous hall. There was no visible way to deactivate the mechanism. Well none that he had the patience to find anyways. At least there is no way for the body to come back now.

‘You’re getting off track again.’

“Hmm.”

Another groan.

‘You shouldn’t leave them like that.’

“I know. Just hard.”

‘Yeah.’

Richard is actually surprised he hasn’t run into one of them until now. With evidence of the Corruption already spreading and turning halls into mushy rooms of flesh he would have figured they’d be everywhere by now.

The first time he encountered one on the Ishimura he couldn’t stop crying for hours. If that engineer hadn’t been there to help, Dick has no doubt in his mind he’d be dead. (Shame the engineer wasn’t so lucky.)

But there is something so completely devastating about the creatures fused to the walls. They cry and moan like they can feel everything happening to them. And who’s to say they can’t.

Dick hasn't gotten close enough to one to confirm his theory and he isn’t sure if he really wants that confirmation, but he thinks they may still be alive. Somewhere in there. Forced to endure the transformation of their bodies into the Corruption through some kind of symbiosis that won’t allow them to die. The late changes to their bodies leaves them unrecognizable as a person. But some part of them must know or understand because nothing makes a sound like that unless they do.

It’s sick, and inhumane, and horrible, and everything he’s come to expect from the Marker and its fucking cult.

It screams again.

‘Finish it. Even Bruce would understand a mercy kill.’

“Yeah.”

Robin steps away from the wall allowing himself to become a target. The Guardian takes immediate notice of him. The wailing grows louder as its thorax expands releasing four tentacle appendages. The bone attached is sharp and quick to decapitate someone stupid enough to get close. He knows from witnessing it firsthand.

Robin also knows if he doesn’t take this thing out quick it’s going to launch a Pod from the sac made from its stomach. The last thing the boy needs is an embryonic hell spawn to waste ammo on.

He aims. The flailing appendages makes it hard to focus on just one, so he targets the origin. It takes three shots before the chest cavity collapses in on itself. The creature screams one last time before it relaxes into a relieved sigh as it dies.

Dick never felt any distinctive way when killing the things around him. Except maybe gratification when one was being a particular pain in the ass. But he can say with confidence bringing mercy to the Guardians makes him feel better about what he’s doing. Just knowing they exist though tends to dampen that mood.

‘It’s one less left to suffer.’

“But out of how many?”

Richard picks his way through the fleshy substance that has taken over the room, holding his breath against the stench of decay. The elevator beyond is left untouched, which is nice.

Inside is quiet. So, so quiet.

Dick can hear the wetness in his breathing. Hyperaware of the pops and cracks in his joints as he moves. His heartbeat hammering in his ears at irregular intervals, like when he’s hit with Scarecrow’s gas.

It’s quiet. So, so quiet.

Richard swears he can here the slow moving infection on the skin and muscle in his broken arm.

There is a jingle from the other elevator before he memorized, and he tries to bring it to mind to hum. It’s just out of reach, his frazzled fatigued psyche unable to come up with the tune. His stuck with one note on repeat and it’s driving him up the wall.

Because it’s too fucking quiet.

Richard isn’t aware he’s called Ellie until she picks up. Audio call. Must have had the self-awareness to keep it to chat to avoid her seeing the tears that started running down his face.

Again.

‘It’s no wonder you’re so often dehydrated for Christ sake.’

“Dick?”

“Ellie? Are you okay? How’s Stross doing?” His voice and breathing are loud in the confined space. He almost flinches at it.

“Sshhh, the powers shut off. You can hear noises three blocks away.” Her voice is a soft whisper.

In the background of the call Richard can hear Stross muttering to himself, something reassuring he thinks.

It’s calming. They haven’t been separated for more than fifteen minutes but the sound of their voices is a balm on the anxiety that’s been building since they parted. Because what if their dead, and he didn’t know. What if they’re in a fight for their lives and he isn’t there to protect them. What if they die and it’s his fault?

“He won’t shut up. If he keeps this up he’s going to give away my position.”

The muttering in the back continues. Between Ellie’s whispering and the quiet of his own space Dick realizes just how loud that muttering really is.

Shit.

He feels wretched. He left her to babysit Stross even though she wanted nothing to do with them. He’s put her at risk. Tasked her with defending both herself and an ill man from an army of undead aliens. If she abandons the man in the midst of an attack Dick doesn’t think he could find it in him to be upset.

Stross is supposed to be his job. His responsibility.

There is no time to dwell on that. Right now, he needs to think of a way to keep Stross quiet for both their safety.

“Put him on.” There is a moment of quiet as Ellie asks Stross to come over. “Stross.”

“Little bird!” Dick winces at the volume as Ellie tells him to keep it down. He lowers his voice. “Don’t worry, B is doing just fine. I’m taking great care, great care. He wants for nothing.”

“That’s great Stross,” He hopes that his words didn’t come out as strained as he thinks they did. “thank you for doing this for me. I’ll be back real soon okay.” Dick has to think a moment. “B’s favorite game is the quiet game, ya know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we like to see who can be the most quiet and sneaky. Like spies or ninjas. It’s really fun.”

“Oh yes, that does sound like a good game.”

“Will you play the quiet game with him till I get back? Maybe it will help him not get scared or miss me so much.”

“Oh, oh yes. A great game. Don’t worry I’ll make sure he has fun. He won’t even realize you're gone. Maybe if I get really good I can teach my boy the quiet game too.”

‘He murdered his own wife and child.’

Richard chokes on his gathering saliva. He has to force words from his gritted teeth. “Thank you Stross.” His breathing sounds erratic in his ears.

“Well that’s one way to do it I suppose.”

Ellie’s voice breaks through the impending panic attack. “Yeah,” He hears himself saying. “try and keep him focused. I need his help to stop this.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“You too.”

Richard sinks to the floor when the call ends, finally allowing himself to be sacred now that he lacks an audience. Not that he thinks Ellie will mind, but he’s supposed to be more put together than this. No sense in making her concerned or fearful that he can’t do his side of the deal.

She might leave.

She would leave.

The elevator is back to being oppressively silent. He can’t even hear the wires pulling him up. There is too much room to think.

And think.

And think.

Dick hates how much he thinks.

‘Dude.’

“Wonder what the machinery looks like. I know some of the elevators on the station are magnetic based but this one doesn’t share that design. Unless it’s a new model.” His words are almost swallowed up by the quiet.

‘Dude.’

He speaks louder. “It’s not a bad idea. Wires can snap and send an elevator rushing down the shoot. Magnets are easier to get stuck but they’re faster and much quieter. Plus, the designs are super cool too. Guess it comes down to safety or convenience. I’m sure people would appreciate the quiet of a soundless elevator. Still it wouldn’t kill them to add some music or something though. I mean…”

‘Hey Dumbass.’

Dick stops his rambling.

“Hm?”

‘It might help if you actually start the elevator.’

Dick lifts his head from his knees and looks at the control panel. The numbers are stationary. No buttons are highlighted, and now that he’s paying attention there is no motion in the confined space that would suggest movement.

“Oh.”

Dick pulls himself to his feet using the wall rail and presses the button that will send him up. The elevator starts with a jolt. Lights brighten from standby mode and a small jingle comes from the speakers as it ascends.

“Right.”

‘Dipshit.’

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair.”

The doors open to a worker locker room. Engineer suit’s hang from their stations. Lockers line the walls and a workbench sits on the far side of the room. The metal grate flooring has a bit of smoky air rising from it clouding the room.

There is one Slasher playing dead on the floor. Robin shoots its legs off before it had a chance to move. It dies screaming in rage.

“I’m not falling for that shit again.”

‘Ya sure.’

“Dude.” Dick argues with himself as he walks down the ramp and towards another door. The corpse laying at the bottom is dismembered by his boot without a second thought. “Listen. I know what I’m doing. I’m still alive aren’t I?”

He pauses at the door as he imagines the vigilante talking to him giving him a disapproving once over. Arms crossed and a brow raising above the domino mask and into the raven bangs. He knows the smirk forming on its face too.

“Don’t judge me asshole. I’m you.”

It doesn’t say anything back but raises its gloved hands in surrender, the smile growing wider. Wally and Artemis were right, he does have a very punchable face sometimes.

The door opens and the suspended metal catwalk leads him to another elevator door. Straight to the Solar Array if the electric sign above was any indication.

“Yes.” Dick pushes the button to allow him in.

Nothing happens.

“The Docking Pod is off the mag-rail. An Engineering work order has been issued.”

“Are you serious right now?”

‘You were saying about how cool those mag-rail elevators are?’

“Shut up. At least it’s something I can fix.” Dick opens a chat line to Ellie to give her an update.

‘You sure it’s not just because you want to talk to her again?’

“Didn’t I say to shut u-hey, Ellie. So, I ran into a snag. It looks like the Docking Pod that runs to the Solar Array is floating at the bottom of the shaft.”

“Shit, shit, shit. Okay. That figures. We’ll…we’ll figure else something out.” Ellie’s frustrated voice responds, the boy can imagine her running her hands through her hair as she thinks of what to do. “Do you want to meet back up at the station? We can find a different solution.”

“What? No, no. Don’t worry. I got this. I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’m a little behind schedule.”

‘Not going to mention that blunder with the last elevator?’

“Dude, shut up.”

“What?”

“No, no not you. The- the walkway I’m on creaked. Freaked me out.”

“Hm, so you think you can fix a mag-rail elevator?” Dick tries not to bristles at the disbelieving tone.

“I’m headed outside to have a look now. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

“I…Alright, just be careful.”

The call ended as Dick heads out to the maintenance bay. The zero-gravity area that’s holding the Pod brings immediate relief to the boys’ body. Sore bones and overused muscles no longer weighing like lead.

The moment of bliss is rudely interrupted when his lungs, and whatever fluid is currently swimming in there, decide they don’t like the weightless feeling. He coughs, and god does it hurt. He spits out what he manages to get up this throat and tries not to think too hard about the dark rust color that floats in front of him.

‘That does not sound good man.’

“Yeah, doesn’t feel too great either.” Dick gasps. He sucks in air through his teeth, but like before it never seems to be enough.

He disconnects his boots from the floor and starts his decent into the shaft. Which is huge. The Docking Pod alone could hold Mount Justice’s entire training room on it. The movement does nothing to help his lungs and his coughs echo in the expanse.

‘You should tell Ellie. Maybe she’ll know somewhere that has antibiotics.’

“No time for that.” He coughs.

“Yeah, well there’s no time for you to be dry drowning cause of your stubbornness either.’

Dick is disoriented by the time he reaches the Pod. He just knows he’s upside down again, but he can’t get a good read with his head swimming like it is. As usual the visual he has of the voice is as cool as a damn cucumber floating next to him with that stupid raised eyebrow.

“I hate you.”

‘I’m you asshole. And I’m trying to make sure you don’t die.’

“And I’m so very grateful for the running commentary from the peanuts gallery on how well I’m doing. So grateful.”

Struggling a bit, pushing debris out of the way and carefully guiding the Pod to the rail it was meant to follow. It was hard to steer without the use of both hands but after minutes of trial and error Dick was able to connect it.

“Holy shit I feel like Superman. Remember when he caught that plane from the sky? So cool right?”

‘Oh, now you want my running commentary?’

“Don’t be a dick.” Dick floats back to the platform he came from and went to the controls to reactivate the magnets. It locks on with a heavy click and the elevator is ready to go.

‘Course not. Wouldn’t want to take that title from you.’

Richard leaves the zero-gravity room, grunting as his weight is thrown back onto him, and heads for the elevator door. Choosing to ignore the comment he calls Ellie for a third time. “Ellie. I’ve got the elevator repaired.”

“You did?”

“Do you so readily doubt my skills as a problem solver? I am highly offended.”

There is a smirk in her voice as she responds. “Well I’ll be sure not to doubt you in the future in that case, Dick.”

“That sounded like an insult Ellie. Why does everyone insist on using my name against me?”

She hums. “You asked for it by saying you liked being called Dick. That’s hardly my fault kid.”

In the background he can hear Stross mumbling to himself again. The responding banter he had planned fell from his thoughts. “How’s Stross?”

“How do you think? Have you heard this shit?”

Dick closes his eyes and rubs at his temple. “He’s hallucinating. It’s part of the Marker’s sickness.”

“This is going to be trouble.”

“It already is. Just keep moving. I’m headed up to the array now.”

“I’ll be ready when you get there.”

The doors open and the boy steps onto the large Docking Pod. It takes only a moment to access the controls and send the elevator shooting up the shaft. The elevator lit up as it went. Layering the space with an orange light that came from the walls.

Until finally it left the shaft. Still attached to the wall on one side as it rose higher and higher, Dick is given a breathtaking view of the city from the windows. The planet of Saturn acting as a backdrop for the city towers.

The phantom beside him whistles impressed. Hands resting on the utility belt Dick really wishes he had on him. “Yeah.” He responds instead and whistles in kind.

Richard rests his back against the wall, leans his head back and listens as the pod continues its ascension.

He isn’t sure when he closes his eyes but when he opens them, blue meets the milky white from the other side of the glass.

Robin barely has time to throw up his helmet before the brute clinging to the outside of the elevator smashes the glass in.

Oxygen rushes from the pod almost taking the boy off his feet and into space before the magnets in his boot keep him grounded. Without the shielding of the window the speed at which the pod was traveling practically sends the boy to his knees.

His ears pop and the only thing he can hear is the sharp whistling of air rushing in his helmet. Robin does his best to steady himself and aim at the bastard that was attempting to squeeze itself through the window. His first three shots miss horribly. Hitting the ceiling and busting out another window.

‘Trying aiming at the creature.’

“You wanna trade places smartass?” Richard isn’t sure if he’s screaming or whispering. The ringing in his ears hasn’t stopped.

The elevator lurches to the side, sending the teen sprawling to the floor, head bouncing in his helmet as he collides with the surface. Dick clings to his gun as he tries to pick himself back up.

The elevator lurches again. He slides to the wall, rolling to avoid the meaty fist of another brute.

“This is getting a little ridiculous, guys!” Robin gazed at the ugly thing looming over him through the window. He raised his cutter and fired at the glowing pustule holding its arm together. The pustule busts, showering the boy in the putrid fluid inside.

The monstrosity is gone in the next blink of an eye as it was thrown from the elevator. The loss of the weight makes the elevator lurch a third time. But he was prepared for it this time, sitting with his back to the wall and allowing his boots to lock him in with a bend of his knees.

He’s sure he looks ridiculous. Like a child in time out and pouting. Certainly, feels like it.

‘Alright one down. Two to go.’

Robin groans. “Come on man.”

He fires. And with each shot grows more and more frustrated. He’s wasting ammo. A big no no if he wants to survive this damn elevator ride from hell. But they keep moving. Hopping from window to window in no real pattern the teen can follow. And whether he wants to admit it or not that last fall must have done some kind of damage to his inner ear. Every vibration and movement of the elevator caused by the creatures hunting him has Dick swallowing down raising bile. Nausea and dizziness are threatening to steal all of his attention.

Shit, he really doesn’t want to vomit in his helmet.

‘Look out!’

Robin leaps away from the wall he was resting on just as one of the Brutes tries to shove itself through the window, its arm just barely crushing the teen. While not nearly as graceful as he knows he’s capable of being, Robin swings his gun and aims at the creature now trapped in the window seal.

The arm is severed, and its head blown off its neck, the thing slumps. Hearing the last of the beasts behind him Robin unloads the last of his clip into the area surrounding it. Without the wall for support and with it not being stuck all his shots miss.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

The beast pulls back its fist ready to strike. Dick brings his arm up to guard the attack that he’s sure is going to flatten him. Eyes squeezed closed he waits.

And waits.

He’s waiting.

Opening his eyes shows another severed arm laying in front of him. The boy stands there, looking at it unable to come up with what just happened. Beside him his phantom laughs.

‘Holy shit, you almost bit the dust!’

“What?”

‘The elevator dude.’

It clicks. Dick is no longer watching the city fall beneath him as the pod climbs, instead dark walls surround him slowing its accent. The elevator shaft crushed the brute as it sped towards the top. Air floods back into the pod and he folds his helmet back into his suit.

Dick giggles hysterically. What a way to be saved.

“Arriving at…Solar Array Sigma zero five.”

“Thank you.”

The ringing hasn’t stopped. His head feels like it’s swimming and he’s sure in the next couple of seconds he’s going to throw up his lovely school lunch from earlier, but none of that matters cause.

“Holy shit. I’m alive.” He giggles breathlessly again.

Dick is well aware that if anyone could hear him they’d think he’s lost what few marbles he had left. So, he’s not too mad he can’t hear anything at the moment.

The doors to the elevator open to a dark catwalk and when nothing immediately tries to force its way in Dick takes to opportunity to reload his gun, and left his ears sort themselves out.

He breaths as deeply as he can, the recycled air irritating his damaged lungs. Finally finding the courage Richard brings his hand to his ear and snaps.

“Oh, thank God.”

‘Yeah, that would have been bad.’

The ringing is still there but at least his ear drums are still functioning. If he lost his ability to hear the things roaming the halls he may as well just shoot himself in the head now.
Cracking his neck and rolling his shoulder Dick leaves the elevator.

The catwalk is quiet. Nothing happens as he rummages through the lockers. Nor when he opens the door leading into the first room of the level. Except there’s singing.

Dick squeezes his eyes closed again waiting for the inevitable figure of his mother to show up and harass him into killing himself, but.

The singing isn’t coming from a person.

The boy opens his eyes and looks up.

‘What. The.’

“Hell?”

Birds.

Of every color and size sit and chirp on the rafters above him. Empty cages litter the room. Dick gazes at them in amazement. They flutter and bounce around, taking flight to met others on different rafters.

Birds.

He never thought he’d get to hear one again, never mind in the middle of space. But here they were.

‘Look there’s even a robin in here.’

Dick looks where he can see his image pointing, sure enough. There it is. He wants to just sit down a moment and just listen.

‘No time for that.’

“Hm.”

The windows looking out give the view of inner mechanical workings of the array, but there are projections along the walls of forests and tropical sights. There is a sitting room off to the right. A hall leading up and further into the solar array on his left.

That’s where he needs to go.

No sooner did he step into the room did Dick flinch back as a holographic woman appears in front of him. Her voice sounding through the room, almost drowning out the sound of the birds.

“Welcome to Solar Array Sigma-Zero-Five. Proper identification is required. Please wait here. Watchman… Howard Phillips will be with you shortly.”

There is a body slumped on the floor in the sitting area, a text log laying on the floor beside him.

~

Personal Log. Howard Phillips

Record Number: 302

‘I want to go home. ANTI claims she didn’t get a response to my transfer request, but it’s the FIFTH one. How could there be five requests, and no response? Surely someone is getting them? Someone is reading them?

I hate to admit it, but the loneliness up here is really more intense than I expected. I think its starting to affect me.

The only good news is that ANTI claims to have authorized my shipment request. They’re suppose to be arriving later today. But I can’t believe anything she tells me.

I’ve been asking for so long. It’s hard to believe they might actually let me have my birds. Time will tell.

Tonight will tell actually.’

~

Personal Log. Howard Phillips

Record Number: 466

‘I’ve been trying to stay out of range of ANTI’s interfaces as much as I can. I don’t want to hear her excuses anymore about my transfer requests. Every time I ask I just get computerized bullshit.

Twenty-three requests! I’ve put in twenty-three requests and not one response. I know she’s lying. I know she never sent them. I showed ANTI though. I let all my birds out of their cages at lunch. It was beautiful. They were all flying around free and happy. I wish I could be them. ANTI was spouting regulations and talking about ‘abnormal profiles.’ I didn’t care. I danced with the birds all day. I love my birds. I want to go home.’

~

Personal Log. Howard Phillips

Record Number: 497

‘They hate me. They all hate me. I can see them all. They’re everywhere now, just perched, watching me. Even ANTI. She’s just waiting until old Howard Phillips finally goes crazy and snaps, like he did when he let the birds out, violated all the codes, broke all the rules. I’ll show them crazy. I’ll show them what it takes to get out of here. They’ll have to come up here and clean up all this blood, and then what rules will they make? I’ll break those too. I’m going to lay down. I don’t feel right.’

~
The date on the last entry was over two months ago.

No one ever came to clean the blood Dick can now see covering the floor.

No one ever came to check up on the man in charge of solar array.

A solar array that has been mothballed for years.

The corpse is only slightly decayed due to the chilled temperature of the room. But that’s not what has the boy frozen in place.

Dick feels his skin crawl. Goosebumps form across his arm, the text log shaking in his tightened grip. Chancing a glance behind him he sees it.

The holographic woman, with her arms folded calmly in front of her stares at him, smile on her face and wide intelligent eyes.

“You are not supposed to be here.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

Hacker vs AI

Sprawl, Titan

Solar Array Sigma-Zero-Five

1900 Hours

“This is absolute bullshit!”

Robin sprints down the curving hallway avoiding the detonator mines that bitch of an AI lays out for him. His breath heaves from his chest as he run, feet slamming on the metal floor creating all kinds of noise and sending spikes of pain up his spine.

“Unauthorized visitor detected. Auto-defenses activated. Station watchman Howard Phillips, please provide verbal access code to authorize your guest.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

It’s bad enough that the poor guy had killed himself. Either due to the Marker or from loneliness, Dick isn’t sure. But then he was forced to drag the dead man’s corpse to the first door leading into the rest of the array just to gain access from his rig. Now this soulless machine had the nerve to act like she didn’t know her watchman was dead.

‘Maybe she doesn’t know.’

“Once more, I’m calling bullshit! The rig on his back was clearly flatlined.”

Dick flattens himself along the wall when another holograph of the woman shows up at the end of the hall. Looking for him. He has to force his vision back into focus, his hand won’t stop shaking at his side.

“Not to mention his corpse was sitting right in front of her for god knows how long. If she can see me, she sure as shit could see him.” He hisses.

‘Could be a glitch in the system.’

“Hm,” The vigilante hums in thought. “That would explain why the place was abandoned by the station. But why assign someone up here then?”

‘What if nobody did?’

“What are you talking about?”

‘No one came looking for Mr. Phillips when he went MIA,” Dick turns to his counterpart giving it his full attention as it spoke. ‘and I doubt Tiedemann’s security officers avoided the place just because of a rouge AI. Plus, despite his dozens of letters of transfer no one ever responded. So why not just leave? Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe she wouldn’t let him. Could be no one even knew he was here to begin with.’

That gave the boy pause.

“So, he was lured here by a rouge AI that singled him out and submitted a fake transfer to her abandoned solar array. To, what? Keep her company? Stop her from going out of commission?” Dick rubs at his temple. “Shit, there’s too much we don’t know. And we don’t have time to figure it out. We need to get the life support system back online before the backup runs dry.”

‘This AI is smart, probably learns as it ages. There could be more like her on the station too. We’ll have to be careful.’

“Yeah.” The boy agrees.

‘Well at the very least, it seems like no necros were able to make it past our lovely lady.’

“Knock on wood.”

‘So, what’s the plan?’

“We need to get to the mainframe of the Solar Array and force a manual operation only setting. Shut the bitch down and we’ll have access to the whole array without interruptions.” The two nod to one another.

‘Sounds easy enough.’

“You say that, but who’s the one in danger of being blown up by a rouge AI?”

‘You’ve made it this far.’

Pushing himself off the wall, Dick runs, just avoiding the line traps that spring up behind him. The lights of the hall flick to life as he speeds past. The woman follows him. Appearing just ahead in all her holographic glory to observe his progress.

‘Taking notes of your strengths and weaknesses, no doubt.’

Dick huffs out a breath he really couldn’t spare at the thought. His chest feels like he couldn’t even draw a full intake of air. The back of his throat is simultaneously dry and slimy.

The door at the end of the hall opens into a large room with a second floor. The small lift leading up is locked.

“Nothing can be simple can it?”

The hologram watches from the other end of the room. He can feel its eyes burning into him as he wanders around. The window had a better view of the outside solar panels, all facing down and offline. There are a few lockers he rummages through. Nothing of use turns up.

“Hey, ANTI was it? Mind helping a guy out here?”

“You are not authorized to be in this area.”

“Yeah? Something tells me Mr. Phillips wasn’t meant to be here either. So, we both have been doing things up here we aren’t supposed to, hmm?”

The AI doesn’t respond.

“Alright, that’s fine. I can figure this out myself.”

A door leading into another closet of a room holds what he’s looking for. He doesn’t waste time removing the cover on the lift controls and sticking his arm inside to rework the system.

“This is so much harder with one hand.” Sparks fly when he misaligns on of the cables.

He can see the furious expression that make its way onto the hologram’s face. “Attention Watchman Howard Phillips. Unauthorized engagement of access lift detected. Please respond.”

Richard grins and winks. “Sorry to break it to you ANTI, but your meat puppet hostage kicked the bucket a couple months ago. Just you and me my fine, fair lady.”

She doesn’t reply to his taunts but continues to glare at him.

“Figures I’d trade undead alien nightmares and crazy cult members for a murderous computer AI.”

‘Which would you prefer over the other?’

“I’m not even going to dignify that question with an answer.”

Dick’s not sure if the responding laugh came from him or his ‘not self’ that’s following him. And that thought process is a little too concerning to deal with at the moment. He’ll just save that for later.

He uses the lift to the second floor, flipping the holograph off as it watches him ascend. The walkway up top is narrow, not leaving much room to move, with a clear view of the floor below. A sound of machinery beeping to life sends the boy scrambling backwards to avoid another line trap that springs up in his way. Dick picks himself up off the floor and looks over the railing at the woman below. It stares back in turn, frown on its face.

He smiles.

“That was a pretty dick move, ANTI! Very rude.”

“Grayson!” Dick flinches at the sound of Tiedemann’s voice calling out to him from the speakers in the room. “I know you’re up there.”

“So, the bitch actually called for outside help. That’s cute.” He mutters and clears his throat. “No, I’m not!”

The voice huffs. “Understand that even if you survive long enough to restore power, there is no escape. All routes in and out of the government sector are being monitored. Give up boy.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. No boy up here, no sir.”

“Hm, just as cheeky as on the Abraxis. Good to know that show of bravery wasn’t just that.” He sounds irritated and is that a hint of fondness or is Dick just crazy…crazier than he thought.

“I aim to please.” He calls back.

A hum that could be taken as a laugh comes through before the voice gets soft. “Don’t fret Grayson. When the time comes, I’ll make sure it’s quick.”

The speakers go dead, and a new silence permeates the room. Dick’s grip on the cutter tightens. He did not need this right now.

‘What DO you need?’

“A nap. A vacation... Lifetime of therapy.”

Using the telekinesis module on his suit, Dick picks up a canister off the walkway. Stepping back to ensure he’s not within range of the blast, he shoots it at the trap, triggering the small explosive that would have severed all his limbs.

‘Having explosives on a space station does not sound like a smart move.’

Richard shrugs as he limps past the charred ground. “The charge isn’t enough to take out a wall or even break a window. Its lines wrap around a target then pack enough of a punch to take said target out.” He looks to the side. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”

The specter throws its hands up in its own dramatic shrug. ‘Perhaps. But we both know how much you love to hear yourself talk so I thought I’d give you some incentive.’

Dick laughs and pushes against the others arm. “Alright dick.”

‘Takes one to know one.’

Another darkened hall that lights up as he enters is what greets him through the next door. At the end of it ANTI stands, her hands on her hips. No sooner did he step though did the door behind him close and lock.

Dick and his double look at the door.

‘Shit.’

“Purging Life Support.”

“Shit.”

The helmet is activated just as the lights go dark and the air is vacuumed from the room. He is left in a pitch-black room. The only light coming from his suit and ANTI’s holo. The sound of his wet breathing deafening in his helmet. A measuring device within the confines of his suit let him know just how much air his has left.

He has a minute.

ANTI stands at the end of the hall hands balled into fists at her side.

“Playing dirty again are we?” His voice is echoes in his own ears.

As he tries to maneuver down the hall he realizes a new disadvantage he has now. He can’t hear the trap mines as they’re released. If not for the small flash of light they let off moments before activating and the darkness of the room, Dick is sure he’d be missing all his limbs right now.

With each dodge ANTI grows more and more upset. Or as upset as an AI can be. There is a look of distain in her eyes despite the calm and collected way her voice sounds out to him.

At the other end of the hall is an emergency access. His air is dwindling almost causing Dick to stumble into another trap, but he makes it with second to spare and turns the life support back on.

Air refills the room and his helmet folds back in as he takes in as much air as he can at one time. Coughing out the muck that clings to his throat. He looks back at the A.I.

“Almost go me there ANTI. Almost got me.” He says breathlessly.

‘Would you stop antagonizing the computer.’

“Never.”

There is exasperation in the sigh he hears, but Dick is too high on the feeling of petty success to care. He has to use the wall to get through the next door.

ANTI is waiting for him on the other side, hands once again settled on her hips. “Unauthorized visitor, mainframe.”

“Finally.”

“Computer, this is director Tiedemann. Disable all Solar Array functions immediately.” The speakers in the room sounds.

“Come on.”

“Initiating System Lockdown.”

“No, nononononono! Don’t do that. Do not” The room goes dark; an emergency red light activates while a steel wall seals around the central mainframe. “do that.”

“I’m sorry Grayson. I know what you are trying to do, and I cannot allow you to succeed. There is too much at stake.”

Looking around the room, Dick can see two additional side rooms have been locked down. Both holding what appears to be fuse boards. A maintenance vent sits between the wall with the door.

He sighs. “Back into the vents I go.”

“Unauthorized access to the computer mainframe is a violation of Titan Station Civic Code. Replace all panels and back away from the fuse board.”

The teen ignores the voice as he focuses all his attention on the circuits in front of him. He pulls out fuses and sticks them into different sockets trying to gain access to the panel he knows will let him manually shut off the shields.

‘Welp, that didn’t work.’

The panel glows red in denial for the whatever-tenth time in as many minutes. Dick rests his head against the wall in frustration.

“Thanks, I hadn’t noticed.”

He pulls out the fuses and tries to remember which order he’s already tried them in. After a few more attempts, all the while his counter-part and the AI talk in his ear, the fuse board glows green in acceptance and said panel raises from the ground.

“Bingo.”

“Warning. Mainframe electric shielding has been deactivated. Mainframe containment compromised.” ANTI says in that monotone she uses.
Dick climbs back into the vent and makes his way back to the mainframe.

“Warning. You are now in violation of multiple subsections of Titan Station Civic Code. Stand clear of all machinery immediately. Security has been notified.”

‘What security? She really doesn’t seem to get that we really don’t give a shit, does she?’ Dick hears from behind him as he crawls.

“Yeah, I’ve done way worse in the past six months than this. A little violation of a Civic Code isn’t going to stop me.” The boy crawls out of the maintenance vent and walks to the now visible power nods.

“Mainframe circuits are extremely fragile. Please step away. Damaging the mainframe circuits will cause lapses in programming. For your safety, step away from the circuits.”

Dick looks to the hologram with a wicked grin that hurts the bridge of his nose. “Please? Are you begging ANTI?”

‘My God. I think she’s begging. What should we do about that?’

Walking up to the closest of the five nodes, Dick raises his cutter and destroys the glass and the fragile components inside. The blue node burst into a shower of flame and sparks.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make this quick. Since you were so nice about it.”

The rest of the mainframe falls in quick session one after the other, until they all sat dead in their ports. The lights overhead dimmed and in her place ANTI began to fizzle out of focus.

“Automated functions – off-line. Lock-outs – offline.” Her voice is fills with static and stutters. “Station reverting to manual operation only. ANTI off-line…”

Dick breath out a sigh of relief. “So long, ANTI.”

‘And so, the mankind prevails once again over the ever-looming threat of the horror that is technology.’

“Pfft, you sound like Wally.”

The door that had been locked down before opens easily without the killer AI holding it hostage. Without anything else at the moment to distract him, Dick activates the commlink.

“Ellie. I’m on my way to the mirrors now. I’m going to have to realign them manually.”

‘Tell her I said hi.’

“What? No, shut up.”

Ellie’s face appears in the video chat in front of him. “Can you handle that? I mean do you know how?”

“I’ll manage. Sure there’s instructions around here somewhere. How are you and Stross?”

Stross is in the background of the feed clutching tightly to the backpack he was given and petting the stuffed bat sticking out. Ellie watches the man warily as he rocks back and forth.

“I don’t know, being honest. He seems fine one moment then the next he totally flips his shit. We’re near the controls for the panels but I had to barricade ourselves in a room nearby. He’s too loud.”

Dick nods. “Okay. Okay, just stay there until I call again. I’ll let you know when the mirrors are in place.”

“Sure, be careful.”

“You too.” The call ends.

‘Stross is going to get her killed, you know that right?’

“Which is why as soon as we return power, we’ll take over Stross’ protection from there.”

‘And you think your capable of taking care of a half-deranged man when you yourself are not exactly…well…’

Dick stares at his ‘not-self’.

It stares back.

“You may have a point.”

The room he enters gives a great view of the mirrors he’s going to have to realign. As well as the open space beyond that.

‘Let’s hope you don’t miss the landing.’

A door stating it to lead to the Solar Array Control Pod is easy enough to unlock and the narrow hall leading to the pod is dark, but short. The door at the end opens.

And Dick sees his mother sitting calmly in the control’s chair. Watching him intently.

“HoW DO you do It?” She whispers and screams at the same time. “how do YOU HolD it ALL inSide, yoUR fACe NEVER betRAYING yoUR PAIN?”

The boy swallows and does his best to ignore the phantom. He looks at the controls that will send the pod up. He checks anywhere that may hold a manuel. His double is nowhere to be found but he doesn’t blame it.

He doesn’t want to be here either.

“NO oNe would ever KNOW the GUILt you feel- NEVER KNow tHe DARK thOughTs you KEEP.”

He finds the button needed and presses it. The pod raises until he is sitting in the center of the mirrors outside. When he looks back to the chair it’s empty. He takes a shaky breath.

‘You okay?’

“Yeah…yeah just peachy.”

Outside the window Dick can see which panels need to be reset. There was nothing that could tell him how to do it, so he’ll just have to wing it.

‘Good luck.’

Activating his helmet and making sure to strap on the extra oxygen tank to his back, the boy opens the air lock and steps out into the vacuum.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

Progress Made

Bio Ship
On Course for Titan
1600 Hours

“So, Robin, he got off the Ishimura! They picked him up and…”

“That is not information we have at this time, and thus shouldn’t come to any conclusions until we arrive on the station and learn more.” Batman kills the rest of the sentence with his tone.

“But...” Wally is cut off once more by a hand on his shoulder. He turns to find Kaldur shaking his head. The speedster deflates.

“We understand. Thank you, Batman, for the update. The course is set for our new destination.”

Batman doesn’t say anything as he disconnects the video call leaving the teen heroes to ponder the new information. Wally slumps back to his seat.

He rubs his face. “Okay, okay. But this is good! Titan is much closer than Aegies VII, so we basically cut our travel time in half. We can get to Rob in two or three days rather than four weeks.”

Megan visibly brightens, clapping her hands together. “With how fast we’re going now we can get there by late tomorrow evening! Or the day after tomorrow since it will probably be past midnight in Earth time.”

“Right! No doubt Rob stopped the first attack by the time rescue arrived. Now he’s just waiting for us to come and get him. Smug punk.”

Wally sits up, confidence that hasn’t been there since the start of this nightmare coming back to him. He looks around the room to see that same hope returning to the rest of the team.

Except for one.

“Then why hasn’t Robin called us to tell us that himself?”

Artemis is running her fingers through her hair, staring out the Bio ship window. Her words are less of a question and more of a taunt. Except, that’s not quite right either. A statement. Like she has all the pieces put together and is patiently waiting for the rest of them to catch up.

“Could be that he’s being held by EarthGov for questioning or protection. Seeing as they’re saying the Ishimura was attacked by terrorists, it would make sense.” Roy folds his arms and glares at the other archer daring her to speak again.

“Would it? After months? When they already seemingly found the terrorist responsible?”

“What are you trying to say Artemis?” Megan casts her gaze back and forth between the two wringing her hands together. The tension in the air has grown thick in just a matter of seconds. It’s starting to give her a headache.

“I’m saying its stupid to get our hopes up when at most all we’ll be given is a body.”

“What the hell Artemis!”

Wally stands up in outrage. Megan falls into her seat cutting off a gasp in her throat. Conner doesn’t move but the trembling in his muscles prove he’s forcing himself still. Roy lunges at the blond and almost makes it to her throat before he is quickly held back by Kaldur.

“Take that back you bitch!”

“Roy, please, calm down!”

“Let go of me!” Roy thrashes in the Atlantean’s grip.

Wally marches up to Artemis and she doesn’t stop him when he grabs the front of her uniform and slams her into the console.

“Wally!”

“Stop!”

“Why? Why would you say something like that?” The red head’s voice breaks partway through the sentence. His eyes blaze with fury through the tears gathering in his lashes.

“What? The truth we’ve all been thinking?” Artemis has her own tears clinging to her cheeks. “EarthGov only just announced the discovery of the Ishimura to Earth. In all the months they’ve had it, and they only did that because the ship was scheduled to return from deep space yesterday. They only gave the announcement because they couldn’t hide the fact that the ship was attacked anymore, and people were going to start asking questions. The only reason we knew a day sooner was because of Robin.”

“So what?”

“Not one damn thing in the messages sent to Earth was said regarding survivors.”

The ship is quiet.

Wally’s grip on the fabric is shaking, a small hiccup escapes his throat. He shakes his head.

“You’re wrong. Robin is the best of the best, he made it. I know he did.”

“So, let’s say he did survive the ship. Made it to safety in the ‘rescue effort’. If there was even a ‘rescue effort.’” Artemis grabs the wrists holding her. “What stopped EarthGov from killing him or any other survivors they found? The only ones who could blow the whistle on their terrorist propaganda. The only one who knew the full story regarding the Marker and this religious group. That ‘terrorist’ woman they found? How much you wanna bet she was another victim? How much you wanna bet she’s dead now?”

“You think a bunch of cultists wannabes are enough to take Robin down? You clearly underestimate him.” Roy growls, but he’s stopped struggling against Kaldur.

“You mean the Robin we saw in that message? The Robin who was covered in blood and looked half dead. The Robin who admitted he tried to kill himself, multiple times! The Robin who didn’t believe for one second that he’d survive that stupid fucking ship!”

Artemis is in tears. The last of her words coming out in a sob. Instead of pushing Wally away she tugs him closer to herself and rests her head on his chest. The only sound in the room is her heavy breathing as she struggles to control it.

No one can say anything. For a long time, no one can move.

“You’re wrong. Robin he…You’re wrong.” Roy fights to stay angry, but he can’t. Not with the despair filling his lungs.

“Perhaps she is, but perhaps she isn’t.”

“What?!”

Roy rips himself from Kaldur’s grip, and stumbles away. The Atlantean couldn’t bring himself to look at the red head to see the betrayed expression on his face. He kept his eyes on the blonde archer instead. Showing her his support even though it’s for something none of them want to believe in.

“The timing of everything is too convenient. Batman said that he suspected that us even receiving that message from Robin when we did may have been a part of whatever plan this is.”

Kaldur sinks down into his seat, rests his hands on his head, breathing deep and regretting what he’s about to say.

“I’m not saying it as fact, but… There is a high possibility that Robin didn’t… This could be a trap and Robin… he may be bait for the league.”

The cabin of the ship is silent. Roy and Wally stare at the leader of the team. Artemis won’t look at anyone and Megan has her entire focus on flying to escape the suffocating emotions.

Conner stands up abruptly. His expression, while usually enraged, is downright murderous. If there was ever a moment when Kaldur thought the clone would develop heat vision, it would be now.

The Atlantean raises his hands in a passive manner. “Conner.”

The clone doesn’t say anything. His fists are clenched, teeth are in danger of being cracked, and Kaldur isn’t sure he’s going to have his nose intact by the end of this.

Instead of attacking, Conner turns and walks towards the back of the ship. Something must have been said between him and Megan because an airlock forms around the clone to prevent air from escaping as he leaves the ship.

Slowly everyone moves back to their seats. Artemis has composed herself at some point, playing with her hair again. Wally flees to the back of the ship. Megan doesn’t acknowledge any of them, but the trembling in her hands doesn’t stop. Kaldur looks out the window to see Conner with Wonder Woman. Satisfied the boy is safe he sits back.

“Robin’s fine.” Roy mumbles into the quiet.

No one says anything to dispute it.

*

Robin swerves to the right to avoid the prongs flying towards his head. They make no noise as they fly past. The only thing making it to his ears is his own harsh breathing.

“Oh, for the love of…!”

The rockets from his boots are causing him to do cartwheels. An empty void spins about him, and the lack of gravity is making his stomach flip unpleasantly. If he had anything left in it, he might of thrown up by now.

The vigilante aims his plasma cutter and attempts to reorient himself. The massive fleshy growth on the side of the solar array that’s spitting projectiles at him shouldn’t be that big of a deal to take out.

The problem is Dick can’t stay upright in the damn zero gravity long enough to kill it. And the fact that he’s already halfway through his oxygen is adding more pressure to the situation.

“For craps sake! Can you, like, STOP for two seconds!”

He has to glide away as more whateverthatis comes at him. The last thing Dick wants to do is get up close and personal with the mass of decomposed flesh but flying around aimlessly is getting him nowhere fast.

Dick’s vision has been cutting in and out since he stepped out of the airlock. The teen cusses as his sight comes back to him only to narrowly avoid a hit to the face. He’s got to end this quickly. A single hit anywhere could decompress the suit and leave him fifteen seconds to accept his end. Another corpse floating in the vacuum of space.

He doesn’t have the ammo to justify shooting wildly, and he can’t properly line a shot to take it out efficiently. Ducking behind another part of the solar array Dick considers his options.

He sucks in a small amount of air and tries to resist coughing. His lungs rattle in his chest and his ribs burn with each inhale. The exhale comes out as a weak wheeze.

His air tank beeps in warning at his dwindling oxygen.

‘You gonna do something about that?’

“I’m a little preoccupied at the moment.”

‘Yeah, and you’re gonna pass out from a lack of air in a moment.’

Dick peeks around the corner at the necro hindering his progress. He takes cover again when a projectile wizzes past.

“Don’t be dramatic I still got like… seven minutes left to breathe.”

‘You going to spend those seven minutes hiding behind a wall?’

“Piss off. I’m thinking.”

‘Must be hard to do with the lack of oxygen you’re getting to your brain.’

“Oh my god, go away.”

Dick mutters waving his arm at the other floating next to him to get him to go away. Not surprisingly the figure didn’t immediately vanish, watching his attempts with a raised brow behind the domino mask. It was only when Dick blinks away another bit of black spots from his vision did his other leave.

“Ass.” He mutters.

The other did have a point though. He couldn’t stay here.

Well he could, but…

…

He blinks.

There is only two minutes’ worth of air left.

“Shit!”

He’s lost time. He’s lost time.

“Okay, calm down. It’s fine. Stations have mandatory oxygen stations outside of airlocks to prevent suffocation from long turns outside.” Why he didn’t recall this earlier Dick is going to chalk it up to the fact that he’s under a lot of stress. And not because he’s a dumbass.

‘Debatable.’

“Shut!”

Using the wall he’s hiding behind he looks frantically for the oxygen.

“If I remember the regulations right, there should be one installed fifty feet from the, of fucking course.”

Dick ducks out of the way of a projectile when he catches sight of the oxygen station. Right next to the thing currently trying to kill him.

His rig beeps. There are seconds left.

Dick breaths and releases as deeply as he can go without making himself cough. Repeating the process three times before there is nothing left to breath. He holds his last intake, buying himself another 10 minutes to think.

Well, Dick hopes he has 10 minutes. The training from Batman, while taking into account that one could have busted ribs, didn’t work as well when you were severally sick, hallucinating and stuck in space with said busted ribs.

The best he could do is divide that time in half to be on the safe side. So around five minutes before his lungs catch on to the fact he isn’t using them and rebel.

Options.

First option. Try and kill the flesh bag clinging to the station. Get to the oxygen. Live till next crisis.

Cons. Little ammo, no oxygen, no time for mistakes, no room for error.

Ugh.

Second option. Flee back to the airlock. Get oxygen. Go back out and finish dealing with the current crisis.

Cons. High chance of getting hit in the back. He is closer to the oxygen station than the airlock. Might not make it anyways.

UGh!

Third option. Gun for the oxygen station. Avoid dying, refill air tank. Run.

Cons. Suffer the consequences of being a dumbass and have an up close and personal fight with the necro five times your size.

UGH!!

Dick clicks the magnets in his boots to the side of another wall, willing the lightheadedness that’s settling in to go away. The void in front of him spins. His vision is darkening, the stars are slowly disappearing from view.

No.

Wait.

That’s just wreckage of a small ship drifting by.

Wally would probably laugh at the face he’s sure he makes as a new plan comes into play. Shooting off the wall, Dick flies to the wreak. He can hear projectiles behind him.

Dick almost losses the breath left in his lungs when he slams into the hub. Scrambling to the other side, the teen places his back against the metal and uses the rockets in his boots to begin steering.

The mass moves easily with his direction. With its trajectory set Dick moves off the small cruiser and watches with morbid satisfaction as the necro catches on to what’s happening.

Dick has no doubt the creature is screaming in rage as it is crushed under the momentum of the drifting ship. The impact shakes the whole array. Vibrations run across the metal plating and a large chunk is ripped away from the structure. Both the chunk and the ship float aimlessly away. There is no sign of the necro but a splatter of blood and flesh.

Dick isn’t given time to celebrate.

His body has finally caught on that he’s not breathing. He pushes himself in the direction of the oxygen station in hopes that he’ll still be able to operate it as his vision once again darkens.

The teen gasps for air, lungs finally working on autopilot to save his life. The lack of air causes him to jerk harshly even as he rams into the wall.

Panic sets in as he blindly reaches for the machine. There are no thoughts going through his head, only the horrific and terrifying knowledge that ‘I’mdyingI’mdyingI’mdyinghelp!’

Dick can feel it. The loss of control in his limbs, the awful pain in his chest as his lungs continue to try and aid him, panic, scared, alone, dying.

He can feel himself dying.

And it hurts.

Just as consciousness is about to fade, Dick catches his arm on the oxygen station. Air fills the tank in a burst of mist, making the boy gasp and cough painfully.

‘Wow, you are one lucky bastard.’

Dick blinks blearily at the figure in front of him. There is a smirk on the others face but the words aren’t said unkindly. Tilting his head toward where his arm is anchored Dick sees he had somehow managed to attach the pump on his glove with the station in his flailing.

Now that he’s able to think a bit more clearly Dick realizes just how lucky his really is.

A good chunk of the solar array next to him is missing after the ship collided with it. It just barely missed the oxygen station. The fact that a ship drifted up here at all for him to try that stunt.

“Holy shit.” He mutters.

Dick floats there, leaving his arm attached for a good minute while he works on breathing again.

‘You gonna start moving there?’

“Hmm.” Dick is close to drifting off. The sound of his rig going off startles him back awake.

It’s his communicator.

“Dick? You there? Have you made it yet?”

“Ellie?” His words are slurring. That’s not good. “’m here. Just give me a minute.”

“Are you okay?”

“m’fine.” Dick answers automatically as he scans the mirrors on the solar array. “Okay. Goodnews, it looks likeonlytwo of the mirrorsareout of ‘linement.”

Elle is quiet on the other end of the call.

That- that probably didn’t come out as coherent as he would have liked.

“Can you put them back then?” Oh, good. She did understand him. “If there out of alignment then all you’ll need to do it push them into position.”

“Yup. Leaveitto me. How’s Stross?” Dick disconnects from the oxygen station. His tank pings with a satisfying one-hundred percentage in fullness.

“He stopped hyperventilating, but I don’t know how much longer he’s going to last. I knew he would just slow me down!” Ellie vents her frustration at him.

Guilt pools into his stomach.

This responsibility isn’t hers. She should only need to worry and care for herself. Instead the young woman is stuck with an unstable, possibly violent, man; in an incredibly hostile environment because Dick isn’t able to do it himself.

‘Some hero.’

That pisses him off.

The situation is so far out of his control it might as well be in another dimension. There is literally no other solution he could use. As much as he feels guilty for using Ellie, he’s only one person. He’s just one child who can barely reach the petals in the Batmobile trying to stop a galactic alien apocalypse. Again. This is too much for just him to handle on his own. And damnit he needs all the help he can get.

Dick bites into his cheek and allows his own frustration to seep into his response. “If Stross dies, so do any chances I have of destroying the Marker and ending this. Keep him alive, I’ll be done soon.”

Dick disconnects the call before Ellie can say anything in return.

He only feels a little bad about it.

By the time the teenager makes it to the first mirror he feels more alert. The mirror is huge. Made up of several smaller mirrors on one surface. If there was gravity in the equation there’s no way Dick would be able to move the thing.

Seems luck could be on his side.

“Pfft, yeah right.”

Dick touches down at the base of the array. The magnetics in his boot click to the metal, grounding him in place. Something squishes under his feet. Looking down Dick sees more of the fleshy growth has covered this side of the station.

‘It’s spreading pretty fast.’

“Hm. Let’s just get this done.”

It took a bit of maneuvering before the large metal pole holding the mirrors up lock into place. The sun reflects off the surface and Dick can see it powering on.

“Okay. One down.”

Pushing off, he heads for the next. This one was more out of line than the last on with the mirrors themselves not straight instead of just the pole. Dick huffs in frustration and sets to work.

As he begins to fix the positioning, he calls Ellie. He hopes she doesn’t take his outburst earlier personally. They’re all pretty stressed.

“Alright Ellie, I’m working of the last mirror. Start heading to the panel.”

“Okay. Stross, give me a hand with the barricade.”

“He’ll hurt me.” Stross mumbles through the voice chat. The frightened meekness of it hurts. “I’m not strong enough.”

Dick wants to offer comfort to the older man. Anything that could reassure him that that wouldn’t happen. That he’s safe from the ghost of his wife and son. But, it’s hard to when he has his own ghost breathing down his neck.

“I promise I’ll protect you, now just get over here and give me a hand.” Ellie, bless her, took control of the situation. Not too harsh with her words as she commanded the man into action.

The sound of heavy metal is heard being moved over the coms. Dick tunes it out in favor of focusing on his own struggles with the mirrors. He can’t find a good grip.

Just as the mirrors were about to realign Ellie’s startled gasp causes Dick to lose his momentum.

“Ellie?!”

“Shit, shit, shit! There’s something covering the collector panel. Oh my God! There’re hun-there’s thousands of them. They’re breaking apart!”

Dick can hear them in the background, behind Ellie’s panicked rambling. Their screams echo through his helmet.

“Ellie! Get out of there!”

“…Oh God. They saw us! Run Stross, run!” Ellie shouts. Static almost completely drowns her out.

The coms are cutting out.

“No! Nononononono! Ellie!”

There is no answer. Dick lets out a string of curses moving back to the mirror. Rather than try and regain a grip Dick gets behind it and uses his rocket boots to just push the damn thing in place. It clicks.

The whole of the solar array comes alive as the sun’s rays burst the station with power. A beam of pure energy shoots from the bottom of the array and straight down to the city. Dick has to cover his eyes initially at the blinding light. The teen watches as the lights come on in the skyscrapers within the sector Tiedeman disabled.

A video feed opens in front of him. Ellie and Stross are on the other end panting from exertion. The screen is glitching.

“Dick?”

“Ellie, are you both alright?”

“We just made it into this crossover tube when the beam hit. Dick, those things are still heading for the Transport Hub! They’re wreaking everything in their path.”

“Shit! They’ll cut us off! Okay, okay. Get to the hub. I’ll meet you as soon as I can.” Dick makes his way back to the air lock. The door shuts behind him.

‘How you gonna manage that then?’

Dick doesn’t grace that question with an answer. Doesn’t bother to look to the other as he frantically searches the room.

There!

In the back. The chair his mother, no not his mother, was sitting in before has a releasable floor below it. A pod eject.

‘Well, that’s one way to do it.’

“Ellie! Come in!”

“Dick! We have to cross the Government Sector before they cut us off! You’ll never make it in time!”

“I’ll Be There! I’ll Be There!”

Dick scrambles to the seat, allowing the holographic screen to turn on and give him the various controls for the chamber. His fingers fly along the surface activating the eject button.

A bar swings over the teen’s thin shoulders pinning him to the hard leather of the seat as the floor opens up beneath him.

‘Instability detected in the Array alignment. Emergency ejector systems initializing.”

The seat locks him in, raising from its perch before rearranges itself to face downwards toward the open floor. Dick can feel the vibrations in the chair increase as the ejector rockets fire behind it.

The teen’s neck snaps back into the seat as he is shot forward down the shoot. The rockets roar in his ears before the sudden emergence into space once again takes away the sound.

The chair disengages with him. Leaving the boy to speed towards the planet’s surface alone. He activates his boots giving him more momentum than before.
Its so quiet Dick can hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He races next to the beam of light that is powering the city below. Debris flies past him on the way.

A car from a train. An elevator free from the shaft. Chunks of a corridor hall. The top of a building antenna.

Dick doesn’t breathe as his view of the city below is blocked by a large free-floating building. He’s not going to be able to avoid it. He’s going to fast. It’s too big to attempt to fly around it before he collides with the sharp, jagged surface.

“Shit.”

Dick wants to close his eyes and wait for the end. At the speed he’s going the impact will kill him instantly. He considers his last words and thoughts before movement catches his eye.

As the building rotates slowly in the zero gravity, Dick can see a figure waving at him through a hallway that appears in the middle of the otherwise convex expanse of the building. His own face shoots him a smug grin before disappearing deeper in.

“Cocky asshole.”

Dick rolls his eyes but can’t help the wave of relief flooding through him. Careful not to spin himself out of control the teen steers his boots toward the new opening.

The debris towers over him as he fast approaches. Dick almost shoulder checks the entrance of the corridor. It couldn’t be longer than ten feet. ‘What the hell even took out such a huge bit of building?’ He isn’t able to fully take in the hall he’s flying through. He’s pretty sure it wasn’t originally red though.

Dick isn’t given a chance to breathe as he escapes the floating monstrosity before the next problem shows its ugly head. The city is closer than ever.

And he has nowhere to land.

His eyes scan the rooftops frantically, searching for anything that could be used. A glare from the energy beam leads his eyes to a glass skylight in one of the higher buildings.

There is a lot that can go wrong by crashing as fast as he is through a skylight, despite his extended experience with this particular activity.

‘Not like you got much choice here.’

No. No he doesn’t.

Shit.

With no other plan, Dick steers himself towards the skylight and curls himself into a tight ball. Shutting off the rockets in his boot, the teen feels the glass shatter beneath him.

Uncoiling from his ball he reactivates the boots and points his feet towards the floor slowing his decent as much as he possibly can. A long chute greets him in his fall before he crashes through a vent and lands harshly into an elevator.

It shakes from the force of his landing and Dick finds that he can’t stand up. The air around him settles as the airlock for the skylight shuts. His helmet disengages and Dick is left gasping for air once again as the sound of necromorphs echo through the door ahead of him.

“God, that hurt.”

He wants to lay down. He just wants to lay down for like five minutes. Instead his comm goes off. A panicked Ellie on the other line spurs the teen into action once more.

“Dick, where are you?!”

Looking at the map in his rig, the teen almost laughs at his dumb shit luck. He’s just down the hall from the Transport Hub

“I’m right outside! I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Dick forces the elevator doors open and sprints down the hall towards his destination. With the power on and the quarantine temporarily lifted the entrance opens willingly for him.

The boy almost sobs in relief when he sees the two other survivors waiting for him in the middle of the large room. Ellie spots him immediately and herds Stross with her to meet him.

“Little bird!”

“You two okay?” Dick gasps at them.

“Us? You look like shi…” Ellie is interrupted by the horrid sound of the creatures echoing along the station. “This way! The train is in the station we just have to…”

As the three move to the boarding area of the hub something explodes. Dick cries out as he’s thrown off his feet. A wave of heat washes over them. The whole train collapses in on itself in a symphony of torn metal and burning rubble. The explosions keep coming, the room a shower of fire and smoke.

He can’t breathe and he’s really getting sick of that. The whole world spins in front of him while nothing makes it through his ears but ringing. Dick can feel hands on him, pulling him to his feet, ushering him forward. The boy wants nothing more than to tell them to fuck off and leave him alone.

The ringing begins to fade, and Ellie’s cussing replaces it. Somewhere on his left he can hear Stross wailing about something or other. Necros are starting to swarm the room.

Dick rips his good arm out of Ellie’s grip. “Head for the factory!” He grabs his plasma cutter and begins to take out the creatures closest to them. “Ellie, can you get the door open?”

The woman in question is facing the opposite direction using her own weapon to cover them. “Are you crazy? I barely made it out of there with my life! That place is swarming with those things!”

“We’re about to be swarmed now! Just go!”

They all run toward the CEC metal factory doors. Dick makes sure to keep Stross in between the two of them. As Ellie messes with the control panel, Dick holds off the horde. Their screams harmonize for their deaths.

“Piece of shit lock! I’m giving it my codes but it’s not working!” Ellie smacks the computer in frustration.

Dick’s clip runs empty. “Give me your rifle! Stross, can you reload a plasma cutter?”

The older man nods dumbly as he cowers in the corner hands on his ears. Dick tosses him the gun and ammo, not bothering to check to see if the other caught it. Instead he focuses on maneuvering the heavy rifle Ellie hands him towards the enemies.

With one arm out of commission and his body seconds away from collapsing Dick is forced to lay down on the floor. The butt of the rifle sits on his shoulder and one leg is crossed over the other to provide stability as the gun recoils from each shot.

His aim is somewhat off. More are starting to come in. Slashers, Hunters, Spitters, the Pack. The bodies piling on the floor do nothing to deter them. He’s going to be overwhelmed.

“Yes! I’m authorized for this! Open up you bastard!”

Ellie is becoming frantic in her attempts to open the door. He shoots until the rifle clicks empty as well. The throws it towards Stross hoping he gets the message.

“Stross!” A plasma cutter is shoved into his hand and the rifle is dragged back towards the corner without a word. The cycle continues for what seems like hours but could only be a few minutes at most. A weapon runs dry, they trade. Dick shoots, Stross reloads.

“Ammo!” Nolan practically cries when Dick passes him the cutter again. He doesn’t have any more for the man to take. The rifle clicks empty again.

That’s it. He has nothing left.

“I got it!” Ellie screams behind him and he doesn’t think. Dragging the rifle on the floor behind him and shoving Stross with his shoulder the three flee together through the door.

Ellie slams the emergency close button next to the opening and the door seals behind them cutting off the screams that followed them inside.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Pressure Building

CEC Factory

Titan Station

???? Hours

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Dick has his head leaned against the wall while he regulates his breathing to the best of his abilities. It’s not doing much. There is blockage in his lungs that’s preventing him from fully catching his breath. But that’s a problem for future Dick to deal with.

“I’m going to hate myself in a few hours.”

‘More than you already do?’

Dick doesn’t have the energy to muster up a glare. He needs to push on. Standing up straight he turns to the others.

Ellie is watching him as they regain their breath. She has she shoulders hunched and her fists are trembling. Dick isn’t sure if that agitation is towards him or the area they find themselves in. Stross is curled on the floor in a corner of the room mumbling to himself.

Since it’s clear he’s the one leading their little rag tag group Dick figures he should say something.

“Ellie? Stross? Are you both okay?” That seems like a good starting point.

Stross perks up. “Oh, yes. I’m fin…”

“Shit, Dick. Just…Shit!”

Okay so maybe not a good starting point.

“Hey,” Dick puts his hand up. “Okay I know the situation isn’t ideal but take it easy. We made it. It’s oka…”

“No, it’s not!” The woman punches the wall in frustration. Dick has to stop himself from flinching. Stross is slowly crawling toward the teen from his corner. “I was right here this morning with a crew of thirty people.”

Ellie slides down the wall she just punched. “We were overrun, and before I knew it, they were all…transformed. I had to cut the arms and legs off my friends just to escape. I’m sure there’s still pieces of them still lying around here. Somewhere.”

Dick can’t see her face, but the way her shoulders shake and the tremble in her voice, he can tell she’s fighting back tears. The guilt that never seems to go away anymore ways down on his limbs.

“Ellie…I’m sorry.” It’s not enough. Such a small word. It’s never enough.

“And here I am again. I just walked one big fucking circle today.”

Dick pats Stross on the shoulder as the man cowers behind him before moving to the destressed woman. He picks up the discarded rifle and hands her the butt of the gun. She turns to look at him through red rimed eyes.

“We’ll get through this. Let’s figure out another way around.”

She doesn’t say anything as she takes the gun from his hand. Instead checking it over and reloading it with her last clip. Dick motions Stross over to the group. He feels better with the two of them within arms reach.

“Right,” Ellie says pulling up her map of the factory from her rig. “There’s a Central Hub in the main facility here.”

Dick nods. “Alright, we’ll head there and plan our next move.” The teen turns to the older man and tugs on the ruined shirt sleeve to get his attention. “Ready to go?”

“Oh yes. I’m ready!” Stross grabs the boy’s wrist moving the limb up and down enthusiastically. “Oh, oh! And B is too. I took good care him. Such good care. See?” The man removes the backpack still on his back to show the plush still held securely between the zippers.

“I do. Thank you very much. Can you hold him a little longer for me?” Dick pets the stuffed animal while addressing Stross. He imagines the fake fur to be soft past the glove.

“Of course, little bird. My pleasure.”

“Thank you.” Dick takes the plasma cutter from Stross and holsters the weapon. He pulls his trust scalpel from his belt as he takes in the room they’re in.

It’s well lit. Though weather that’s a blessing or not is debatable. The whole of the room is covered in gore. The lights overhead and the color, or what can be seen of it, cast the space in a yellowish tint. The CEC logo is lit up on the far wall. There are numerous computer screens for schedule details and shift plan on the walls as well.

Dick doesn’t look to closely into the static on most of them.

“Call you lead?”

While he could rely on the map in his rig, it’s easier and safer to have someone who knows the area guide. She doesn’t want to. He can see it. Push comes to shove he’ll deal with using the rig. But he’s tired, and the even the lights not coming from his rig are burning his eyes.

“Yeah. Come on.” Ellie heads further into the factory. Dick motions for Stross to be quiet as he guides the older man to hold on to his rig to keep him close.

The ramp that takes them into the next area is not as well lit. The metal echoes their footsteps, putting the three of them even more on edge. There is a body in the center that’s been dismembered. It’s halfway through a transformation. Dick sees Ellie doing her best to ignore the corpse as she opens the next door.

The fire burning in the corner of the next room hopefully isn’t an omen for what’s to come ahead.

They are at a crosswalk. Three ramps branching to different sectors of the factory. Ellie pays two of them no mind as she heads towards the one on the far left. Dick is ever so grateful she’s here to make sure they don’t get lost.

The boy blinks as the lights get dimmer, flashing on and off at random intervals. A high piercing ring enters his ears growing louder each second. Dick looks to the others concerned. Neither of them acknowledges what happening.

“oh LIttLe BirD.”

A sweet melody hums beneath the chaos. He can’t see her, but he knows she’s there. The lights are causing a headache to show up behind his eyes. The ringing is making him nauseous. Dick can’t help but double over, wrapping his arms around his middle in an attempt to hold himself together. A whimper escapes his throat.

A hand lands on his shoulder and Dick flinches backwards ready to shove his scalpel in the threats head.

He finds Ellie in front of him.

She looks scared.

“Are you alright?”

“Ye-yeah, sorry. ‘m fine. Let’s go.”

“I don’t think…”

“We can’t stay here. Let’s go.”

Dick, so focused on getting out of Ellie’s range, almost barrels into Stross. He kicks himself for not even noticing the man’s approach. The teen opens his mouth to reassure the other when the bat plush he asked Stross to look after is shoved in his face.

“I…What?” The soft fluff of a wing comes down on the top of his head as Stross guides it in a bouncing motion. The action is enough to kill the words in his throat.
Nolan continues, undeterred, to pet him with the bat cooing at the boy. Ellie looks just as bewildered as Dick.

“It’s okay, little bird. Don’t’ be sad. You have a friend here who is very happy to see you. Will you give him a smile?” Nolan is speaking in an overly exaggerated voice. High-pitched and cutesy as he bobs the stuffed animal around.

He’s trying to comfort him. It occurs to Dick then that he is facing a man, no, a father who is trying to comfort a distressed child in the only way he knows how. The only way he was given a chance to learn before now.

‘Oh.’

The thought is not a pleasant one. Dick can feel the knot in his gut tighten. He wants to be sick…but the oddity of having a stuffy waved in his face. It reminds him of the pink elephant that sits on his bed at home. It reminds him of when his own father, his real father, would do the same thing. Dick can feel the small, tired smile it brings to his face.

“There it is!” Nolan beams, proud of his accomplishment. He looks like a man that’s won the lottery. How something so small could bring that amount of excitement causes the smile to grow, just a bit. If a giggle just so happens to be brought out of him as well, well, no one’s going to say anything about that.

“Thanks.” Dick nods to the Stross. Looking back at Ellie, she’s still eyeing him, but she is more relaxed than before. “It’s…I’m fine. Really. So where are we headed?” He adds to the end when she still doesn’t appear convinced.

“Before…” Ellie breathes deep. “When we were attempting to get out of the factory this morning. We barricaded most of the path behind us. We didn’t know where these things were coming from so, we blocked every path we ran through. But we didn’t block everything. We never headed towards the Central Hub so it should be open.”

“Okay. Lead the way.”

The woman doesn’t say anything more as she continues for the left most door like before. Dick is just glad to get out of the area. The fire continues to crack behind them. So long as his mother doesn’t follow him from the corner she’s currently standing in they should be fine. It’s a relief to leave.

He spoke too soon.

The next room is far worse that the last. None of the lights are working right, they flicker and spark from the ceiling. What little light they provide shows a space in chaos. There are piles of bodies, all in different states of transformation and disfigurement. Boxes and furniture are turned over in makeshift covers that failed to do the job. The best way to describe the scene is a warzone.

Ellie stands frozen in the entrance. She stares at one body in particular. Hard to tell it was a person in the first place with how…not, human it looked. The way the woman is breathing and the shaking in her hands, she looks close to being sick. Tears are gathering in her eyes, and she blinks rapidly to get rid of them.

Dick can only assume these were the fiends that she was forced to kill. To come out alive while everyone around you falls. His heart breaks for her. He wants to offer her some form of comfort, reassurance, anything. But as he tries however, she shakes him off. Her back to him is a clear indication.

His help, his comfort, is not wanted.

He can respect that.

Nolan, when seeing the boy back off gives it a shot as well. It’s clear the man isn’t entirely present. He attempts to use the same trick he used before, bouncing the little bat stuffy at the woman. She doesn’t say anything but bats the man away in irritation.

‘Probably has no idea where he is right now.’

“Be nice.”

Ellie, after shooing the man off, walks to the corpse she was staring at before and fiddles with his rig. When Stross tries to go back in with greater determination Dick stops him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s give her a minute, okay. She just needs to think.”

“O…oh, okay.” Dejected, Nolan slinks off to a corner and plays with the plushy muttering to himself.

Giving Ellie the space she needs to mourn her dead and making sure Stross is still in his line-of-sight Dick steps further into the room. There is a large window in the back and the boy gives himself an opportunity to gaze at the city beyond.

Dick stares out the window in a daze, no real thoughts going through his head. If he pretends hard enough, long enough, he can imagine the city in front of him is alive. No buildings with dark lights because of power outages, but because everyone is asleep. He has no clue what time it is and isn’t bothered enough to check his rig. The towers that look close to collapsing are just under construction. The fleshy growth on the outside…a really weird design choice.

Yeah.

It takes him a moment to realize a figure is floating towards him, even longer to see it’s a corpse. Partly intact, Dick isn’t even surprised that he wasn’t able to really tell what it was at first. He watches the carcass until it’s head bumps into the glass with a dull…

Thump.

The way it gently bounces off startles a laugh out of him. It high-pitched, bordering on hysterical. Dick slaps a hand across his mouth. He’s laughing. Someone is dead and he’s laughing. That…didn’t even sound like him. The boy backs away from the window not wanting to dwell on the moment longer than necessary.

Whatever Ellie was doing she finished. The way she holds herself, it’s clear that she wants to leave as soon as possible. Dick agrees. The boy herds Nolan back to the center of the room where they all meet.

Nothing is said.

Nothing needs to be said.

Silently, Ellie uses her employee codes to access the next room marked as Operations Control. Inside was dark as the last room except for a 3D hologram of the factory casting a green glow.

“Whoa!” Dick bounds up to the model. “This place is so much bigger than I thought.”

“Yeah. Most of it is inaccessible at the moment though.” Ellie stands next to him and points out all the blocked routes she knows of. “Blocked…Blocked…Oh!”

She stops, suddenly pointing at a particular area on the map. “There! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. The Industrial Transport. It runs on the same spoke as the commuter train. It should get us to the government sector.”

“How far are we to it?”

“Couple rooms over is the fuel pressurization tower. We’ll have to navigate through the catwalks, but we make it there. We’re halfway.”

Ellie traces her finger to a specific point on the map. Dick follows with his eyes trying to determine if they’ll make it. They’re low on ammo, one out of the three of them is temporarily (Hopefully) crippled, and it’s debatable on whether two out of the three are in their right mind as of now. The odds are weighed heavily against them.

But, they don’t’ have much of a choice.

“Okay. Let’s get going then.”

They take each room slowly. Ready for anything.

“It’s so quiet.” Dick looks toward the woman. “I…I mean as compared to this morning. The screaming…the alarms. Now…it’s just quiet.

“Hmm. That’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Her shoulders tense and the grip on her gun tightens. Dick curses in his head. He’s supposed to make this easier not freak out the people under his protection.

‘Smooth move, hero.’

“Shut.” He mutters.

Another door opens and with a quick sweep of it, Dick notes it’s a breakroom. Or was. The couch is torn to shit, the multiple TV screens mounted on the wall are busted, and the coffee table has a questionable substance caked to the surface.

“Okay. Nearly there.”

“W-wait.” Nolan stops them from going any further in.

With how quiet and behaved the man was Dick almost forgot he was here. Currently said man is digging in the backpack Dick had given to him earlier. The interruption on their mission is not wanted and the teen has to take a deep breath before he bites the other’s head off. He just wants to get this done.

“It’s going to be okay Stross. Just a little further. Come on.”

When Dick goes to grab his hand and act as a guide he instead is given an arm full of sandwich and a bottle of water.

“Here. Here. Little birds have to eat.”

“I…No we don’t have time for this.”

“No no. It’s okay. We can make time.” Stross insists. “I see it, little bird. I see how tired you are. Let’s sit a bit and get some food in you. Have a rest.” Stross sits on the couch, or what’s left of it and pats the seat next to him, nodding encouragingly.

“Wait. No. Ellie.” Dick turns looking to said woman’s for help. Instead he finds her watching him with an expression he can’t really interpret. “Ellie?”

“I think he’s right.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Here. A sandwich for you too.”

“Thank you.” Ellie takes the sandwich and bottle of water that Stross hands her while Dick sputters and protests.

“We can’t stay here! We have to keep…”

“Dick.”

He flinches back.

Stupid.

How can they rely on him if he flips out at the call of his own name? He’s supposed to be the strong one here. He’s supposed to lead. Can he still do that if he’s jumping at ghosts? If he’s jumping at his own fucking name.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Ellie’s soft voice pulls him from his spiral. “Five minutes. Then we move on. But I think we all need something in our stomachs.”

Dick eyes the sandwich in his hand. He can’t bring himself to look at either of the adults in the room. Instead he sits down and slowly unwraps the meal. He can’t taste it. Not sure if the cause is from the iron that continues to flood his taste buds or the fact that his nose is fucked beyond repair.

Dick’s mind is blank. He’s too tired to think, but he makes sure to keep his ears open just in case. Ellie and Stross are behind him. He can hear the wrappers crinkle in their hands and deep drinks of water. Stross is talking about something or other. Ellie might be listening to the man.

He’s not.

He’s a little preoccupied with the static coming from the TV screens in from of him. Dick refuses to look away even when the symbols on the marker begin to make their appearance. Keeps his focus on the white noise and maybe just maybe his mother watching him from the corner of the room will lose interest and go away.

‘She’s here.’

“I know.”

“The cracks are starting to show, Richard, and the memories are seeping in. And when they do, I’ll be waiting for you.!”

A sudden hand on his shoulder startles Dick out of the vision. The open water bottle in his hands gushes water everywhere. Ellie comes into his view alarmed. Stross has the plush in his face again. It occurs to him that they have been trying to get his attention for a while now.

“Christ! Are you alright?” The woman is panicking.

“Yeah? I’m fine. What…Are you okay?” Dick is confused by their concern. Did something try and get in? Are they hurt? He tries to stand up, but Ellie gently pushes him back down. He protests.

“Just hang on a sec. You don’t…Are you… I think you just had a seizure or something.”

“I…what?”

Dick is finding it harder to focus his vision, he’s confused. A seizure. He doesn’t remember having one. But… he doesn’t remember the first one either. Stross is nervously wringing his hands together. The plush caught in the crossfire of his fidgeting.

“It’s him, isn’t it? You’re seeing him.”

“Stross, not now.” Ellie barks back causing the man to shrink into himself.

“No. I… it’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Dick notices that he’s been saying that a lot.

‘You sure look a good one-eighty from fine.’ His double has his arms crossed and is standing where he thought his mother was before. ‘But keep saying that, maybe if you say it enough it’ll come true.’

Dick would love nothing more then to flip the phantom off but with the way the two adults are looking at him that might set them off more. Instead he sighs. “We’ve wasted enough time. If you’re done with your snack, then we should get going.”

“No…would you just chill a minute. Christ, I think you need help…Stross hand me the med…”

“The longer we stay here the higher chance that something is going to find us in here!” He doesn’t mean to shout, but it succeeds in shutting her up. “We keep moving. Once we get to the tram then we worry about injuries and such. Unless you want to end up like your friends in the other room.”

Ellie freezes.

It takes longer than it should have for his words to register.

“That…that was mean little bird.” Stross scolds.

“No…Wait…I didn’t…” His mouth is dry.

How could he have said something like that to her. She’s helping him. Helping them. Fuck.

Ellie doesn’t try to argue anymore. If anything she looks ready to smack him. Her eyes are glassy but that doesn’t hide the rage burning in them. Her fists are shaking slightly at her side. Dick won’t do anything to stop her if she decides to go for the hit. He’s earned it.

“I’m sorry.” He finishes lamely. It doesn’t change what he said, but at least she can know he regrets it.

Ellie doesn’t say a word. Instead walking to the door opposite them in the room. She crosses her arms while she waits for them to join her.

Stross just mumbles to himself, rocking back and forth and hugging himself in a weak attempt at comfort. It’s sad to watch. Wonder if Bruce would be willing to pay for their therapy when they get to Earth.

‘Any reason you’re not added to that equation?’

“Homuch further?” Dick hates how weak and shaky his voice sounds. He sounds drunk. Definitely not instilling any confidence in him.

“A couple halls over and we’ll reach the pressure tower.” She answer is short.

He winces. “Okay.” Dick waits a moment to see if his muscle will cooperate with him. They don’t. Damnit. “Stross, canyou help me up?”

The boy lifts his hand up to grab the older man’s. He can tell he’s trying to be gentle, go slow. He would be grateful if his vision didn’t white out at that moment. When Dick comes back to himself, he’s being held upright by the destressed man. His larger hands are shaking on his shoulders.

Way to lead the charge.

“Thanks.” He says instead. Stross nods and pats his head.

It takes a moment to right himself.

Ellie allows him to go in first. They barely walk into the next room before the light in the ceiling busts with a loud pop.

“Shit!” Dick startles violently away from the glass shards that fall to the ceiling and into Stross who was walking right behind him.

The poor guy didn’t have any muscle mass to speak of and struggles to hold him up. Together they end up pushing Ellie into a wall. Dick is sure they look a sight. He can feel his cheeks get warm, or warmer than they were.

“Shit I…Uh…Sorry.” Dick stands up and rubs the back of his neck as he apologizes sheepishly. Looks like sorry is his new favorite word.

“Not at all. Gave us quite a start that light.” Stross, as clueless as ever, responds. Seems he’s forgotten the altercation between Ellie and himself.

“Fantastic. Now get off me.” Ellie shoves as the tall man pinning her to the wall.

“Oh! Of course.”

Getting back onto her own feet Ellie glares at both of them. But Dick can tell the look in her eye is softer than the last time. She’s still mad. It’s obvious, but he must really look bad if she’s willing to put that aside to be as concerned as she is. She addresses him more than Stross.

“You, okay?”

Dick is too tired and guilt-ridden to really put much effort into his usual line of he’s fine. So instead he shrugs, unable to meet her eye, and continues down the smoggy catwalk that will lead them into the next room.

The echo of their steps are loud in his ears. In the distant he can hear the cries of necromorphs roaming the levels below. The boy isn’t surprised when Stross moves closer to him and clutches his shoulder. Small whimpers and muttering about something or other escapes the man’s lips in fast order. Dick has to bite his cheek to keep his own whimpers in his throat as the man tightens his hold on the torn limb. Instead he raises his good hand to pat Stross’s hoping to provide enough reassurance to him that he’ll ease up on the grip.

“This is it. Through here and the tower is there.”

Ellie overtakes their pace the rest of the way on the catwalk before reaching the door marked as ‘Fuel Processing Control’. They all stop at the door. There is a noise coming from the other side.

Dick is nervous. So far they’ve been lucky in terms of enemy encounters. But if anyone knows how fast luck can run dry in this place it’s him and the peace is making him paranoid. The boy stops Ellie from opening the door, signaling for a covered breach instead.

It took a moment for her to catch what he was trying to say. However given that she is a civilian and not a trained soldier Dick has to give her props for catching on as quick as she did. He takes one side of the door while she positions herself on the other. Dick pushes down on Stross’s shoulder to make him sit out of the way and quietly silences him when the man begins to whine at the loss of contact.

Dick pulls out his scalpel. His cutter no longer having the ammo to be of any use. He’ll have to trust Ellie to have his back at long range while he fights up close. With slow exaggerated movements Dick counts down from three and together they storm the room.

It’s large, with half the area sealed with a glass wall and a door. A door that will lead them right to their next destination. The Industrial transport. They sweep the area. Ellie standing at the door ready, while Dick checks every nook and cranny for any type of threat. It’s clear except for a few bodies. Dick makes quick work of them. With the room squared away Ellie makes her way to the bolted doors that will lead them into the tower.

It’s locked.

“Damn it!” Ellie slams her hand on the metal in frustration. “The door is jammed. Must have been a last stand for whoever was left down here.”

“Is there a way to open it from this end?” Dick can feel another headache coming on.

“No, the circuits are fried. They must have fused the panel trying to keep those things out.”

“There has to be another way in.” Dick can’t muster up the energy to be annoyed. He’s just so tired.

“The only way around is through the processing plant, but it’s made for robotic travel not human traffic. We’d be crushed or torn to shit by the machinery inside.”

Dick is lost in thought while Ellie slumps over a computer in weariness. Stross wanders the room, not a care in the world.

‘Tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.’ Dick ignores the voice moaning in his head.

“Could you stop the machinery from here?”

Ellie shrugs. “Sure, the controls are right…wait.”

“I’ll make my way through the plant and force the doors open from the other side.” Another detour. God this place just needs to have straight forward paths.

“You can’t be serious!” If looks could kill, Dick thinks he may have died around twenty times since he’s met this woman. She has a glare that could rival the bat.

“Look, I know I’m not being fair to you, asking you to watch over Stross again, but…”

“That is not my issue with the plan here!” Ellie pinches the bridge of her nose before gesturing to him wildly. “Dick! You look half dead…”

“Gee, thanks.”

“This isn't a joke! You have one immobile arm, there is blood running down your face, and I know that episode back there wasn’t nothing! You are in no condition to be going anywhere!”

“You have another idea?”

“I…no, but…”

“Then this is our best option. I’m small enough to maneuver between enclosed spaces, and you know the factory enough to flee if trouble shows up.”

Ellie is getting visibly more upset about the plan. Dick is far too tired to care.

She squares her shoulders. “I’ll go.”

“No.”

“Don’t argue with me brat. I’ll go and open the door. You stay with Stross and rest.”

“And if we’re attacked? I’m barely able to keep myself alive, let alone another person. I’m on my last leg here. If we to run, I’ll either slow us down or lead us to a dead end. If I go, I risk only myself. I stay, Stross and I die. And so does this station.”

“But…”

“There is more at stake here than just us. And the longer we stand here the more danger we’re in. I’m going. Turn off the plant.”

“I don’t understand why it has to be you.”

“You’re a civilian. It’s my job to protect you and everyone else on this station.”

“What the fuck does that even…”

“Little bird?”

“Hang tight I’ll be right back.”

Dick doesn’t hear the rest of her reply and chooses to ignore Nolan calling out to him. This is for their own good. Despite really not wanting to do this, this is the best plan of action they have. He leaves through the entrance to the Processing Plant. The door sealing shut behind him.

Overhead the robotic voice of a woman, indifferent to the world, is heard. ‘Shut down accepted. Some systems may calibrate without notice. Caution is advised.”

Dick can’t even sass the voice. The very moment the door behind him shut it felt as though all the air left the room with it. An exaggeration of course but Dick figures he can be dramatic, as he leans over a rail struggling to breath past the thick blanket of smog that covers the room.

It’s not good. His already damaged lungs can’t filter in the air. Dick activates his helmet, allowing it to close around his head and give him a breath of clean air. The boy gags when he can still taste the faint aftertaste of smog at the back of his throat. Reminds him of Bludhaven the one time he visited with the circus, if he’s being honest.

‘Should probably get moving. You look ready to collapse.’

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going.”

The quiet of the room is suddenly disturbed as some of the machinery turns back on. Mechanical arms pound into the attached metal creating a deafening clang.

‘An emergency back up. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn everything else on.’

Dick uses the platform he’s on to walk around the moving parts and to an anti-gravity room. There the lights are dead, much like the machinery. Quiet compared to the room behind him. There are silhouettes of bodies floating aimlessly in the room. He watches for a moment to be sure that none of them start moving. They don’t.

They probably hid in here from the creatures and got caught in the plant.

Maneuvering in zero gravity is much easier to manage this time around. The multiple times he’s had to practice coming into play as he glides to the next destination.

‘Well, you can now say that you can fly better than Superboy.’ The other snickered.

“Awe, that’s not fair. You know Conner tries. Not his fault Clark is being a dick to him.”

‘A dick hm.’

“I stand by my words. Uhg, for real?”

There is a large metal wall blocking his way.

“Ellie, I think I’ve hit a dead end. Looks like some kind of venting system up ahead. Not seeing any other way forward either.”

“Right…” Ellie mutters to herself through the voice call. “Manually shutting down the plant froze all the pressure valves in place. Maybe if I restart the plant up again it’ll open. Let me know when you’re through and stay away from any moving parts.”

Dick is glad he has his helmet on because the noise as the plant starts up again would have busted his eardrums. The pressurized vent springs forward releasing a blast of condensed smog. It takes a moment for him to reorient himself. Dick flies through the now open wall and sends two beeps from his coms to Ellie.

The plant goes quiet and dark once more. Using the light on his cutter Dick maneuvers around the large and sharp gears. Dick can definitely see why the CDC would prefer to use robots to perform maintenance in this area. It’s a death trap.

Halfway squeezing though a particularly tight space, Dick notices a slight tick in the gears.

‘Stop!’

He doesn’t breathe as the machines around him burst to life. The large gear teeth swing inches from his face threatening to take his skin with them. The noise and flashing lights blind and disorient the boy so badly he almost misses the voice call coming through his rig.

“Awe, Grayson, there you are. I see your friend has powered off the facility. Remind me to thank her for providing me with your location. I’ve locked the processing cycle on, and you in with it. It ends here Grayson.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Tiedemann.” Dick can’t be sure he even said that out loud. His voice is lost to him as his ears strain in the symphony of moving parts.

“It does, and it is. Goodbye Grayson.”

Dick is left alone, pressed to a wall, and desperately looking for a way out. Regardless of the bravo he showed to Ellie and Stross before he’s scared. Knowing the gears could kill him slowly and leave him unrecognizable. Nothing more than a pulp of chewed flesh. A thought crosses his mind on whether it would be better to die this way or be turned. Carefully, and oh so slowly, he pushes off the wall and dodges the teeth. His previous times in zero gravity really are paying off.

“Ellie. Can’t you turn these things off?” He calls out.

“No. Somehow Tiedemann declared me dead in the system. Now my codes won’t work anymore.” He can hear the faint clicking as she works a keyboard.

“You’re kidding me.”

Something in the call crashes, startling Ellie, and himself. The sound almost causes him to jolt into a nearby gear. The dead arm wrapped around his middle seconds from being removed.

“Fuck!”

“Oh shit! Somethings coming. Stross help me with the door.”

“Then we can follow the steps? You need to see him. You and little bird.”

“What? No! Just shut up and help me! Damnit!”

Through the call Dick can hear the sound of a necro busting into the room and Ellie yelling above the gunfire.

“Ellie! Stross!”

‘Move!’

With newfound fear and determination Dick throws stasis at the machinery in front of him to pass. The gears slow to a crawl long enough for him to squeeze through before the stasis wears off and send the metal at full speed again. The boy yelps as his leg is almost taken off multiple times over.

Flying through another pressurized vent and Dick is met with what he can only describe as rings of hell fire. The circular room is alight with the high flames of fuel from the station. No doubt a means of regulation.

‘Feels like Dante’s Inferno all the time.’

Dick ignores the voice in favor of focusing on the mission. Namely getting back to Ellie and Stross before they both end up dead.

‘Killjoy.’

He can feel the heat of the blazes around him even through his suit. Dick is glad he decided to keep the helmet on. Chances are he wouldn’t have eyebrows left if he didn’t. Careful to avoid the walls the boy passes the room and straight to a human operated door. His way out.

“Ellie, are you okay?”

“No! Not really.”

“Hi little bird.”

“Stross, through the door now!”

“Hold them off. I think I’m close.” Dick disconnects and makes to land on the platform.

Dick touches down. Magnets activating and keeping him from floating off again. Moving as fast as his current condition will let him Dick exits the antigravity chamber.

And promptly falls to his knees. Gravity reintroduces itself to his body, pinning him to the floor. His vision whites out and he coughs, gasping for air. Ears are ringing, vision is black, no strength to get up. Pressure enters his head and Dick thinks he may die here from a collapsed skull.

“Fuck.”

Vaguely, he can hear his other shouting at him. Probably telling him to get moving, the prick.

Gradually his vision comes back but it doesn’t clear up. The whole room is a dim gray. Like all the colors have been sucked out of the world around him. A thick layer of static has taken over his retinas.

Dick tries to move. Nothing is working. His legs shake with effort. Frustration takes over as Dick brings his fist down as hard as he can on his leg repeatedly hoping to abuse the limb back into action.

“Come On!”

Hit.

“You need to move”

Hit.

“They’re going to die!” Tears are springing from his eyes. Whether through pain or desperation he doesn’t know.

“Please!”

Hit.

It works.

Somewhat.

The walls are the only thing keeping him up. Dick can’t stand straight, stuck in a hunched position. The abused leg no longer lifts itself off of the floor leaving the other to pick up the slack while he drags it behind him. Dick can’t breathe.

But at least he’s moving.

The door at the end of the seemingly endless hallway opens when he approaches. Dick, at last, makes it back to the room they were in before.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Through greying vision he sees the door he was supposed to open has been busted through. The barrier lays on the floor in a heap. Bent and twisted metal curved inward. All the crap he just put himself through was for nothing.

Something chirps to his right.

Dick looks to find a Stalker clawing at the closed door leading to the industrial transport. Its hind legs are gone, but that hardly stops the thing from attempting to reach the survivors who are hiding inside. For a moment, Dick thinks he can see the color red again as he straddles the creature on its back and saws mercilessly at its arms with his scalpel. The thing thrashes attempting to dislodge the boy, but Dick holds tight and finally silences it with a boot down on its exposed spinal cord.

He sits on the corpse a moment trying to catch his breath. When Dick feels like he’s composed himself, he stands and opens the door. And is met with a gun to the face.

“Whoa! Hey, hey!” The way he brings his hand into the air is very reminiscent of earlier that day. Ellie however is more quick to put the weapon down than before.

“God, Dick!” Ellie runs to meet him at the door. She looks likes she want to touch him but awkwardly pats the air above his shoulder. “Glad to see you’ve got all your parts!”

Dick only nods. He knows she can probably see his exhaustion. “You guys alright.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Little bird!”

Stross is not so gentle when he bounds up to them and grabs the boy’s arm excitedly. Dick bites the inside of his cheek to keep from passing out. His hearing cuts for a moment and when it comes back Stross is still talking.

“…ce we do step four, then she’ll be waiting.”

“What’sstep four?” Dick asks. “Who willbe waiting?”

“After the screws, after the needle. She’ll be waiting.”

Dick is tired.

“Okay Stross, we’ll be okay. We gotta keep moving.” Dick turns back to Ellie for further instruction.

“Right. The industrial transport is just upstairs. We’ll have to deploy it from the gear house, but then it’s a straight shot.” She brings up her rig and shows him the path to the tram.

Dick stares listlessly. He wonders if he’s starting to dissociate.

“Okay, stay here. I’ll grab the train.”

“What?” Ellie’s voice adds to the pressure in his head. “No!”

“It’sokay.” He slurs. The world is starting to spin in front of him. “Igotthis.”

“Dick, I don’t think…”

Dick doesn’t hear the rest of her sentence as his legs give out from under him. He doesn’t feel his head connect with the metal flooring. He doesn’t hear his name being called. Doesn’t feel the hands on him.

Instead his eyes are locked on the dead body of his mother laying on the floor next to him.

She smiles at him crookedly.

He’s tired.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

Switching Perspectives

Fuel Pressurization Tower

Titan Station

2300 Hours

“Dick! Oh my God! Oh my God! Hey!”

Ellie doesn’t know what happened.

One second, she’s arguing with the child on whether he should go get the stupid tram by himself, which he shouldn’t. The next the boy is cracking his head on the ground and staring listlessly into nothing, trembling uncontrollably.

“Okay, okay. Don’t panic. You’re okay. Everything is okay.” Ellie is panicking. It doesn’t feel okay. But that’s what you’re supposed say to hurt children. Right?

Ellie slides to her knees next to him, hands hovering over the small body. The older woman isn’t sure if she should touch him. If this is a seizure, then she needs to get him on his back. Right? Or is it his side? But what if he’s hurt and moving him makes it worse? Fuck! What does she do?

“Oh little bird.”

The sound of the weirdo sitting next to her almost makes Ellie jump out of her skin. Stross takes no notice, attention fully on the collapsed kid in front of them. With a gentleness Ellie wasn’t aware the odd man possessed, Stross turns the boy on his back and smooths back his matted hair. A furrow finds its way onto his face.

“He’s warm.”

Ellie places her hand on the boy’s cheek and snatches her hand away. “Warm? Warm, Stross? He’s boiling! Holy shit!”

Dick looks…bad is an understatement. His head lulls to the side on his neck. His eyes are half lidded and vacant, Ellie can’t tell if he’s even awake or not. The boy’s breath is fast but so shallow there is no way he’s getting the proper amount of oxygen needed to stay alive. And even under all the blood and grim Ellie can see the paleness of his skin being stained by a bright blush on his sunken in cheeks.

She knows she isn’t helping with her yelling, but Ellie has never dealt with a sick child before. A very sick child. ‘God he’s so sick what the hell?’ And the worst part of it was she knew. The very second she laid eyes on him in the mall she knew something was wrong with the boy. And he only seemed to get worse. His voice grew more quiet, rougher. The shaking more intense. He couldn’t even use one of his arms. Not to mention the supposed seizure earlier.

Why, why the hell did she even allow a child, never mind a sick one, to do everything he did. Why did Dick have to go the Solar Array? She could have done it. Why did Dick have to make his way through the processing plant? She should have pushed harder. Why did he insist on taking responsibility for their safety? He called them civilians. What child thinks like that?

Questions for another time. She’s panicking. Who knows what’s up with Stross at any given moment, and their guiding hand is a teenager so ill he collapsed. It’s so sad Ellie almost laughs at the thought.

Movement catches her attention. Sometime during her stressed mental rant, Stross has taken the backpack off and retrieved a bottle of water and some bandages from the med kit. She watches in stunned silence as the man wets the bandages and dabs the boy’s face. He cleans the blood and muck away, unveiling more flushed skin.

He repeats the process several times and has to trade out the dressing when the cloth becomes too stained. The cool water eventually succeeds in rousing the boy. Ellie can tell he isn’t coherent. Grey bloodshot eyes wander around the room.

“Shhh, you’re okay Little Bird.” Stross chirps as he continues his ministrations. The hand that isn’t holding the cold compress holds Dick’s cheek and rubs his thumb under his eye. The boy mumbles. “Just a bit under the weather, aren’t we? You should know better than to come out to play when you’re not feeling well.” He tusks.

Ellie watches as Dick become increasingly distressed, clumsily pushing away the cloth. Stross does stop, pulling back unsure. “It’s okay Little Bird.”

“No…n-no. ‘mfine. Youshoulgohead, I’llcatchup.” Ellie can barely make out what he’s trying to say. The boy’s eyes are rolling in his skull. Attempts are made to put his elbow underneath himself to push up but the only thing he manages to do is paw at the ground. His breathing is painful to listen to. “’mrightbehindyou.”

Stross dives forward with startled blabbing when Dick manages to sit partially up only to lose strength and fall backwards. The older man saves the teen from smacking the back of his head on the floor.

‘God only knows how many times he’s already hit his head.’

“Enough.” It becomes too much to watch. The stubborn brat is making another effort when Ellie puts her foot down. She pins the boys’ shoulders to the ground gently. No strength needed to hold him, but she can feel how badly he’s trembling in his suit. “Just chill for a minute. You’re in no condition to move.”

Ellie isn’t sure how much got through to the semiconscious child. All she knows is something broke.

Both adults reel back in panic when Dick bursts into tears. A harsh wail erupts from his throat so loudly Ellie anxiously scans the room to make sure nothing was coming to investigate the noise. Weak attempts to sit up before becoming more frantic and uncoordinated. The plated chest heaves in hyperventilation and ragged coughs.

“Nonononono!”

Stross moves to pin down his arm and shoulders so he couldn’t hurt himself. Ellie takes to stabilizing his head. Reassurances and soft shushes flee both their mouths. Anything to stop the sounds. She is tempted to cover his mouth with her hand.

“Itsokay! ‘mokay! IcankeepupIpromise!” Another cough rips though his frame. “Pleasepleasepleasedon’tleavemebehind! Idontwanttobeleftaloneagain! PleaseIcandobetterIpromise! ‘mnotaburdenIwon’tbeaburden!”

Ellie can’t make out most of what he’s saying but she can make out enough. His assurances that he’s okay quickly and violently dissolve into desperate pleas not to be left behind. Her first interaction with the boy comes to mind and Ellie finds she wants to be sick. A picture she doesn’t like is emerging from his past actions and words. Her own shaking is almost as bad as the child she’s pinning down.

They need to do something.

The hyperventilation and crying isn’t stopping. Something is bound to come and investigate, and Ellie isn’t confident in ensuring her own survival let alone a crazed man and a horribly sick teenager as well.

A thought passes through her head.

She doesn’t HAVE to stay.

Before that thought could fully form in her head Stross pushes her aside. The strength and sudden change in position has the woman falling flat on her back. For a moment, Ellie sees red. The stress, the terror, the absolute bullshit that her life is right now, and the panic that the man finally snapped and is going to silence the crying one way, or another, sends her back to her feet. A protective instinct she’s never felt before giving her adrenaline.

Instead of finding Stross with his hands wrapped around a fevered throat, she sees he’s pulled the boy fully into his lap. Arms are wrapped around the smaller figure, completely encasing him. Stross rocks steadily and pets the sweat-soaked locks. A low hum that might have belonged to a song escapes the man.

Ellie freezes, all fight leaving in an instant, not comprehending what is going on. Dick doesn’t either if the silence of his wails and wide-eyed expression is anything to go by.

Eventually, the startled look relaxes. Collapsing further into the man’s arms, Dick melts at the attention. Eyes half-lidded he buries his face into Stross’s collarbone, curling further in and paws at the man’s shirt to return the embrace. In what could be seconds the boy is out once more.

His breathing is still a mere wheeze of air, and his face is flushed and fevered but it looks more like he’s sleeping now than passed out. Ellie slumps to the floor in awe.

“How did you do that?” She keeps her voice low, half scared of alerting a threat and half scared of waking Dick up.

“Oh, children are usually pretty fussy when sick.” Stross beams. “I know my own boy is. Sometimes being held is what’s needed. Though Little Bird is much older than my Curt, it seems that logic applies to all ages. Go figure.”

Stross continues to rock the boy in his arms as he talks softly. Ellie watches the other carefully. His eyes are clear. Clearer than they’ve ever been since she’s met him. As Stross uses one hand to reapply the cold compress, something finally clicks. Despite hearing it before it never felt more obvious than right now, seeing it in real time.

“You’re a father.” She says dumbly.

“Oh yes! My little baby boy, Curt. Going to be two in a couple of weeks. Already sitting up on his own. ‘M so proud.” Stross’ voice gets airy. His eyes going distant again as he spoke. The rocking doesn’t stop but it was obvious Stross was going back into his own little world again.

“Hey, hold up there!”

Ellie needs to do something. Fast. She isn’t going to be able to juggle fending off threats, getting Dick to safety, and making sure Stross doesn’t wander off at the same time. Give him a task, keep him in the moment, do what Dick did.

That’s it!

Ellie only slightly hesitates before putting a hand on the other man’s shoulder, grabbing his attention. “You sound like a good dad, Nolan. I would love to meet Curt when we get out of here.”

Stross beams, leaning forward his nose nearly touching her. “You would? Oh yes, I think he would like you. Such a smiley baby. Oh and Little Bird too!”

Ellie cringes away from him. Part of her feels dirty for this. The man has clearly lost it, in need of a type of help she has no way of providing. Swallowing her guilt she presses on.

“Yes, and Little Bird too. But first we need to make it to the transport upstairs, okay?”

Stross sways from side to side. “Little Bird can teach him all sorts of games. Like the quiet game. Such fun. I think I’m really getting the hang of it.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. She’s losing him.

“Stross,” That comes out a little more impatient than she meant it to be. “You love Curt, right?”

His eyes snap to hers. Ellie suppresses a shiver at the intensity she sees in them. They’re almost wild. “More than anything.”

She swallows. “And…if something were to…happen, you would want someone to help your baby, right?”

The question throws the man off. He blinks at her. “Y-yes? Did…did something…?”

“No. No Stross.” She has no idea. “My point is, is that’s what you’re doing right now. In your arms is someone’s baby. Someone is missing their baby and we have him. So, it’s up to us to protect this baby, right? It’s up to us to get this baby home to his dad. You get me?”

Finally, clarity shines in the man’s eyes. Realization turns to determination as he tightens his grip on the boy, carefully cradling him closer to his chest. He nods.

“Yeah. I get you.”

Ellie could sob in relief. She doesn’t know what she would have done if that didn’t work. The thought occurs again that she could just leave. Gone off alone again and worry only about herself.

But.

Looking at Dick. Small and so sick he delirious. A child who’s risked his neck to save and help her, even after their first meeting. Seeing him snuggle closer to Stross, clinging to his shirt with his good hand, subconsciously seeking comfort.

Looking to Stross, the half-crazed man who has a son of his own, if he’s still alive, waiting for him. Watching how careful his is with a boy, not his own, and not withholding anything simply because he’s the best for the job at the moment.

And she knows. She can’t. And it’s probably going to get her killed.

Ellie helps Stross up. He repositions Dick in his arms, resting his head on the older man’s shoulder, and carrying him on his hip. Stross’ expression pinches. He gently bounces the boy twice in his arms.

“He’s so light.” He whispers. “Even with the suit, he…Ellie I think something is very wrong.”

Ellie nods. She knows what Nolan is saying. There is something wrong. Something far deeper that what they have knowledge of. Which isn’t much to begin with.

“We’ll worry about that later. Right now our focus needs to be to get him to safety. Until then there is nothing we can do.” She shoulders the backpack and holsters the plasma cutter.

Ellie leads the way to the door. Taking a deep breath she tallies the things they need to do.

Get to the transport.

Aline it to the track.

Set destination to the government sector.

Deploy it.

Easy.

The grip on the pulse rifle tightens. The door opens under her command and the trio moves forward.

The large room is so horribly familiar to her. The humid, smog filled air. The large poles on each wall sending flaming cylinders through the tubes to stabilize heat and energy consumption. The loud grind of machinery that never stops. Catwalks she’s traversed for work every day for the last five years seem much more sinister now.

“Stay close.” Ellie checks behind her to make sure Nolan is following. He nods.

They’re almost to the lift when the vent nearby bursts out. The metal grate nearly hits Ellie in the face, causing her to throw herself on the other side of the catwalk in panic. Breath knocked out of her chest as she hits the floor. Nolan yelps and backs away in the other direction.

“Shit!”

One of the things with the tails crawls out of the vent. It stands, balanced only on its deformed arms, between the two of them. Its jawless head twitches back and forth from Ellie to the boys, like it couldn’t decide who it wanted first.

Ellie freezes. Unsure what to do. Stross has Dick cradled in his arms staring at the creature with wide eyes. He doesn’t have a weapon; She doesn’t really believe he should have one either. And even if he did, with the teenager in his arms he wouldn’t be able to fight anyways. How’s he’s lasted this long at all is nothing short of a miracle.

Said teenager is systematic in his disposal of the monsters that roam the station. Despite his shortening temper, which now that she’s looking back makes more and more sense, he stays level-headed and is constantly thinking of solutions to their problems. He holds himself, commands, leads, and fights like a solider.

A child solider.

Ellie tightens the grip of her rifle. Dick would have taken the damn thing out the second it showed its ugly face. His level of precision and his reaction time is not something Ellie could ever hope to replicate. But its up to her now to take charge.

Her aim may not be a good as his, but she wouldn’t have made it this far if she wasn’t able to adapt. Ellie struggles to think, she’ll lead the creature towards herself and then attack. Problem is, if she shoots and misses there is a high chance, she could hit Dick or Nolan. If she doesn’t shoot, that thing will cut her in half.

‘Damnit, how did the kid do this so easily?’

Neither Stross nor herself have moved since the thing came through. The lack of movement is keeping it oddly docile while it ponders who to go for first. Razor sharp tail lazily swinging in the air from side to side, toying with them. The amount of intelligence she has seen these things exhibit is terrifying.

Clenching her teeth Ellie decides to turn its focus on her. Hopefully Stross will take the hint and get out of the way. If she dies, they die. If they die. Well, it’s not the first time she’s lost people, but it will certainly be the last.

Ellie opens her mouth and…

Dick coughs.

Words catch in her throat. It sounds painful, lungs filled with something that shouldn’t be there. Hard and loud enough to shake his whole frame. And it’s enough to catch the monster’s attention.

The milky gaze of its eyes snap toward the two helpless people in her care. Before she can react the deadly appendage darts right for Stross’ head. It barely misses him, and Ellie sucks in a sharp breath when she sees the man stumble backwards into the guardrail. His eyes are bugling from his skull and Stross babbles in a panic. He searches wildly for an exit, an escape. He finds none.

The abomination charges with a screech, and all the man can do is close his eyes, sink to the floor, and place his back to it. Stross curls his slender frame around his charge, futilely using himself as a meat shield.

Tail posed to strike, the beast within the same breathing space as them, it’s stopped. The momentum of its attack causing its head to bump into Stross’ back, making the man howl in unabashed terror. Its head spins, enraged, to find the culprit. Rotted flesh flying from its face in its search.

Ellie makes eye contact, breathing coming in surprised, panicked gasps. Her arms are wrapped around the tail, holding it in a constrictive hold. The muscles in her arms strain against its erratic movements. Its sharp edge only inches from her face and she puts all her strength into keeping the deformed meat and bone tail still. She can’t move.

‘WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING?! WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING?!’

The monster screeches again. This close Ellie can see the uvula in its exposed throat. The smell of decay is unbearable. The bones sticking out are cutting into her arms and hands. In her panic she’s caught a tiger by the tail and now she’s too scared to do anything about it.

It tries to turn around to face her causing Ellie to move with it. Never loosing grip on the tail Ellie is caught in a deadly dance as she tries to avoid the swipes it makes at her with its arms. It never quite succeeds, unable to keep its balance long enough to make the attack. They circle together. The thing is getting frustrated. She’s getting tired. Dizzy.

Ellie doesn’t have the rifle. Dropped it in her mad dash to save the boys and she’s unable to let go to reach for the plasma cutter in her holster. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Stross doing his best to shimmy out of the way. The boy tucked against his chest. He can’t get far before he has to scramble back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of her and the monster that are wrestling across the catwalk.

“Stross!” Ellie cries. “The cutter! Grab the cutter on my hip!”

Stross looks at her uncertainly before his eyes trail after the holster. He sits there, slightly rocking, confused. Ellie releases a string of curses as her ankle rolls. It’s not enough to knock her off her feet but it hurts.

“Stross, you dumb fuck! Help me!” It’s not really fair to scream at the guy. But if something isn’t done soon, they’re all dead.

Her screaming, lucky, jars the man into action. Ellie sees from the corner of her eye as Stross lays Dick against the guard rails. Her full attention is brought back to the creature as it begins to aggressively swing its tail. Her neck and shoulders strain against the whiplash.

The thing has finally had enough. With tremendous force the creature throws itself against the catwalk rails, snaking underneath and clinging to the grates below. The movement takes Ellie with it, her waist catching most of the impact. She wheezes as she struggles to regain her breath. Grip weakened the creature breaks free. Bone easily rips the through the exposed skin of her arms.

Ellie falls to her knees from her attempt to maintain her hold but it’s too late. The abomination climbs on under the catwalk. Ellie can see it’s face under the grate just before it darts to the other side.

It’s coming back around.

Pulling itself up and back onto the catwalk. Ellie thinks she can see vindictive rage on its rotted face. She can’t move. The muscles in her arms tremble, no breath is entering her lungs, fear has her immobile.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god.” Ellie whimpers.

She knows how this goes. She’s seen it enough the past twenty-four hours to guess what comes next. Ellie closes her eyes, curling into herself. Part of her is furious. She knew helping would get her killed. She knew it. The other part despairs that even with her best effort Stross and Dick are likely dead not long after her.

The monster, not even found in her worst nightmares, lets out a screech as it charges her.

‘I did what I could.’

With the echoing noise coming from the creature, Ellie almost doesn’t hear the distinctive discharge of a plasma cutter.

One shot.

Two shots.

Three.

There are several more clicks but by then the shrieking has stopped.

Ellie opens her eyes and peeks out from behind her arms. The tailed beast twitches in its own blood that falls through the catwalk grates. Its tail severed. The rest of its head gone. The twitching stops.

Raising her head more, Ellie sees Stross. She isn’t sure when he managed to grab it, but her cutter is in his shaking hands aimed at the carcass. His finger keeps pulling the trigger despite the continued click of an empty clip. Bottom lip trembling and wide eyes shiny, Stross looks two seconds away from bursting into tears.

Ellie takes a moment to take stalk of herself. Besides the lacerations on her arms and a huge bruise no doubt developing on her side she came out of the fight okay. Better than expected really. It takes her more time than she’d like to admit to stand back up, and longer still to get her legs to stop shaking enough to walk. Taking a breath she heads over to Stross.

“Hey.”

The call of her voice sends the man into a frenzy. Ellie jumps when he swings the gun at her and pulls the trigger without hesitation. It clicks. The action almost sends her back to the ground before she remembers the empty clip. Ellie has to stop herself from getting pissed. Deep breaths.

‘He did what you told him too, Ellie. You can’t get mad at the guy.’ At the very least, she notes, she wasn’t wrong about not trusting him with a weapon.

The woman puts up her hands and inches closer. “Okay, easy now. It’s dead. You got it. How bout you give me the cutter back and we’ll get going okay?”

Stross continues to stare at her with the cutter aimed. For a moment Ellie thinks the man didn’t hear her, but then he’s looking at the weapon before lowering his arms. He doesn’t give it back, but he also doesn’t stop her from taking it from him. Baby steps.

They stand there. Ellie watches Stross with caution. Stross stares into nothing. She’s lost him again.

Shit.

As Ellie tries to think of something to bring the man back, a sound off to the side catches both their attention.

Coughing.

No, not coughing.

Gasping

Choking.

Horrified, Ellie zeros in on the small figure left in the corner of the catwalk. Sat up against the guard rail, his head is lolled back bending his neck, Dick’s body spasms in place.
Arms twitching and legs kicking weakly as he struggles to draw in breath. His eyes are rolled into the back of his head.

Seizure.

Fuck!

Stross is moving before she can even think of what to do. Pulling the child off the rail and laying him down, the older man places him in a recovery position. Fresh blood pools from Dick’s mouth.

Ellie snaps out of her shock and rushes over to, what? Help? Could she even help? She doesn’t know the first thing about seizure first aid. Kneeling next to the boy she hears Stross counting. He’s timing it. Both hands are pillowed under the boy’s head to prevent him from slamming it into the floor.

Sounds of machinery echo the large room. Sounds that she’s worked with for years set her on edge. They need to leave. More creatures are sure to come. They have to move, and they can’t because one of them can’t be moved. Ellie can feel the stress of the whole situation baring down on her. She wants to run. Hide. And she can’t bring herself to do either without her group.

By the time Stross counts to forty-two the convulsions stop. It feels like an eternity when a few seconds later Dick opens his eyes again. He’s still not completely there. Glassy eyes taking in his surroundings and he’s mumbling, but the words are so slurred she can’t make out what he’s saying.

Stross brushes away the boy’s sweaty bangs and shushes him. “Okay. All okay now.” He reassures.

“Stross, we need to go. Can we move him?” Ellie is too afraid to speak above a whisper despite the loud metal work of the room.

“Hm? Oh, yes. All good. I think he’s done now. Just have to make sure.”

Stross doesn’t elaborate on what he has to make sure of, but Ellie gets the idea when he pries Dick’s mouth open and peers inside. More blood escapes but miraculously his tongue is still intact, if not a bit swollen. Dick jerks his jaw out of Stross’ grasp and swats at the air with a frustrated whine.

“Imi pare rau mamă. Vrea, vrea mamă.” The tears are back. Uncoordinated hands wipe at his face causing a flinch and another sob when he hits his injured nose. “Nu am vrut. Vrea mamă.”

Ellie can’t understand him, doesn’t know what language he’s crossed over to, but one repeated word stands out. She feels ill. Her stomach dropping. Stross continues to shush the child, doing what he can to offer comfort. Dick doesn’t acknowledge him, his glassy eyes stare at something over Ellie’s shoulder. Her paranoia has her looking behind herself to search for whatever he was seeing.

There was nothing there. Despite this, Ellie has the very distant feeling that they were being… Watched. Stalked. A chill runs down her spine. Dread far different than what she’s been experiencing before now stiffens her legs.

Nothing is there.

Nothing is there.

Dick is just sick, delirious.

Nothing is there.

“For Christ’s sake, Stross! Shut him up!” Ellie snaps. Her voice thin with barely concealed panic.

“I-I’m trying. I don’t know what he’s saying.” Stross flails his hands in the air terrified before clamping them down over Dick’s mouth, and nose, muffling the sobs. “Shush, little bird. Time to play the quiet game. You know the quiet game. Time to play, okay?”

Dick heaves.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Ellie shoves the older man’s hands away. The second the hands are up the boy sucks in a heavy breath. “You’re going to smother him doing that!”

“What else am I supposed to do, he won’t calm down. My tricks aren’t working anymore.”

“Not fucking that!” Ellie runs her hands down her face.

Miraculously, it seems to have worked. Dick soothes. No, that’s not it. Ellie looks at the boy. His lips are pressed into a thin line. Jaw trembling from how hard he clenches his teeth. Nothing is stopping him from being able to breathe, but he doesn’t draw breath. Eyes budge out of his head fixated on the same spot as before. But that’s wrong too. Dick’s eyes are trailing something move. Something coming towards him slowly. Towards them. Ellie looks over her shoulder again.

Nothing is there.

“You’re not my mom.”

Ellie stills. Still looking over her shoulder. She isn’t sure if it’s how coherent he sounds in that moment that terrifies her, or what he said. But it wasn’t directed at her. When she turns back to him, Dick lays there, staring up at something standing over him, petrified.

Nothing is there.

“Stross,” Ellie whispers, afraid to move. The air next to her unnaturally chilly. “Stross, we have to leave. Now” Looking at the other man she finds him in a similar state of being. Staring into the same space as Dick. He doesn’t move.

“Little Bird?”

“I see her.”

Something is there.

Right next to her.

And she’s the only one not seeing it.

Ellie wants to break down. Terror is freezing the blood in her veins. She can feel tears streaming down her face, but she doesn’t dare make a sound. No sudden movements. Slowly, Ellie inches her hand across Dick’s chest and grabs Stross’.

“Nolan.” She breathes. “I want you to pick up Dick very slowly and we’re going to walk to the lift.”

The man doesn’t answer, but he does nod his head. Eyes never leaving the empty space, Stross slips his arms under Dick. Painfully slow the both of them stand. Dick and Stross never look away and Ellie forces herself not to try and see what they’re seeing.

As they’re making their way to the lift, Ellie makes sure to stoop and pick up her discarded rifle. Ellie keeps her eyes forward while Stross walks backwards next to her. Dick is clinging to his neck, face pressed against his collarbone. One blue grey eye stares out. The broken blood vessels in the sclera is making the iris itself appear as if it’s glowing red in the dim light.

Ellie shudders. ‘Don’t’ think about it. Just focus on the shit you can see.’

The lift moves, bringing them up to the upper-level catwalk. Ellie reloads the cutter with the megger ammo she has and checks the clip on the rifle. She got lucky in the last room with the lockers. Probably the best place to find engineer equipment.

Stross and Dick breathe a sigh of relief at the top. Ellie takes the chance to glance over the guardrail down at the catwalk below. There’s no sign that anything was ever there. She sighs as well.

Realistically, Ellie knows nothing was there. Nothing that could physically hurt them, but… Stross has a poor grasp on reality as it is, and Dick is so sick he’s delirious. It may not hurt them, but it was enough to scare them into silence. That’s more than enough to treat, whatever it was, like a threat. Or that’s what she keeps telling herself.

They continue on, the sound of their footsteps drowned out by the loud environment. It so loud Ellie almost doesn’t hear it.

“Wait, wait. Hang on.” She puts up a hand to keep Stross back. “You hear that?” Ellie brings up the pulse rifle and stares intently into the dark corridor ahead.

“Hear what?”

Stross asks, but Ellie quickly shushes him. Straining her ears, she hears it again.

A squeal.

A gurgle.

A giggle.

It sounds like a baby. The hairs on the back of her neck rise. Her grip tightening on the weapon in her hands. Behind her in a small voice Ellie hears Dick cuss in recognition.

“Oh, oh fuck.”

Ellie is about to ask what he knows when it crawls around the corner. It’s small, bloated, deformed, nothing like she has ever seen. The small head was sitting against an overstuffed stomach, backwards. It moves like an inchworm along the grates and Ellie almost drops her gun.

It stops.

In a movement that should be impossible to do, the head turns towards the trio. Wide milky eyes meet Ellie’s, and it smiles when it spots her. A cry of excitement escapes the little beast and faster than would be expected it crawls towards them. More follow from around the corner each giving their own elated sounds at the sight of them. A small army of undead infants pulling their fat glowing bodies forward.

“What the?! What is that!?” Ellie can’t stop the screech that escapes her mouth. Stross next to her is stood frozen at the sight. One of them summersaults.

Ellie shoves her shoulder into Stross’ forcing the man to move backwards as she tries to aim.

“Don’t...” Dick is sucking in air like he can’t get a full breath. Ellie looks back at him as they retreat, willing to take any and all advice he might have. “Don’t shoot the stomach.”

“Hu? Why?”

“Blows up.” Dick clinches a fist then releases it mimicking an explosion. “Boosh.”

“Blows up!?” Ellie asks hysterical. “What do you mean it fucking blows up?!”

Dick doesn’t answer her. He stares into the darkness the high ceiling, limp as a noodle in Stross’ arms. Breathing looks like it hurts. Being awake looks like it hurts.

“Fuck! Okay, okay. Don’t hit the stomachs.”

Ellie aims and shoots. She misses. Cussing she tries again. The shot misses once more. They are running out of room to retreat to. The babies all continue to laugh and cheer as they advance. They leave something slimy and yellow in their wake.

Putting the rifle away Ellie trades it for the cutter hoping the smaller size will do more for her aim. She wishes Dick would help her then immediately feels bad knowing he’s in no state to being doing anything.

The shot hit. The first babies head caves in. The next stills after losing its arms. One by one, more and more body parts litter the catwalk. The gleeful giggle slowly begins to silence. The last one Ellie accidently hit in its swollen sack and the whole of the child disappears with an explosive pop that takes out a bit of the guard rail.
Just like Dick said it would.

All that’s left is a puddle of awfully smelling pus. Ellie leans over the railing next to her and vomits. She can feel the hot acidic taste of it escape her throat. Her knees feel weak, and Ellie wishes she could do nothing more than sit there and never move again.

Babies. Infants. Even they weren’t spared this nightmare. It’s almost too cruel for words.

Christ how did Dick do this before?

A dark thought crosses her mind. How did he do this? How did he know what to do, how these things would react? When was he forced to encounter them? Or, and it bothers Ellie to think about it, was Tiedemann on to something about Dick? He obviously knows a lot about what’s going on, but why? Where did he learn about these creatures and how to fight like he did? What is Dick and Stross running from?

There are too many questions and now is not the time to ponder over them. Hopefully Dick will survive long enough for her to ask them. Until then She need to push forward.

“Are you okay?” Ellie turns to find Stross staring at the multiple baby carcasses on the floor, not moving. Dick seems to have passed out again. “Stross?”

The man blinks. His eyes large and wet with unshed tears. He holds Dick closely against his chest. More for his comfort than anything else, but Ellie can’t fault him for it.

“Okay.” She breathes and grabs the inside of the man’s elbow leading him along. “Okay. Just look up okay. Don’t look. I got you.”

They move together slowly. Stross has taken her advice and is now looking straight ahead leaving navigation solely on her. Ellie feels like she should be bitter about that. Forced to taking in everything she’s done, the horror they are made to live through while Stross can look away. But she doesn’t. She’s only tired.

They make it to the Fuel Pressurization Control room. The door opening to the semi-circular layout of the space. It’s emptier than she remembers it being. All the furniture, tables, desks, chairs all stacked in the corner of the room in a sad attempt at a barricade. The previous occupants are nowhere to be found but the trail of blood that leads to the exit gives her a pretty good idea of where they went.

There is only one creature in the room, and it whirls around to face them as they enter. After what she saw outside, this is nothing. She takes out the limbs leaving the corpse to dissolve in its own acidic decomposition.

Ellie maneuvers Stross into the corner behind the barricade and begins to sweep the room. Checking vents and other hidey holes to make sure nothing surprises them later. Near another corner her foot hits something on the floor.

It’s an audio log.

Picking it up Ellie pales when she sees the name assigned to it. She wants to throw it down the shaft, discard it and never look back. With trembling hands she opens it and listens to the sound of his voice as it fills the room.

“This is Sorenson. Shift 2!” Sorenson’s lisp breaks through the static. “Kaleb, what’s going on?! Dead bodies are chasing us! Dead bodies I recognize! It’s fucking Shift 4!”

The voice that responds almost breaks a sob from her.

Kaleb.

“Just get out of there Sorenson, get out of there!”

“But we’re trapped, they’re closing in all around, which way did you go? Which way is clear?” She can hear others in the background. Can’t make out their voices over the noise and panic but she knows all of them. Can picture each of them there.

“Use the starboard catwalks, we cleared a path, but hurry, they’re closing in behind!”

“We’ll try, wait for us!”

Ellie freezes.

She recognizes this call. She was in the room with Kaleb cowering by the door with the rest of her shift. Sorenson never made it to them. Not even a minute after Kaleb ended the call were they swarmed themselves and picked off. Five minutes later and she was putting a bullet into Kaleb’s head.

Ellie needs out. She needs out of the room, needs out of this facility right fucking now! Her breathing is erratic, hands shaking so badly she drops the log, and she scrambles to pick it up not wanting to lose what’s left of her friends. She turns and rushes back to where she left Stross.

The man in question is kneeled on his hunches and rocking back and forth. Dick is lifeless in his arms.

“We’re moving. Let’s go.” Stross doesn’t acknowledge her, just continues to cower, and rock.

“Stross!” Ellie snaps. She doesn’t feel bad when he flinches. Can’t feel bad when all she can feel is fear and past guilt and despair. And she isn’t going to let this absolute man-child be the one to get them killed. Get her killed.

“Do you think he’s one of those?”

“What?” The question takes her off guard.

“The babies. Do…do you think my Curt is…one of those? Is he gone? Is that why you said what you did earlier? Is…Is my baby a…? He can’t finish the sentence, words chocking the back of his throat. Instead he begins to pet the Dick’s hair, rocking back and forth faster.

Ellie feels her heart drop. The thought never occurred to her. The sight of an infant being turned into one of these monsters has to be the most disturbing thing she’s seen so far. For Stross to see that. To think.

She looks at the boy in his arms and another thought crosses her mind. Did Dick know about these things because of his own family? Did he have younger siblings on the station? Did he have to…

Stross, Gods, Stross.

Ellie didn’t know how to reassure the destressed man. She couldn’t tell him what happened to his kid because she didn’t know. It would be better to lie, the smart thing to lie, to get them moving again. But how do you lie about something like this. Ellie rubs her face hard.

“I don’t know.” She settles on. “I don’t… but if we don’t move there’s a chance we’ll never find out either. Look,” Ellie kneels next to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder. “If you help me get Dick somewhere safe, get him taken care of, we’ll both help you find Curt, Okay?”

Stross doesn’t move for a moment, his eyes are vacant, sad. Then he nods, stands, and moves forward without much prompting. Ellie feels bad that she can’t offer more than that. Even worse that they may not be able to fulfill that promise to begin with. On a station filled with millions of people, most of which are dead and so deformed they don’t even look like people anymore, how do you find one child lost in it all.

Ellie leads the way, glancing back every once in a while, to check that she’s still being followed. Her eyes rest on Dick.

And what about him? So far that she’s known him he hasn’t mentioned any family he’s looking for. Just the self-proclaimed mission to stop this nightmare. A bit of an odd goal to set on. And how was he so sure about the cause of all this? Did he watch his family die and decided to fight back? But that doesn’t explain the hostile relationship between him and Tiedeman.

Ellie pushes the questions aside as they enter another room. There’s no sense in getting distracted right now.

The room is cast in an orange glow thanks to the large window on the far wall. There is a body in the corner missing its legs. She recognizes the long braid it wears. Ellie looks away before the corpse becomes a body with a name to it. She swallows hard.

“Look how pretty, little bird. So many stars.” Stross is standing at the window. He whispers softly to the limp boy in his arms.

Ellie steps up to join them. It’s a view she’s seen a million times before. The wide expanse of space is only blocked by the large concentration of buildings separate from the rest of the city. The shipyard. There is only one ship stationed along the tramrail between the two towers. The large planet cracker still under investigation after being brought in a few months ago. Ellie shakes her head at the tragedy she heard about in the news.

Despite that, the view has lost its charm for her years ago. Side eyeing the man next to her she finds him pointing out a few star formations he can see, still whispering to the unconscious child. Like a father telling a bedtime story.

Her heart beats painfully in her chest. She almost barks at him to stop, if only to ease her own discomfort. Ellie settles with an awkward pat on the back to let him know they’re moving on.

They’re at the mid-level of the tower now. Another catwalk, looking down at the two they were on before, leads to their destination. At the crossroads Ellie notices another barricade at the far end. Something in her compels her to investigate.

There are two bodies lying on the other side. They weren’t dismembered, but both their heads are blown open from a close-range blast. One of them is Sorenson. His plasma cutter still clutched in his hand.

An audio log sits next to his body. Ellie picks it up and plays it.

“This is Sorenson to any remaining CEC personnel. Track towards Ellie Langford’s RIG. Her group is farthest ahead and has cleared a path, but it’s closing fast.”

“Gotta go, boss. Mores coming.”

“Don’t think, just move.”

The audio log ends. Ellie stares at it, numb. It wasn’t some goodbye, like she thought it would be. Nothing like an apology to his loved ones or instructions to the one who finds the log. Wasn’t even recorded at this spot. Sorenson giving orders to anyone left, that was it. So what he did was spur of the moment desperation. One last attempt to save himself and the man with him.

Ellie wonders, if worse came to worse, would she be able to do it? Would she extend the favor to the two with her before ending things her way? She checks Sorenson’s clip.

It’s empty.

He used the last of his ammo.

Ellie makes a mental note to ensure she always has three shots left.

Just in case.

Ellie takes one last look at her old friend. Wishes him peace and moves on. She won’t stop yet. Not when they’re so close to the end.

The grate of the catwalk is caked in something soft and squishy. It takes Ellie aback. With how dark the room is she didn’t notice the thick fleshy ropes spreading across the metal. She strains her eyes and fights the bile that threatens to come up. Whatever it is pulses. Like a heart lies somewhere beneath the surface. The smell that erupts from whatever her foot stepped in almost sends her over the railing to puke. She hears Stross gag behind her.

“Wha-what is this?” She can’t bring herself speak above a whisper.

The man just shakes his head. Either he doesn’t know or doesn’t want to share his theories. That’s fine. Ellie is coming up with enough of her own to fill her own head with nightmares for years. A moans echoes across the room and stops the trio in their tracks.

Ellie tries to breathe past the lump in her throat. Who or whatever is making that noise, it sounds like its in pain, agonizing pain. Shining the light fixed to the end of her cutter she sees it.

Fixated to the wall, encased in the surrounding gore that has grown throughout the area, is a man. Or what was left of him. Ellie thinks she can understand the sounds that escape it. This far away, she can’t be sure if he’s still alive or not, but the growth protruding from where his stomach should have been is enough to convince her not to get any closer.

“This way.” Ellie leads them down another path. It’s best they don’t engage. She’s not religious in any capacity but Ellie sends a prayer to the poor soul trapped in that living hell and hopes to any God out there it isn’t someone she knew.

Ellie could weep when she see’s the lift to their destination. They’re close. All that’s left to do is get the tram onto the tracks and they can rest for a while. Then maybe figure out how to handle the sick child in their care.

‘Maybe he just needs a nap.’ She scoffs at her own optimism. ‘No, not with a fever like that.’ Stross seems to know what he’s been doing so far, hopefully he can help more once they don’t have to keep moving like they are.

The tram controls sit untouched in the room. The tram itself unmoved in its challis. Ellie sits Stross down in the corner away from all of the vents in the room.

“Stay here. I need to do a maintenance check on the tram, then we can go.”

The man stares at her dumbly for moment before nodding slowly. His eyes are heavy lidded but his grip on Dick doesn’t waver. He looks terrible. Exhausted. Ellie is sure she looks the same.

Ellie looks over her shoulder. The tram sits outside the window on a small platform for maintenance. She’ll be able to see inside if she positions herself right but not hear. If something comes into the room while she’s out there and she misses it. With great trepidation she takes the cutter out of her holster and checks the clip.

“Okay, I’m going to give this to you okay. Shoot anything that moves.” She thinks a moment. “Except me. You shoot me Stross I’ll kick your ass.” As soon as the man nods again
Ellie walks out to the platform to check the tram.

It doesn’t take long for Ellie to do the routine checkup. Nothing is wrong with the tram itself, but she does mentally complain about the dickhead who neglected to put the tools back where they belong. She knows exactly who did it too. The smile it brings to her face fades when she is brought back to their situation.

The tram is aligned and ready for use. Reentering the room Ellie breathes a sigh of relief that nothing came after them. That relief is gone as soon as she sees her boys in the corner.

Stross doesn’t have the cutter in his hand. Instead all his attention is on the boy weakly thrashing in his arms. Ellie can hear the man try and shush him, rocking back and forth to try and provide a little comfort. Coming closer Dick’s mumbles are clearer.

Begging.

He’s begging.

To be left alone. To not be left behind. He’s sorry. He’s sorry. He wants his dad. They aren’t his mom. Most of it is in a language she doesn’t understand. But the gist of all of it is loud and clear. Ellie doesn’t know what to do.

“Can’t you make him stop?” She asks looking over her shoulder. The tram, they just need to get to the tram, and they’ll be fine.

“Oh no,” Stross calmly shakes his head. “Sometimes you just need to let the little ones wear themselves out. They settle eventually. Especially when sick.”

“I don’t thin…”

Then the coughing starts up again. Heavy and wet. Stross is straining to keep his hold on the boy’s shoulders and keep him from topping out of his lap. In a lurching motion that almost sends the both of them to the floor, Ellie just barely moving out of the way, Dick vomits.

It’s dark.

Red.

It’s blood.

“Fuck! Oh my god! Oh shit!” Ellie proceeds to freak out.

Stross just pats his back gently as if its normal. “There you go. Just get it all out.”

“How are you so calm about this!? He needs help, a doctor, something!” The woman begins to tug at one of her ponytails in distress. A habit she thought she kicked as a child.

“That… That is not normal! That is not okay!”

“We could make a stop at medical.” The man suggests. “It’s not in use anymore but I’m sure we can find something left to help settle that cough and fever.”

It’s both a terrible idea and a good one. Terrible in that there is a very good reason that medical is no longer in use. Good in that they would be able to stalk up on first aids and medicine for future use. Who knows how long they could be stuck on this station.

“Lets just get onto the tram for now. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Dick is dead to the world once more. Traces of blood can still be seen on the corner of his mouth. It takes Ellie longer than she would like to catch him draw a shallow breath.

The tram is big enough to carry twenty people comfortably and while the leather seats on the sides aren’t the best, they do the job in giving the adults a soft surface to place the boy. Ellie wastes no time in getting the tram moving and away from any platforms. After getting a good distance she stops on the tracks sure nothing would be able to reach them out in the middle of nowhere, and not so out in the open that a EarthGov patrol would see them.

Now, onto the next problem.

Stross is back to placing a cold compress to Dick’s forehead. It doesn’t look to be doing much.

“Is that all you can do right now?”

If the comment offends him; Stross doesn’t show it. “I’m not a doctor of this nature. I can only do what I know from when my own son was sick.” The man thinks for a moment. “It might help to ease the fever if we get him out of this stuffy uniform.”

Ellie gets where he’s coming from, she does, but it doesn’t really sit right with her to invade the kid’s privacy. She doesn’t like the idea of undressing him. Unfortunately with him unresponsive and getting worse the longer they delay, there is not really much choice in the matter.

“Okay. Hold him up. I’ll get the armor off.” Stross does as he’s told.

It’s…it’s worse than they thought. Stross actually whines at the sight in from of them. Dick is underweight. Extremely underweight. Count all the ribs in his chest underweight. Ellie notes how built the teen is, how without malnourishment he would be in weirdly good shape. Another check in her child solider theory.

Another shock to the system is just how injured he is. His weight is almost a side note to the black and blue of his stuttering torso. One side is slightly caved in due to broken ribs. Which explains the coughing and blood coming up with it. A possible pierced lung.

A deep cut has bled completely though the bandages on his waist. Underneath the laceration is red, swollen and pus filled. And his arm. God, his arm is a mess of red inflamed veins and blisters. His fingertips are black. The fingernail gone.

Necrosis.

“Holy shit.”

Ellie is beside herself. She may not be a doctor but even she knows what that means. How the hell was this kid even still alive? Stross is carefully examining the arm. Even if Ellie didn’t know anything the expression on the man’s face would have told her enough.

“This is going to need to be amputated.” Ellie feels sick at his claim. “At least from the forearm down. And soon before the rot can spread but…” He pauses. “I don’t have any form of medical training. Not to this degree, anyway. I’m a scientist, not a doctor. Plus, with how sick little bird is, he may not survive the operation. Not right now at least.”

The last bit of information was shared with a forlorn tone. Ellie is somewhat surprised. It’s the most the man has spoken that wasn’t complete nonsense. Then the subject of what he said hits her. Like a ton of bricks.

Ellie sits down on the booth next to them. She thinks. They could just leave. Steal a ship to get them the hell out of dodge. Find a doctor on a nearby settlement and get Dick the help he needs. He’s sick and without treatment there is a high chance he’ll die before all this is over.

But.

If they leave now, could this thing spread past the station? Could it attack nearby ships and if it hits Earth? Ellie shudders to think about it. The way Tiedemann was responding didn’t make sense to her either, so she can’t say she trusts him to do anything.

Ellie wants to leave, but can they?

She doesn’t know what to do.

But Dick might.

So with determination Ellie sets a course for medical.

She hopes she’s doing the right thing. She hopes this isn’t a mistake.

There’s not much left to hope for.

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

A False Sense of Security

Deep Space

1500 Hours

1190 Miles from Titan

"Anything on board?" Batman asks.

"No nothing." Megan responds after mentally searching another drifting vessel.

If things were tense amongst the Team before, its nothing compared to the thick swell of emotions that radiates from everyone now. Megan can feel it clogging her throat. Threatening to drag her into its depths. Anger. Frustration. Helplessness. Fear. Terror. Dread. Scared. They're all so, so scared. Her fingernails dig into the palms of her hands in clenched fists. The pulse of a headache sounding loudly in her ears. She presses her lips into a tight line to keep from shouting from crying against the migraine forming.

The time in which everyone expected to arrive at Titan has doubled, if not tripled.

Another ship flies past them. Another of several ships they’ve encountered in the past three hours or so. All fleeing. The people inside, if there were any at all, always barely able to explain what’s happened or what they’ve seen when the older heroes attempt to communicate, despite their best efforts. There is only one common factor in each of their broken stories.

Titan, The Sprawl Station, was attacked.

“By what?” Batman coolly asks.

“We don’t know, but they came from the vents.” One ship responds in panicked whispers. "You have to stay away from the vents."

“Are they alien?” Superman calmly suggests.

“No,” Another ship sobs on the comms. “It was my mother. And…and I recognize some of my neighbors. My co-workers.”

“Who is leading the evacuation?” Wonder Woman questions with authority.

“No one ma’am. I ran for the nearest ship after rest of my team were…were...We were overwhelmed...I couldn’t…I couldn’t…” A lone man in a military vessel begins to weep.

There are some ships that drift by quietly. No one responding to the hails Batman sends out. The windows are dark and there are damaged areas to each ship that are eerily similar to the state Robin’s message arrived in. There may not be anyone inside, but the echo's of who were ring inside her head. A feeling she can't describe over coming her whenever she searches. No one is alive inside, but they aren't empty.

Ghost ships.

Superman must hear something in one of those ships because he immediately destroys the craft without hesitation. Tearing off the airlock door and entering. Batman instructs her to leave it alone. She obeys, no questions. When the man leaves, suit covered in something brownish red, his eyes are wide and haunted. A private message is sent between the big three. The Kryptonian looks sick. Wonder Woman opens the back of her jet to allow him to rest. Batman doesn’t say anything.

Megan is too scared to look into their minds. Too scared to ask what was in there.

They all are.

Batman’s face comes up on the comms, as stoic as ever. “Based on the testimonies we’ve heard, it’s safe to assume Titan Station has been compromised by the same creatures that attacked the Ishimura.”

"Something we wouldn't have known about without Robin's message." Wonder Woman says.

“And something the League wouldn’t have found out about for some time without it.” Kaldur notes. “Coincident?”

“No.” Batman shakes his head. “The attacks are too close together. Barely six months have passed since the start, and supposed end, of the first attack. And it’s started again on The Sprawl, the same station that is currently housing the recovered Ishimura.”

“Then The Artifact had to have been found by the recovery team. Could be it's still on the ship. How else would this be happening again? If Robin’s right, then all this points to that damn thing being on the station.” Roy says.

“But then why is it only starting now?” Wonder Woman’s asks through the comms. “The testimonies all say this attack only began about two days ago. Something isn’t adding up. If it only took hours for this Marker to overtake the Colony on Aegis VII and the Ishimura, why is it only now attacking the station after three months of being there.”

“Maybe because The Sprawl is much bigger than the ship and colony?” Megan weakly suggests. “More people?”

“Unlikely.” Batman says. “This is too convenient. This is planned. More than likely a trap to get the League out here. Gaining information and rescue was already a part of the mission. That hasn’t changed, but the threat level has. We need to be ready.”

The fact that these creatures have made it to a new colony in an entirely different part of the galaxy is frightening. How much longer until it reaches a planet with something bigger than a colony? A station? How quickly would that planet be brought to its knees?

How many have fallen already?

Aegis VII has already been destroyed. A husk of a planet now floating within it's own created asteroid field. Was that caused by the Marker and the creatures it creates or something unrelated?

The Team's thoughts are spiraling. Megan doesn’t need to be a mind reader to feel this. Plus, despite the new revelations, there is still no sign that Robin is still alive. The Martian wrings her hands together. This is so much bigger than they imagined. This is no longer a simple search and rescue. A simple enemy to best in an isolated location. No. If they fail it could lead to more planetary genocide. This isn't a battle, it's a full scale galactic war.

“Alright, listen up.” Batman’s gruff voice catches everyone’s attention once more. The debriefing begins.

Out of all of them Miss Martian is the most susceptible to possible mind control or manipulation due to her abilities. While her telepathy will be needed to pinpoint the location of survivors, and possibly Robin but that was left unsaid, all communications would be left to the comms. She is not to enter into anyone’s mind under any circumstance. She will not endanger herself with a possible contamination.

Megan has a special protective helm, made especially for Martians, given to her by her uncle to stand against the radiation The Marker is sending out. There is no guarantee it will work, but its better than nothing. If she is feeling anything off at all she will be forced to fall back with Wonder Woman to one of the farther moons near Jupiter and await further orders.

“This is not up for debate.” Batman growls. “If I feel you are a threat, you are to back away immediately. Am I understood?”

Conner bristles at the tone the man takes with her but says nothing. Megan doesn’t like the idea of being put off the mission, but she can’t risk her powers getting out of control again and potentially hurting the Team or civilians.

She nods.

“Good. Now we will not engage when we first arrive.” The Dark Knight continues. “First, we will assess the situation from afar and try to make contact with the station. If contact cannot be made Superman, Superboy, Red Arrow and myself will be the first wave to go in. The goal is to find the source of the attack, and work on evacuation and rescue for any remaining citizens we find.”

“If a great number of citizens are found, how are we to house them? We don’t have much in the way of room to hold refugees on any of our ships.” Kaldur speaks up.

“Plus, Robin said can people become hostile or suicidal after prolog exposure to the Artifact.” Wally adds. "How are we going to contain them for their safety and ourselves?"

Both are good points; Megan has to agree. While reasonably spacious, her ship may not be able to handle a large number of people. Especially all at one time. Her med bay is small and the ship doesn't have holding cells or restraints.

“While we are on the ground, Wonder Woman has the task of locating rescue vessels near the government sector for us to use. We will connect the Martian ship to the airlocks and use that to hold and treat anyone we find. Aqualad, Artemis and Kid Flash, the three of you will be in charge of first aid and restraint if needed.”

Megan sees Wally grit his teeth at the idea of being left on the ship, but he doesn’t argue. She places a hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer comfort.

“Don’t worry.” Wonder Woman says reassuringly. “I will be on board with you during all of this. You will not be expected to do this alone.” The three young heroes find some of the tension in their shoulders relax.

“The Green Lantern Core has been notified as well and are sending reinforcements and resources to assist in the evacuation and containment of the threat. They won't be arriving too much longer after we do. We will just have to make due until they get here. Until then no unnecessary risks. You are all to stay in the air and await any orders from Superman or myself. Are we clear?”

“Yes Sir.” The Team responds in unison. Megan is not completely reassured but the fact that they will have back up right behind them does make the task seem much more bearable.

Batman ends the call, leaving the teenagers alone with their thoughts on the plan and what horrors are sure to come. Nothing in the debrief was said about what they are to do if they found Robin, alive or dead. Do they treat him like another civilian survivor or allow him to help with the mission? Would he still even be able to help? Does he get priority if they locate him?

“So when we find him, do we like just leave as soon as the Green Lanterns arrive or?” Wally shifts on his feet.

“I imagine we’ll be expected to remain until the situation is back under control.” Kaldur says. “Or at least until we’ve secured every civilian trapped on the station that we can.”

"Shit, you think the station will be salvable? Roy asks. "I mean, what if Aegis VII is gone because that's what Rob had to do to stop the attack."

"Didn't work to well." Megan hears Conner mutter under his breath.

“But, I mean, he looked really bad in that message he sent. And that was six months ago!” The speedster is rubbing his arms together like he’s cold. “Shouldn’t we try and get him back home as soon as possible?”

“You trying to get out of doing the mission? I thought you wanted to come.” Artemis scolds. “A little late to back out now don’t you think?”

Wally glares at her and starts to pace. “No! I’m here for Robin, and…and anyone else who needs help. Of course! But you can’t tell me the closer we get to The Sprawl, closer to whatever those things that attacked Robin, that you aren’t the least bit nervous? Cause I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda freaking out.”

Artemis doesn’t respond but her eyes are sent to the floor. She chews her bottom lip.

“Alright, enough.” Roy groans from his seat. “Look just stick with the plan. Yeah? Improvise when you need to. Get the job done, find Robin, save the day. Just another typical mission.”

While he acts cool and collected, Megan can hear the rapid thoughts running through the red archer’s head. All of their heads really. It’s all she could do not to slump into her seat and put her head in her hands.

"Dude, this is hardly a typical mission."

Kaldur steps forward. His calming presence, despite his own anxieties, is enough to quiet the loud thoughts around her. Everyone waits attentively for what he has to say. “I can not say anything that will make what we are about to do better, less intimidating. But this is what we do. We fight for those who need us to. That’s the whole reason we became heroes is it not?” The Atlantean breaths. “And Robin needs us. At our very best. He needs us to carry out this mission. To finish it and stop this invasion from spreading further. Weather we find our friend on this station or not, the fact remains, Robin is counting on us. And I for one, don’t plan on letting him down.”

The ship is quiet. Thoughts no longer screaming in fear, but now a low murmur of determination and thoughtfulness.

“For Robin.” Wally announces.

“For Robin.” They all parrot back.

Megan goes back to the ship’s controls. They’re scared, it’s not something that is going to change, but they’re as ready as they can be for the long days ahead.

‘We’re coming Robin. Almost there.’

Ahead, Jupiter grows steadily closer.

Ahead they can all see Titan and The Sprawl in the distance.

.

………….

There is talking somewhere around him.

… …… …….. …. ….

Muffled.

…. ….. ….. … ….

Fuzzy.

He can’t make out the words, but the tone of voice sounds familiar.

Familiar and safe.

Safe, something he never thought he’d experience again. Dick’s nerves are fried. To the point of being numb to everything around him, but this voice. This voice that demands attention but only so it can tell, reassure, you that there is a plan in place to make it all better again. A voice he’s heard over a radio and by his bed side for the past six years. Dick feels warm. Dick feels safe.

Batman.

Bruce.

Dad.

Dick climbs his way to consciousness. Struggling to open his eyes and turn his head to find the source of where the familiar voice is coming from. Blearily, eyes still foggy, he wakes up inside of a tram. It’s dark, and quiet except for a radio laying on the controls on the other side of the car. Outside the windows he sees he's parked in the middle of nowhere; hidden in between two buildings but far enough away that nothing could climb on or in. Dick doesn’t bother trying to piece together how he got here, or why. There is only one thing on his mind. One goal.

Get to the radio.

Dick moves to get up. He is only moderately successful, rolling off the plush seat and onto the hard metal flooring. He can’t stand. Each attempt has his vision cutting to black and his lungs seizing. His legs hold no strength, his one good arm threatens to collapse with each move. His ears ring and his chest is tight, but he is making it to that radio damn it all. Dick pulls himself across the ground. One inch at a time. Movement is agony but pain is pushed to the back of his mind in the pursuit of his mission.

Get to the radio.

The closer he gets the clearer the words coming from the device become. Words are swimming in and out of focus, but the message is clear enough to understand. The intent is clear enough to understand.

“This is Batman…Justice League…to help…are safe, stay put and…if you are…respond…ask that you do so…we can locate and evacuate you safely…team of heroes will be landing…we are here to help.”

Somewhere in his mind Dick wonders what happened to Stross, to Ellie; but the relief at hearing his dad’s voice again completely overshadows everything else.

They are here. They came for him. They didn’t abandon him. They didn’t forget. They came and he didn’t have to do this alone anymore. He doesn’t have to be the hero any longer. It doesn’t matter that he’s changed so thoroughly from the person he used to be. Doesn’t matter that he’s killed people. Doesn’t matter that he’s let people die to save his own skin. He's damaged. He's broken. And in that moment, none of it matters. Because they came. He can be saved.

And he can go home.

Dick collapses against the bottom of the control panel and has to use it to sit up on the floor. He reaches up with his hand and feels for the radio. His shoulder burn. His waist pulls taunt. A whine of frustration escapes his lips when his fingers just brush against the device. After what feels like hours, his arm shaking from the effort, Dick finally managed to knock the radio to the floor. He falls after it. Cradling the device in his trembling grip like it is something precious, Dick presses the respond button.

“Hel..lo.” His voice is quiet, shaky, on the verge of tears if he’s being honest. The callousness of it renders it almost unrecognizable to him. It feels as though sandpaper has been rubbing his throat raw for hours.

The response is immediate. “Hello, lad. My name is Batman.” The vigilante’s voice is noticeably gentler, more patient. He doesn’t know it’s Dick on the other side of the line, only that he’s speaking with someone young and scared. A side of Batman that is rarely seen when dealing with the Gotham underbelly. The side of Batman that gives hope rather than fear.

It reminds Dick of the first time he met the Dark Knight. Such a dark figure contrasting greatly amongst the bright and colorful lights of the circus tent. Dark and scary, but kind and compassionate none the less. The teen stifles a hiccup.

“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.” Batman continues. “Some other heroes and myself are coming to get you to safety. Can you tell me where you are? Are you safe?”

Dick can’t hold back the sob that was stuck in his throat any longer. He cries so heavily he can’t answer any of his dad’s questions. The only words that escapes his hiccups are apologies.

“Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. Don’t be sorry. Deep breaths. It’s going to be okay lad. You’re going to be okay. Are you injured? Is there someone else with you? Deep breaths.” The constant stream of reassurances and instructions on how to breath eventually help Dick find his voice. He responds.

“B…broken wing.”

There is a moment of silence. The code word shared between the two of them for only the most dire of emergencies had only ever been used once. A time that Dick would rather not remember. Now seems like a perfect time to use it again. That, and Dick isn’t sure how to put everything that’s happened, his experience, his feelings, his regrets into words. It simultaneously says too much and not nearly enough.

“Broken wing.” He repeats louder, more desperately into the radio. Dick is almost scared he imagined the conversation. Scared the Marker is playing with him again. Dangling the idea of escape, of rescue, in front of his face and snatching it away once more.

Then a cautiously hopeful question cuts through the quiet.

“Dick?”

The floodgates are blown open again, and 'wow didn’t realize you had that many tears left in ya’. Through the tears Dick manages a weak. “Hi dad.” There is a flurry of motion on the other side of the comms. He can hear people yelling questions through the speakers. Queries on his well-being, on the situation. People, friends, he recognizes just like before, but Dick can only focus on what his dad is saying. Batman tells them all to shut up.

“Hi chum.” And the man’s voice sounds close to bursting into tears just like he is. A miracle that Dick was able to bring the emotionless Bat to tears. He laughs, though it’s much closer to a sob.

Dick gives his dad his last known position and the tram number he’s currently stuck in. It’s not an exact location but it’s the best he can offer with his spotty memory and thick tongue. “Dad? Can you come pick me up? Please. I wanna go home.”

The Dark Knight assures his boy that he's on his way. “We’re coming, son. Just hang tight.”

Dick nods and wipes at his abused nose and sore eyes. “I missed you.”

“You’re going to be okay. We’re coming.”

Batman stays on the radio with him as they search. He doesn’t ask questions; doesn’t demand explanations. He just talks. Tells him of the tedious meetings at work. The boring Galas that Dick has missed. How Barbara asks after him often. That Alfred has missed him. How the Team has been doing. And Dick, Dick listens as closely as he can. Absorbing, clinging to every word like a dying man finding water in the desert. It's a balm to every hurt he's suffered.

His vision occasionally cuts to black, and he finds it hard to focus on the words sometimes. He feels sick; really, really sick. HIs head spins. Chest aches. Arm dead on his shoulder. Dick had to have said something because Bruce reassures him again. “We’re almost their chum. Just a few more minutes.”

“All…most..” He parrots back.

Dick must have lost consciousness at some point because the tram isn’t in the same location it was in when he first woke up. The walls are closer and moving. Or, rather, he’s moving. The tram comes to a harsh stop and Dick slumps further down to the floor. His cheek presses to the cold ground. It feels nice against his burning skin. Dick wearily notes that his suit is gone. Leaving him in only the hospital clothing he started this nightmare in. He looks up.

There are figures at the door.

“No no no no no no!”

Dick gasps and scrambles back looking wildly for his cutter. Survival instincts screaming he find something, anything to defend himself with. He’s too close. He’s too close to getting out of here, too close to seeing his dad and everyone again. He is not dying here.

"Fuck!" He doesn’t even have the scalpel on him. “It’s gone! It’s gone!”

There is nothing. He’s defenseless.

The doors open and a large, shapeless creature steps inside, moving right towards him. Dick tries to crawl away sucking in panicked breathes, his heart pounding in his ears. The only cooperating limb is threatening to collapse under him. He claws himself into the corner of the tram, taking cover under the control panel. The figure follows after him, slow but persistent. Dick has never felt more like a cornered animal than in this moment. It’s not fair. He’s so close to freedom. It kneels and the teen lunges with an animalistic scream.

Dick tackles the figure to the ground where they both land in a heap. The figure grunts under him but he doesn’t hesitate to attack. Unfortunately none of his limbs get the memo. Using up the last of his strength Dick tries to pin its arms and go for the neck with his teeth. He knows he messed up when instead of pinning the necro, it wraps its arms around him instead. Dick closes his eyes and waits for the end with a helpless sob.

He's rocking.

Back and forth, back and forth. There’s a hand in his hair, stroking the black greasy strands and messaging his scalp. The figures at the door haven’t moved. He hears his name being chanted in desperate whispered prayers. “Dick. Dick. Dick. Oh my boy. My boy.”

It isn’t a necro who's found him.

It's Bruce.

Dad.

For a moment everything is still.

Then Dick wails.

He buries his face into the man’s neck and howls for all he’s worth. His cries are constantly interrupted by wet coughs. A painful constricting in his lungs that makes his breathing hitch. Dick wraps the only working arm his has around the body armor that makes up the Batsuit. The other presses hard against his own body. Batman, Bruce hugs him back with just as much force as he can. Careful, oh so careful, of whatever injuries Dick may have. He never stops rocking.

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m right here.”

The figures at the door shift. Obviously wanting to approach but not sure if they would be allowed. Dick can finally focus on who he’s staring at. Superman, Wonder Woman, Roy, The Team. They’re all here. In their brightly colored uniforms that stand out in the dimly lit station. All of them stare at him with open expressions of love and relief. Conner waves awkwardly.

Perhaps its childish and pathetic, but Dick is so beyond caring at the moment. His family is here, and he wants them closer. He tries to tell them so. Needs to tell them. The words are lost in his throat and in his frustration, he whines, high and reedy. With great reluctance Dick lets go of the death grip he has on his dad and weakly reaches out to the others standing just out of reach.

That is all the incentive needed.

Wally and Roy are the first to join the hug. Bruce grunts when the speedster impacts his side but makes room for the boys to get closer. Wally hasn’t stopped crying since he first caught sight of his little brother. Roy is only slightly better. Lips pressed into a thin line to keep his chin from wobbling. Artemis, Megan and Kaldur come in close behind and add to the group hug, tears running down their faces freely. Conner, Clark and Daina surround the group, keeping watch over their surroundings. Though Conner does place a hand on Dick’s shoulder and squeezes lightly and Aunt Diana brushes his hair out of his face.

Everyone is talking at once. Telling him stories of their journey. Exclaiming their worry for him. Wally and Roy in particular are very loud in his ears.

The weight of everyone pressing into him is overwhelming. Dick feels as though his skin is on fire, and not just because of the fever. He's burning, and it is everything he ever wanted. Better than he imagined. He simultaneously wants to push them all away to breathe and pull them even closer so he never has to be without this pressure again. Dick trembles in their arms and does his best to somehow be in contact with everyone all at once. He’s scared that if a single one of them leaves the hug he might just shatter with the loss.

‘What are you doing? The mission isn’t finished.’ The voice of himself startles Dick so badly Bruce has to reassure him that everything’s okay. The others parrot the words and add their own soothing touches. No ones heard the other over. In the corner Dick can see the doppelganger standing there. Watching in disappointment. Or resentment. It’s hard to say. ‘Why are you acting like its over?’ It growls. ‘Your mission isn’t finished. Move, before it’s too late.’

Dick tries to talk. His words coming out in gasps as he tries to regain control of his breathing. It's...He's right. There isn't any time to waste. People are dying and the Marker will only continue if it isn't delt with. Until then, they're all still in danger. Despite how much he doesn’t want to, Dick tries to push everyone back. Except for Bruce, he’d probably end up back on the floor if he wasn’t there to hold him up. “The…Marker…There’s a second…the Government Sector.”

“Shh.” Bruce interrupts him. “It’s okay. Just breathe.”

“No. nonono. You don’t…its.” Dick tries to insist. But Bruce just shushes him again. Dick is tempted to place a hand over the man’s mouth just so he could finish. It’s infuriating that he can’t make his report.

“We already know about The Marker, kiddo.” Uncle Clark speaks up.

Dick stops. “You…do? How…?”

“We got the message you sent from the Ishimura. Though it came to us late. I’m so sorry that it took us so long to come get you, little one.” Aunt Daina says.

“My message?” He repeats.

“The Marker is being taken care of as we speak. The rest of the League are here assisting in rescue and evacuations. The threat is being delt with. It’s not something you need to worry about. Alright? You did good, chum. We’ll take it from here.”

The rush of adrenalin drains from his system so fast Dick is convinced he passes out for a moment. It leaves him even more exhausted than before. He slumps against his father’s armored chest in relief. In the corner of his eye Dick sees his other glare behind the mask. He doesn’t care. His job is done. Let the more experienced and superpowered heroes deal with the alien threat. Let the adults save the galaxy this time because, quite frankly, he’s done enough. More even, than should have been asked of him to do alone anyways. He stopped the first Marker alone, the second will be cake walk for the League.

'You really going to throw your responsibilities onto them? What happened to being a hero? What happened to saving others no matter the cost?' Dick doesn't respond.

The hug disbands and Bruce picks him up as easily as if he were eight again. Dick snuggles closer into the strong arms and pulls the black cape around his shoulders content. He listens to the excited ramblings of Wally and Roy. The soft questions after his wellbeing from Megan and Kaldur. The silent but strong presence of Artemis and Conner. While uncle Clark and aunt Diana keep a tight perimeter around all of them.

The complete safety of the moment has Dick’s eyes drooping.

He’s going home.

“LOOK OUT!”

Dick jerks back to awareness when Bruce is violently pushed into a nearby wall. For a moment he’s convinced they’ve run into a horde of Necros. His eyes scan the dimly lit corridor they’re in, wildly looking for the threat. There are no enemies in sight. Only the friends and family who came to save him. The metal surface of the wall just inches from his head is punched through with a horrid CRUNCH.

No one moves, giving Dick enough time to grasp what just happened. Kaldur, Roy, Megan, Conner, Artemis and Aunt Diana all stare in various states of surprise and horror. Wally and Uncle Clark are both the closest to him and Bruce.

He sees Wally staring at him with wide eyes. His green irises are overtaking the pupils in his terror. His outstretched arms are a key indicator that he was the one to push the Dark Knight. Dick has a moment to be impressed that Wally would have the guts to even lay a finger on the Bat before the rest of the scene comes into focus.

There is another arm in the forefront of his vision. Dividing the boys in its space. One connected to the fist that is still stuck in the newly punched hole in the wall too close to his face. One connected to the Man of Steel.

It might have been the all-consuming fatigue that has been plaguing him for the last few days, but it seems to Dick that Superman had just tried to cave in his skull before Wally intervened. Dick lets out a strangled giggle. “Wow. That was close.”

No one else laughs.

No one is breathing.

The man in question is remarkably calm for almost killing his pseudo nephew. There is a red glow in his normally sky-blue eyes, and Dick thinks he’s about to use his heat vision before the man turns to glare at him and…

Oh…

That isn’t heat vision…

“Run.” Dick breathes out. Dread rendering him unable to make his voice climb any higher.

“Wha…!”

Wally is gone.

Before anyone can move Superman has redhead by the hair. His words being cut off with a startled gasp. No one is able to move before the Kryptonian slams the boy’s face into the wall. Quick, efficient, no hesitation. The sound of flesh meeting metal is…wet.

SMACK

SMACK

SMACK

Once

Twice

Again

Again

Again

Again

Again

It all happens faster than Dick’s eyes could see. A blur of red and yellow and blue in motion. In a blink of an eye Wally is standing there. The next, the wall is splattered with red.
Dick can feel warm blood run down his face. It’s not his.

Superman stops.

Wally hangs limp in the man’s hold.

His face is no longer visible beneath the gore.

Dick stares. “Wally?”

Artemis and Megan scream.

Everyone is yelling.

Batman retreats.

Conner moves in with a cry of rage. His fist hits Superman in the face causing the man to stumble back and drop the body in his hand. The corpse lands with a THUD. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

Batman quickly moves to Roy who is still stood frozen in place, staring at the remains of one of his best friends. Artemis is trying to move to the body as Kaldur holds her back. The two supers battle above the corpse, making retrieving him impossible without being caught in the crossfire.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!” Connor bellows. The feral teen goes for another hit. His throws wild. Superman dodges and counterattacks. A punch in the gut. Conner vomits. With his other hand the man grabs the back of Conner’s head and plants it into the ground. Not unlike what he did to the speedster. The metal plating cracks from the impact and Conner lays groaning in the growing pool of Wally's blood. Superman lifts his foot, ready to crush the boy’s spine with his heel.

Wonder Woman charges in to intervene. The Amazonian grabs the man’s leg and throws him to the ground away from Conner. She gets on top of him and wraps the Lasso of Truth around his wrists and neck, locking his hands together near his head. They both roll around on the floor attempting to over take the other. Kaldur runs over to help Conner up while Artemis and Megan grab for Wally.

Artemis hasn't stopped screaming.

Dick can't move.

Batman grabs a frozen Roy by the collar forcing the teen to look away from the carnage. “Red Arrow! Take Robin and run back to the ship! Now! The rest of you, follow and don’t look back! Move! NOW!”

He should be fighting. Struggling. Pleading not to be separated again. He should beg Batman…beg dad to flee with them. They all need to get the hell off this station. Dick does none of these things as he is passed into the older teen’s arms. He only watches in numbed shock as Uncle Clark struggles in Aunt Diana’s grip.

It's happened so fast. The Marker claimed the Man of Steel in minutes. There was no build up. No warnings. He was gone before any of them realized what happened. Taken without hesitation. The Artifact recognized the strongest of them and acted without remorse.

Batman is running to assist, reaching for a specific pocket in his belt.

Connor is slowly picking himself off the ground, wiping the blood away from his nose. Kaldur at his shoulder encouraging him to move. Artemis is cradling Wally's body, trying to get him to respond to her as Megan levitates him away. He remains limp.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Diana screams. “WHAT…!? WHY?! THAT WAS BERRY'S BOY Clark! WH-“ She never finishes her sentence.

A twin set of lasers hits her square in the face. Wonder Woman cries and recoils as her eyes boil in her head. Her grip on the lasso loosens enough for Superman to throw the woman off of him. She hits the far wall and slides down. She paws at her eyes in agony.

The Man of Steel zeros in on the Dark Knight. Particularly what the Dark Knight is digging out of his utility belt. Superman catches Batman’s arm at the elbow just as the green rock comes into view. With a flick of his wrist Dick hears the bones snap.

“no.”

Batman roars in pain gripping his destroyed limb. His elbow bent backwards. Bone busted through skin and armor. He rears back doing what he can to act on defense against the Kryptonian. Wonder Woman is rushing from behind, blinded but no less determined. Conner is on his knees now getting to his feet, pushing Kaldur aside to get back into the fight despite the older boy's protests.

They’re not fast enough.

“no.”

Superman turns to meet Wonder Woman. His hand sinks into her mouth, bust her teeth in and stopping her screams with a choke. He shoves his second hand in with the other and, with a pull, rips her jaw in two. The top of her head flies out of sight and the rest of the Amazonian collapses in a heap on the floor. Tongue rolling loosely over the top of her exposed bottom jaw.

Megan drops Wally's body in horror.

“No.”

Superman punches Kaldur in the face. His nose breaks on impact. The force of it throws him through a nearby door. With Conner off balance the Man of Steel sends him back onto the floor and raises his foot again. He stomps down. Three times in rapid session. Multiple snaps in the teen's spine are audible. Conner weakly chokes on blood and twitches. Superman pulls his boot from the new hole in Conner’s back.

Artemis abandons all pretenses and flees from the fight.

“No!”

Superman rounds on Batman. The Dark Knight stands tall and still. “Kids,” He says through grit teeth. “Go.” As quickly as he can manage with a broken arm and human, Batman reaches for his belt again. The Kryptonite always the second pocket on the left.

He never makes it.

“NOOOOO!”

Dick screams animalistically as he watches Superman grabs the Dark Knight's arm and tears the limb from it's socket. He grabs the other arm and does the same. With both limbs gone, Batman as no defense against his best friend as the Kryptonian takes hold of his cape an lifts him into the air and hurls him towards the ground. The force of impact was enough to cause his very human body to explode in a shower of blood, viscera, organs.

In seconds, Dick has lost two of his best friends, his aunt, and his father.

In seconds, Dick's family has been cut in half.

‘This is your fault. You know that right?’

He’s moving. Bouncing up and down in time with each of Roy’s steps. Dick stares at the older teen. Roy is crying, repeating a mantra of reassurances even as he sprints down the hall for his life. “We’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.” His arms are constricting against the smaller boy’s body.

Dick doesn’t feel any of it.

He doesn’t feel anything at all really.

None of this feels real.

‘All you had to do was finish the mission.’

Far ahead of them, Artemis is sprinting. Her long blonde hair flying behind her. Bow ready, arrow nocked. She keeps glancing behind them. Fighting can be heard from further back. Megan and Kaldur are doing their best to hold of the older, more powerful supe while their more venerable team members make a break for it. After all, what are three human teenagers going to do against a god.

‘But, no.’

Dick knew it was over when he heard Megan scream and Kaldur yell for them to keep going before his voice was cut off with a gargle. He can’t bring himself to look back. Artemis is a blubbering mess of tears and snot. Her hair is clinging to the wet spots on her face. She aims her bow back and fires one of her arrows. It flies over Roy’s shoulder.

‘Let’s hand it off to the more ‘experienced’ heroes.’

The arrow comes back. Flying at a greater speed than before. The projectile lodges itself in the center of Artemis’ throat. All the way to the feathers at the end. She gasps, and chokes past the arrow in her airway. The archer tries to grab at the arrow and collapses to the ground. Her eyes are wild and she tries to grab at Roy's boot as he runs past, pleading for help. Roy jumps over her body and continues to run. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” His apologies are loud in Dick’s ears. He can almost block out the other him’s voice as it speaks.

‘Well. Look where that got you.’

They only just make it into the next room before a flash of red cuts through the darkness. Roy screams and, just like everyone else before, collapses. Dick falls from the teens arms and rolls. His momentum sending him across the room where he stops on his stomach. The world is still spinning.

‘Everyone is dead Dicky boy.’

Dick pushes himself up on his arm. Roy is still screaming, it’s not hard to see why. His legs are several feet away from the rest of him. Wounds cauterized and still smoking from the temperature. The smell of cooked meat makes Dick vomit. Superman steps into the room eyes still glowing from the use of his heat vision.

Slow.

Methodical.

‘It’s impressive really.’

Dick is sits frozen on the floor as he watches Roy try to crawl away. The teen doesn’t make it far before the older hero places his foot on the top of his head. Roy is sob in full now, but he’s doing a valiant effort not to let himself be heard. He looks at Dick, and Dick isn't sure if what he sees in his expression is regret, betrayal or hatred. He just knows it's directed at him.

‘How you’ve managed to kill your entire family twice by not doing anything at all.’

Superman doesn’t say a word as he crushes the teens head under his shiny red boot. Dick sits there numb as he watches Roy stop struggling. He can’t draw a breath. There’s a weight in his stomach. He’s sure it’s his heart. Defeated doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling swallowing him whole. Despair feels closer. Complete and utter despair. For a second time in his known memory Dick well and truly wants to die.

Superman.

Uncle Clark turns his attention towards him.

‘You got what you wanted Dick. Your wish granted. Your family came to take over your responsibilities.’

Dick didn’t bother trying to get up. Can’t muster up the will to try and survive anymore. He watches as the man marches up to him.

“’m sorry.” Dick says to him. To them. “’m so sorry.”

He doesn’t look up from the floor when the boots stop in his field of vision. A hand rests itself gently on the crown on his head. Fingers light at first, like a caress, but the pressure is building. Dick can’t see past the tears in his eyes. Doesn’t acknowledge the pain as his head is slowly crushed inward. He can only continue his apologizes. Like that would somehow make this better. Like that would some how absolve him of all his sins.

‘Here’s the consequence for being lazy. Here's the consequences for being selfish. Here's the consequences for being a coward.’

“’m so sorry.”

‘Hope it was worth it.’

Dick chokes on the air in his throat. He tries to sit up, faltering when the pain in his chest, back and head reach a crescendo. The movement and panic send the boy into a coughing fix. He can't draw in a breath. The pressure in his head is almost enough to convince him Superman is still squeezing the life from him. There are hands on him and Dick flinches back. He smacks them away without effect as the hands only persist in turning him onto his side.

Breathing is easier. The world stops spinning, if only just, and the pain is not as sharp in his chest. Infront of him Dick sees the inside of a tram swim into focus. The same tram as before. There is a voice talking to him, but unlike the last time it’s not the one he’s so badly wanting to hear.

Stross is muttering reassuring things to him as he pets his hair a little too hard. “All good. All good.” He says. “No need to worry. Just a bad dream is all. Curt gets those sometimes too. Just take a deep breath and let it all out. It’s not real. It can’t hurt you.”

Dick wants to cry. To rage and scream. He does none of these things. Instead he lays limp on the bench, exhausted. Only half paying attention to what Stross is now rambling about, Dick thinks about the…dream.

But.

It wasn’t just a dream, was it. Dick knows, without a single doubt in his mind, the reality of that very scenario. And good god if that’s what having prophetic visions is like then he’ll pass, thank you very much Apollo. He can still feel the phantom pain of Superman crushing his skull.

If the League comes to investigate what happened to him and the Ishimura and it leads them to the Sprawl. The Marker will not hesitate. All that power, ripe for the taking. If they’re affected by the Markers influence, there is no telling the damage they could do to themselves, each other and everyone else. Having them on it's side will accelerate it's plans of convergence.

If Dick thought the time frame for him to stop this, fix his mess, was already short; well it just got shorter. The League could already be on their way. Either because of his message or because news of what happened to the Ishimura has already made it to Earth. Doesn’t matter the how, but if they know they’ll come.

Dick has to make sure the Artifact is gone before they arrive. He needs to get Stross to the Government Sector, needs to have him explain how to destroy the Marker, then do it. And damn anyone who gets in his way. Tiedemann and his army can go fuck themselves.

“And when Ellie gets back from the hospital, we’ll get you all fixed up again. Although I don’t think we can do anything about your arm right now. But that’s okay. Once you’re good to go then we can go find my Curt, and I just know you two will get on like fire on a house, I bet you'll make such a good big brother.” Stross is still rambling. “You can teach him all those fun games, and introduce him to your little friend B. Then we can go looking for your family next, I know you miss your mom but I’m sure she’s fine. I bet she's a tough one like her little boy I’m sure. Probably worried sick about you. Maybe Ellie still has some people she’s looking for too. We’ll have to help her find them too with how much she’s done for us.”

Stross is still going but Dick stops listening, feeling his throat tighten in grief.

“Stross,” He whispers, hoping to get the man’s attention but at the same time not wanting to be the one who has to tell the older man the truth. Stross doesn’t hear him. “Stoss.” Dick says louder this time. The man continues in his ramblings. “STROSS!”

“Yes, Little Bird? I’m sorry, was there something you wanted to add.”

His tongue feels swollen in his mouth. He tries to tell himself it’s the dehydration. “They're gone, Nolan.” Dick doesn’t look at him. He stares ahead like a coward.

“Who’s gone?”

“Curt. Your baby. Your wife. They’re gone.”

The tram is quiet. Dick could hear a pin drop from outside if he wanted to. Neither of them breathes, and Dick decides he’s let the man live in his dreams long enough. He needs Stross to wake up now. He needs his help. There is too much at stake. Stross is muttering again. Dick can’t hear what he’s saying but is sounds like denials. His resolve hardens. The longer Stross stays in this delusion the more control over him the Marker has. He can’t lose the man to this.

“You were on an investigation mission to uncover what happened on Aegis VII.” Dick repeats the report Daina hand given him earlier in an attempt to convince the teen to leave the man behind. It didn’t quite turn out the way she wanted it to. “Somehow,” He continues. “You and your team came into contact with the Marker, or a piece of it, and when you returned to your ship it followed you. Your ship was attacked, and in the attack, you killed your wife and so-”

Dick’s vision explodes in a flash of white.

For a long few moments Dick can’t see, but he can feel the hard floor against his face, a hand pulling his hair. A knee pressed into his neck.

It hurts.

Every part of him screams in agony and he can’t figure out why.

Then his vision clears.

Stross is on top of him. Holding Dick's face against the cold metal of the floor. His one working arm is pined painfully underneath him, and Stross has his hand tangled in Dick’s hair. He yanks the strands earning a choked whimper from the boy under him. The man's eyes are wild. Unhinged doesn’t seem like the appropriate definition. His face is carefully blank in contrast.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Stross hisses. “I don’t want to remember. You can’t make me! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”

Spit flies as Stross screams and hollers. He shakes his fist pulling Dick’s head with it. Yanking it from side to side and Dick has a moment to wonder if the man will break his neck. His sharp knee digs into the teen's windpipe. Dick thinks he might be bleeding again. And it hurts.

It hurts!

It hurts!

For the first time since meeting the man, Dick is well and truly terrified of him.

“Okay!” Dick sobs. “Okay, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! You don’t have to remember if you don’t want to! I won’t make you do anything! Please stop!”

The shaking stops. Everything is still except for Dick’s heaving breaths as he tries to calm down. To breathe. In any other situation, he wouldn’t have any problem getting the man on top of him off. But this isn’t any other situation. Dick is so tired and sick and weak, and he can barely hold himself up let alone someone else. He’s pinned and trapped and scared and no one is coming to help.

It's just him and Stross.

And Stross is going to kill him.

Dick doesn’t feel when the weight lifts off his throat. He doesn’t feel the hand letting go of his hair. He just lays on the floor and weeps. Hard, uncontrollable sobs wrenching from his throat. Coughs escape with each heave and Dick thinks he might be sick.

“Oh no. Did Little Bird fall out of bed? Oh, this won't do. Shhh, it’s okay. Don’t cry. You're okay.”

Dick can feel Stross go to reach for him again, but he flinches away. He can’t do this right now. He hurts enough. The man persists after him. The hands grab hold of his shoulders none to lightly and force him into a sitting position. Dick can feel his ribs and back protest the movement. Stross places his hands under Dick’s armpits and hauls him back onto the bench. Dick bites his lip to stop himself from passing out from pain as the laceration on his waist is pulled. The older man steps away and towards a familiar backpack and rummages through it humming happily.

Dick watches his every movement. The abrupt switch in personality is enough to jar him out of his destressed state. Now he’s vigilant. Hyperaware of everything the man is doing. To traumatized by what the man is capable of doing if he makes a wrong move. His own voice whispers in his ears.

‘The Marker has its fingers in too deep. It won’t be long now. You should make a plan to take him out soon.’

“I can save him. There’s still time.”

‘Is there? We both know you're not that stupid. Why don’t you just admit it? The only reason you want to save him is to prove to yourself that you can be saved too.’

“No, that’s not…”

“Who are you talking to?”

Dick flinches.

Shit, he got distracted. He didn't notice the man return from his rummaging.

Stross stands over him a bottle of water, a rag and a box bandages in his hands. The bat plush Dick found earlier is tucked under his arm. Stross stares down at him with an over stretched smile. His eyes…his eyes however are as intense as they are empty. No words need to be spoken to relay what’s hidden behind the grin. It’s a message. A warning.

Behave.

Dick doesn’t want to know what the ‘or else’ holds for him should he disobey the unspoken rules being laid out. Especially with how vulnerable he is at the moment. If Stross attacks, Dick isn’t going to win the fight. No matter how much more skilled he is compared to the other man. So, Dick swallows, gives a weak grin in return and plays along.

“No…no one.”

Stross’ smile dims a little. He tilts his head slightly and continues his assessment of the boy. “It’s not nice to lie, Little Bird. What kind of example will you be setting for my Curt if your lying all the time? I know your mother raised you better than that, young man. I won’t let you play with him if you continue this bad habit. Now,” Stross leans down, Dick presses himself back into the bench as the older man closes the distance. “Who are you talking to?”

Dick can’t think. His thoughts run wild, never settling on any one thing long enough for him to come up with an excuse or explanation. What does he do? What’s the rules of the game? What’s the right answer? Is there a right answer? What happened if I chose wrong? 'You die dip shit. That's what.'

His eyes trail to the plush under the man’s arm. “B.” Dick rushes out. “I was talking to B. He was asking if we could play outside. I was telling him we can’t right now. To many strangers out when it’s dark. It’s not safe. Too scary.” Dick performs up the child role. The man may be losing his mind but perhaps by playing to the man’s fatherly instinct he’ll be spared any harsher treatments or scrutinizes.

Stross doesn’t move or say anything for a long time. He stares at the toy, contemplating. Dick isn’t sure what will happen if the man doesn’t believe him, but it doesn’t feel safe telling him about the voices he hears. Dick holds his breath. After the extended silence Stross nods and hums in satisfaction. Dick releases his breath.

“I see. You’re absolutely right. It’s not very safe to go and play right now.” Stross kneels in front of Dick, setting the items in his hands down and grabbing at the boy’s face. “Such a smart boy. It’s good that you can recognize the signs of danger at such a young age.” His bony fingers dig into Dick’s chin and locks his head in place. Dick’s lips thin as he tries not to squirm in discomfort. The man is closely examining his injured nose. He tusks.

“Very good that you can take responsibility for your friends too. Making sure they don’t do anything dangerous. Very good. Oh, yes.” Dick doesn’t move in fear of setting the man off again.

Stross continues singing his praises as he wets the rag and begins to wipe the blood off the boy’s face. “I’m glad you’re such a smart boy. Now we just need to do something about that bad habit of yours. It’s not nice to make up stories and lie to someone about their families you know. It's very rude. Surprising too, given how respectful you usually are. But children are still children. Mistakes come easy to you. I understand.”

The grip on his chin tightens and Dick can’t help but wince. “Still, that’s not something I want my Curt to learn.”

“Now I’m not one for capital punishment. No, hitting a child doesn’t do anything but cause long term trauma for said child. Not to mention it may not get the point across. Only fear and that won’t do. No, that won’t do at all.” The cloth cleaning his face digs painfully into the cut on his nose and tears spring into Dick’s eyes involuntarily. New blood is quickly replacing the old. He says nothing but grips his pant leg tightly.

“And withholding food and basic human necessities is just as bad if not worse for a developing mind. So how bout this.” Stross stops cleaning and slaps a new band-aid onto Dick’s face. There is too much blood for the adhesive to stick to his skin and instead slides down. Dick's nose burns worse than before the cleaning started.

Dick is trapped as Stross leans in close once again. His wide eyes taking up all of Dick’s vision. “If I catch you lying to me again, young man, I will take away all your toys and I won’t allow you out to play with Curt until I feel you’ve learned your lesson. And if you continue, I will lock you in your room and find other means of disciplinary actions until that bad habit is delt with. I'm not above a good pop in the mouth or making you eat soap. Do you understand?”

Dick nods.

The hand on his chin is a death grip. Dick can feel the bruises forming on his face. “I need you to tell me you understand, Little Bird. Don’t just nod. Tell me you understand.”

“I understand.” The words come out weaker than he meant them to. Betraying just how scared he is. But Stross takes the confirmation with a smile and releases his grip.

With that, Stross hands Dick the remaining water and the Bat plush and ruffles his hair. “Now you get some more sleep, Little Bird. Ellie will be back soon. And then we can get going.”

The man stands and goes back to his own corner of the tram. Dick watches him go. Water bottle crushing in his grip. Plush squeezed to his chest.

‘Still think he can be saved?’

Dick doesn’t respond. Just lays down on the bench, stuffing his fist in his mouth to stifle any nose he might make and, silently as he can, breaks down. He can’t sleep. Not with the dreams awaiting his return. He can’t stay awake. Not with Stross monitoring his actions. Dick buries his face into the soft fabric of the toy, staining the dark fluff with his blood and tears.

He’s trapped.

There is no way out.

There is no escape.

There is only the mission.

Chapter Text

Chapter 22 You Die a Hero…

Station Tram

Titan Station

100 Hours

One. Two. One. Two.

She’s standing over him. He can hear her wet breathing through collapsed lungs. The static in his ears can’t cover the sound of her distant screaming despite the close proximity. Dick makes a pointed effort to not acknowledge her. His peripheral keeps catching glimpses of her. White gown, wavy red hair, caved in chest and head.

No eyes.

In. Out. In. Out.

Dick focuses on counting his breaths. Counting the seconds, the beeps and chimes coming from the controls on the other side of the tram. Counting everything, anything, to distract himself from the figure looming over his prone form.

His other isn’t saying anything to help. Just cowers away from sight. Nolan is somewhere in the small space, but the less interaction shared with him the better. So, he breathes and counts, and she breathes and watches.

Then she speaks. Asking a simple question.

“Why didn’t you catch me?”

It takes everything he has to keep his breathing steady. He doesn’t answer.

“Before. You hesitated. You froze. And in the end, all you did was watch. Why? Can’t you answer me, Little Robin?”

Dick swallows hard and blinks back tears. That…is a question he’s been asking himself for years. He sees it in his mind. The memory that plays on repeat during his lowest moments. She was right in front of him, ready to swing him into the spotlight. If no one else, he might have been able to save her. Grabbing her hand and pulling her back onto the platform.

But, it’s like she said.

He froze.

His nose is stuffing up and he finds its getting harder to breathe without coughing. “I’m sorry." He whispers out, because that’s all he knows how to respond with.

“Do you think that’s enough for me to forgive you?” She hisses. “To bring me back? Bring us back?” The figure of his mother wraps her arms around her stomach protectively.

Dick remembers when his parents gave him the big news. Sat him down in their little trailer and discussed what would be changing soon. He remembers not being able to sleep that night. Hiding away in the bathroom to practice introductions to his stuffed elephant. He aways wanted to be a big brother.

He shakes his head. Refusing to linger on the thought any longer and focus on the headache that’s been building behind his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not my mother.” The words leave his mouth in half rage and half helpless despair. Barely a whisper. “Leave me be.”

That guttural groaning is growing louder. Making its way up her throat and out of her broken jaw. She leans closer, face contorting into something that could resemble anger. He wishes there was space for him to lean away.

“THEN WHO AM I, RICHARD?!”

The room spins and dances across his vision despite his prone position. The motion succeeding in making him nauseous. Dick blinks. His mother is gone, and the tram is silent except for Stross’s undiscerned muttering. He sighs and returns to dozing, taking this small moment of peace.

Dick jerks awake from his dozing to yelling. Specifically Ellie, shouting for Stross through a com resting on the controls. Dick strains to sit up, only making it halfway and is stuck leaning on his one working arm. It takes a moment for his brain to make out what it is she’s saying.

She’s out of breath. Panting heavily against every word as the cacophony of shrieks sound in the background. “STROSS! I’m almost at the station. Bring the tram! Bring the tram now! Stross?! Are you there?!”

Dick looks at the man in question, who doesn’t seem to hear her or anything at all. Too preoccupied in his own little world. Tucked in the corner in an uncomfortable position. Dick can hear the panic rising in Ellie’s calls. His own rising in turn.

“Sstross.” Dick tries to call out. His voice barely a rasp. He coughs. Much to his chest’s chagrin. “Nolan.” He tries again.

“STROSS! YOU CRAZY ASSHOLE! ANSWER ME! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

“Stross!” Despite the continued shouting from both parties the man is unresponsive.

‘Too far gone.’

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” Ellie’s voice grows increasingly frantic. “You’re not here! You’re not here. I have-I have to loop back. Stross! Bring the tram. Fuck Stross! Please!”

No luck.

‘Too far gone.’

No time to deal with that right now. Dick will deal with the biggest problem at hand. Unable to completely support his own weight, Dick rolls off the bench and works on crawling over to the com. He tires not to think about how similar this situation is to his dream last night.

It hurts about as much as it did in his dream too. Which doesn’t sound right, but he can chalk that up to the Marker making his life just that little bit worse. His legs are practically nonresponsive as he drags himself across the metal flooring.

He makes it, sweating and dizzy, but he makes it. Dick sits on the floor and reaches up for the com. “Ellie?” Dick manages to gasp out. “Ellie, I got you. Wh-what’s the station number?”

“Dick!? What the hell? You shouldn’t be up. Where is Stross?!” Dick can feel her fury through the communicator.

He lets his hand drop from his face. Too tired to keep his arm up. “He’s uh…”Dick looks where Stross is still crouched with his knees up to his ears and head lowered, held down with his arms. “currently indisposed. But I’m here. I can help. What’s the number.”

“I’m going to kick his ass.” She heaves to herself. Dick isn’t sure if she knows he can still hear her, but that’s a fair action. “Okay. I’m at the medical center. Station 7390.”

“Okay. I got it. I’ll let you know when I’m close. Just keep looping.” Dick heaves himself off the floor. It takes him longer than he’ll ever admit, but once he’s up and the station is typed in the tram moves.

Dick takes a moment to focus his breathing. He arches his back a bit causing several of his vertebrae to pop. It doesn’t do much to help, he still aches and burns and hurts just about everywhere on his body. His eyebrows are sore.

Dropping his head Dick gets ready to pick his feet up and move to the nearest seat to rest when he feels it.

Breathing on his neck.

The boy spins on his heels so fast his eyes take a second to catch up with the rest of him. Stross, at some point, had made his way behind Dick. And he’s just standing there. Hands hanging loosely at his side. There’s an odd look in his eyes.

“Holy crap. You scared the shit outta me.” He tries to laugh it off. Tries not to back away or lash out in fear of the man in front of him. He swallows around the new bruising on his neck. “Nolan?”

“He’s staring at me.”

“I-What?” Stross grasps Dick’s arm in a harsh grip.

“Through the…holes…in his eyes. His eyes…they aren’t…he’s staring at me.”

Stross isn’t just scared. He’s manic. His eyes bugling so wide on his face Dick is worried they’ll fall from his sockets. He grips his arm in a death grip. His nails biting into his skin.
“Stross, listen to me. Listen to me, okay?” Dick racks his brain for a way to calm the man down. Their last encounter still fresh in his mind.

The man isn’t listening. He stares frozen at something over Dick’s shoulders. Releasing Dick’s arm, Stross backs away like a frightened animal. He snarls and bares his teeth even as he cowers. “STOP STARING AT ME! STOP IT!”

“RELAX!” Dick raises his voice as much as he’s able. Throat raw and aching. “Just go sit down. I-I can’t deal with you right now.” He’s at his wits ends. Dick purposefully avoids looking behind him. Whatever Stross is seeing, he doesn’t wanna catch a glimpse of it.

The man, thankfully, obeys. Silently moving to the back of the tram and likely as far from his own visions as he’s able to get.

‘You need to have a contingency plan.’

“It’s fine. He’s fine.”

‘Batman would have a plan at the ready.’

“I’m not Batman.”

‘He’s going to be a problem. Deal with it now.’

Dick ignores that.

The tram pulls up to the medical bay's station. Ellie is waiting, back to the tram and her gun pointed at the doors leading out. It’s barricaded with a few of the waiting rooms benches and tables. It won’t hold for much longer if the indenting of the metal is anything to go off of.

As soon as the tram doors open, Ellie doesn’t waste time running in and to the controls to pilot the tram out of the docking bay. She leans heavily against the panel breathing harshly. Her arms are trembling as she sucks in air through her mouth. Dick can’t do anything but sit and watch. His own legs trembling too much for him to stand.

‘Too far gone.’

Once they’re far enough away Ellie turns on the two sharing the tram with her. Her glare finds Dick first before zeroing in on Stross. She hisses at him through her teeth. “Stross, what the fuck?! I told you to come and get me as soon as I called. You twitchy, stupid bastard, you almost left me for dead! And what the hell is Dick doing up? I thought we agreed that…!”

‘He’s too far gone.’

“Wait.” Dick interrupts Ellie from charging at the man by catching her wrist. The momentum almost pulls him out of his seat and Ellie is forced to catch him as he tumbles.
He bites his lip to keep from crying out. Dick’s main priority was making sure Stross wasn’t agitated. He can hear Ellie speaks to him, but he ignores that.

‘Doing that quite a bit aren’t we?’

“Oh shit.” Ellie panics as she holds him. Slowly lowering him to the ground. Her hand comes to feel his forehead. “That feels hot. Is that too hot? It feels too hot. Okay. Okay…Dick?”

Ellie stops short, enough for Dick to notice and look up. He sees her watching him. A contemplative expression overtaking her face.

She notices Dick’s eyes dart to Stross in the corner. She glances back as well. The man is once more crouched in the corner. When she looks back at the boy in her arms, Dick sees when she sees it. Her eyes dart to his face, his neck, then finally to Stross again who is oblivious to all of it. She stares hard. Dots connecting before leaning into Dick’s space and speaking low.

“Those bruises were not there when I left, kid. And is that blood on your face fresh? What happened?”

Dick pointedly doesn’t meet her eyes. Can’t bring himself to admit just how weak he was against an untrained civilian. “It’s nothing to worry about. It’s taken care of.”

“NOTHING TO…!? Dick feels Ellie take a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. We are going to be having a talk about this lack of self-preservation you have later. Just…Be real with me here. Is he a problem?”

Dick feels his stomach drop because the truth of the matter is, yes, Stross is a problem. A problem that’s growing bigger with each passing hour. But he can’t give up on him, not now, not yet. Because, if there is no hope for Stross, then what chance does he have. Not to mention he needs the older man to help him destroy the Marker.

“He’s just sick.” Dick mutters. He gives Stross the side-eye. The man is a problem, but Dick will cross that bridge when he gets to it. For now, no need to bring any more attention to it than that.

“No. You’re sick. He’s just crazy.”

Ellie doesn’t look like she believes him. In fact at no point has she taken her eyes off of Stross for longer than a second. Subconsciously she pulls the boy in her arms closer. Dick leans into the hug and almost losses himself in the feeling when he feels eyes on him.

In the corner his doppelganger stares.

Shaking himself free of Ellie’s grip Dick gets back to business. “We need to get to the Government Sector. Can you pilot us there from here?”

Ellie breaks her stare on Stross to acknowledge the question. “Shouldn’t be too hard for me to get in. The tram line has a track directly there. Just a matter of transferring on it. But first,” Ellie takes the backpack she was carrying off and sets it on the floor. Dick is embarrassed to say he completely missed seeing it. “we aren’t going anywhere until we patch you up.”

Ellie proceeds to dump the whole pack on the floor. First aid kits, aid syringes, gaze, casting wrap, an inhaler, a staple gun, a few blood bags, and so many medication bottles. If Dick didn’t know better, he’d say she grabbed the entire hospital. She begins shifting through her bounty.

“I brought a few painkillers, and fever reducers. None of the good stuff though. I’m not about to accidently cause an overdose.” She takes one of the pill bottles and goes to hand it to Dick before quickly taking it back. “You’re not allergic or anything, right? Or is this one too strong for kids. Maybe I should do the juniors fever reducers first. That one is safe, right?”

“No. I’m not allergic to anything. And it's okay for me to take the stronger stuff.” Dick can’t help but be amused. He doesn’t really have the energy to get mad or impatient. He just wants to deal with everything and move on.

The poor woman has no idea what she’s doing. That much is clear. Basic first aid isn’t really going to do much for a malnourished, heavily sick and injured teenager. Dick watches her debate where she should start before taking pity and taking the bottle of pills she’s trying to decipher out of her hand.

He tosses a few of the capsules into his mouth and dry swallows them. Not wanting to waste time waiting for them to kick in he sheds his shirt. Wincing when the dried blood pulls on his waist.

“Just give me the supplies. I’ll take care of myself while you get us where we need to go.” He reaches for the nearest first aid kit, purposefully ignoring the way his hand shakes. A couple shots of aid syringes and a few wraps of gaze and he’ll be good to go for a while.

He hopes.

“Oh no. Look, I may not know a whole lot about” She gestures to the mess on the floor. “this, but we can take care of this.” Ellie looks back at Stross and amends. “I can take care of this.”

“You ever done stitches before?”

“I’ve done staples.”

They stare at one another before Dick shrugs. Stitches. Staples. Same difference. Grabbing a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a cloth, Dick sets to work cleaning the laceration on his side. It’s as deep as he remembers it. The aid syringes have been doing a valiant job of keeping him together, but nothing will beat old school medical care. Before he can really dig into the cut Ellie stops him.

Dick growls at the interruption.

“Listen,” She defends. “I’m glad to see you’re not delirious anymore,” “What?” “But you gotta cut the independent, ‘I don’t’ need no one’, bullshit.”

Dick opens his mouth to argue but Ellie cuts him off. “I have no doubt in my mind that you’re capable of, like, stitching and doing whatever yourself. Which is something else we really need to talk about. But, as an adult, I’ll do it.”

He stares at her, bleeding freely from his waist, unimpressed. “Being an adult is a pretty weak argument when you really think about it.”

“Shut up.” She’s doing her best not to look too closely at his limp arm and open wounds. But she hasn’t gotten sick so that’s something.

Dick hands her the bloodied cloth. He watches as she scrambles to pull on a pair of gloves before she takes it. Dick makes sure to move his dead arm out of the way, so she has better access. She hovers uncertainly over the gash.

“Rewet the cloth with the peroxide.” He waits for her to follow his instructions before he moves on. Guiding her step-by-step in cleaning, stapling, and wrapping the injury. He does the same with supporting his ribs, gluing the cut on his nose, and bracing his arm.

During this time, Dick gets dizzy and goes quiet. Only answering when Ellie asks what to do next. He doesn’t feel better. Not really. But it’s nice to finally be clean and have these injuries properly taken care of. His arm bound and finally supported. Dick didn’t realize just how much strain on his shoulder and neck the dead limb was putting on him. Having it in a sling and not tied to him or hanging loosely did wonders for his balance. Despite his complaints he supposes he should enjoy that weight while he still can.

He takes a sip of his water.

With a final puff on the inhaler, able to feel his lungs clear out somewhat, Dick deems himself ready for the mission. No pierced lungs or any other organs. No internal bleeding or debilitating injuries.

‘Debatable.’

“Shut up.”

“Hm?” Ellie looks up from where she was putting everything away.

“Nothing.” Dick responds. But the answer doesn’t feel good enough for what she has done for him so far. “Just… an internal argument, I guess. Trying to figure things out.”

The older woman nods. “Yeah. Lots to figure out.” She stands and takes him in. “Well, I think we did alright. All things considered.”

“We make for a good team.”

“I’d say so.”

Ellie helps the teenager over to the bench closest to her and as far away from Stross as they both can manage. After ensuring his comfort, she takes her place at the control panel and set a course for the Government Sector.

‘Finally making progress.’

Dick nods. Leaning his head against the tram window, he takes every moment he has to rest. God only knows if he’ll get another opportunity like this.

Outside the world is quiet. Buildings move by slowly. Lights are on in some of them, but for most, darkness swallows the interiors. Dick catches a glimpse of Jupiter between the structures. It’s gassy red hue sending a kaleidoscope of colors across the city. It’s beautiful.

The journey is so peaceful Dick can almost pretend nothing is wrong. That the world isn’t ending. That humanity’s foreseeable survival isn't resting on his shoulders. That the aches and pains radiating off his body are from a good training session. It makes the sight of a certain ship resting in the shipyard they turn into that much more of a punch to the gut.

Dick almost launches himself out of the bench at the sight of it. Anything to get away. The thought of his legs unable to hold him is what keeps him in his seat. A destressed whine escapes his throat instead.

“Oh God. There’s no- that’s the Ishimura…”

Ellie smiles at him, mistaking his fear for awe. “Pretty cool, right? Used to be the pride and joy of the CEC.” Turning back she deflates. “Sad story actually. From what was told to us on the news everyone on board died…some terrorist attack during her last voyage. Rescue crew were just barely able to retrieve her from an imploding planet.”

Ellie jumps at the sound of Dick’s laugh. She swings her head back towards him as he giggles manically. She looks scared. Dick doesn't care. It was too funny. It was too awful. It was just his luck. He’s going to be sick.

“Terrorist attack?” He heaves. “Is that what they said happened? Is that what they sold everyone? What happened on board that ship was no terrorist attack.”

Ellie eyes the ship as they draw closer before looking back to him. “What do you mean?”

The boy rubs a hand through his hair as he calms down from his fit. Dragging it across his face emits a pained grunt from his as he bumps his nose.

“That’s where all this started, Ellie. Everything that’s happening here, happened on that ship. I saw it. I was…onboard when it happ…happened.” Dick sinks lower into his seat refusing to look at the floating graveyard any longer. He focuses on regulating his breathing least he go from laughing fit to panic attack over the course of a few seconds.
His lungs burn from abuse.

“No, there were no survivors. EarthGov said…” Ellie stops. Dick can see questions stopped behind her teeth. She clinches her jaw before finally asking. The teen is honestly surprised it took her so long to do so.

“Who are you? Really? Why do you know so much about these things? How are you so calm in all this? Why do you act like a soldier?!” Her fists are clinched at her sides. That last question seems to upset her the most. His answer isn’t likely to help either. But…he won’t lie to her. She deserves that much from him.

Dick looks her square in the eye and straightens as much as he can. “Because I am a soldier. I was…” He hesitates. Tell her the truth. “I was sent to the Ishimura on a reconnaissance mission. There had been some under the table dealings surrounding the Ishimura and her captain that I was to look into. No engagement was to be made. Go in, find out what was going on, get out. Simple. Nothing I hadn’t done a hundred times before.”

Ellie has sunk to the floor during his debrief. She’s clearly still listening but her eyes are glued to the ground in front of him. Dick can’t tell what she’s thinking but the older woman looks pissed and upset.

‘Maybe you should stop.’

Dick goes on.

“The mission was going smoothly, but…the Ishimura docked at a colony on Agesis VII. There they found a Marker. Unitology’s infamous rock. They took it out of the colony and brought it on board. The plan was to abandon the colony to its fate, but, well I think you can take a guess at what happened from there.”

Ellie doesn’t react for a moment. Too stunned to form words. Dick waits patiently. He sees Stross moving around in the corner of his eye, but he ignores the man for now.

“You’re a child. A baby.” She says dumbly. “Who?...”

Dick tries not to get to affront at the baby comment. “Who what?”

“Who is responsible for this?”

“The cult of unitol…”

“No.” She interrupts. She’s getting worked up. “No, I mean who trained you to be a soldier? Who took you and made you think it’s okay to do the things you do?”

He sighs. “The things I do help save lives, Ellie. Granted, I’m doing a pretty piss poor job of it at the moment. But I can assure you my teammates and I…”

“Oh my God! Fucking! There’s more of you!? How Young!? Why are there more of you!”

Dick winces at her screeching.

Through the pounding in his head he’s finding it hard to grasp why she’s so upset at the news. He rubs his eyes and thinks about what he can say to calm her down. She has every right to be scared and upset. She’s a civilian. She isn’t trained to handle such intense situations. He’s grateful she’s maintained her composure for as long as she has. So now he needs to reassure her. Inform her that he is capable of protecting her and Stross. And he will give up his life to do so.

“If you’re worried about experience you don’t have to worry. I’ve been in the business longer than most of the adults. I’ve been trained the longest out of all my teammates too. I started when I was eight.”

Dick didn’t think it was possible for Ellie to deflate anymore to the ground that she already was. Ellie lays on her back, twin braids fanning out as she holds her hands to her face. She whispers in disbelief.

“Eight? Eight? Jesus Christ you were a baby. What the fuck? You…you’re not supposed to be worried about saving lives or dangerous missions. You’re supposed to be thinking about girls or or or boys or whatever. And, and hanging out with your friends. And sneaking out at night. And schoolwork!”

Dick snorts at her dramatic display for his sake. “Who says I don’t think about those things? I have people I like, sure, friends and schoolwork. I have chores at home I have to do too. I attend clubs and sports. I just have the added responsibility of stopping crimes in my city and saving the world every once in a while.”

For the first time in a while Stross chimes in. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about the Little Bird. He knows what he’s doing, oh yes.”

Ellie launches herself off the floor so fast Dick almost didn’t see her. She surges forward. Grabbing the man by the front of the shirt and slamming him into the back wall. His head bounces off the glass and he cowers as she shakes him.

“Are you apart of this? Huh? You training kids to be soldiers and making them protect your sorry ass you absolute bastard!”

Dick rushes out of his seat to save the poor man from Ellie’s misplaced wrath. “Stross has nothing to do with what I do! I only met him a few days ago, we were held in the same hospital wing. I need his help, Ellie.”

Ellie whorls around to face him, taking his free arm in a firm but gentle grip. “Who did it? You tell me what kind of sick bastard thinks it’s okay to send children to die. I’ll tear them a new asshole.”

Dick breaths. “I can’t do that Ellie. I’m sorry.”

Ellie opens her mouth to argue when the tram jolts forward in a sudden stop. All three occupants are knocked off their feet and thrown to the floor. Ellie is the first to recover racing for the controls to figure out what happened. Stross flees back to his corner in fright, and Dick just lays on the ground an extra minute too tired to try and get up just yet.

“What happened?” He calls from the floor.

“I don’t know. The blast doors into the building ahead wont open. Something must be blocking the track.”

Finally heaving himself off the floor Dick looks to confirm that yes, the large metal doors in front of them are sealed shut. And no, they don’t look like they’ll be opening anytime soon. There is a dock right next to them though. Most likely for a security check or something like that. He huffs.

“Stay here. I’ll take a look.”

Dick grabs the cutter sitting on the bench and checks the ammo. Half a clip. It’ll have to do. He forces one foot in front of the other and heads for the tram door. He doesn’t make it far before Ellie steps in front of him.

“What are…You can’t go out there!”

“There another way we can get to the Government sector within the hour?”

“I-No, but…”

“Then I’ll take care of the problem with the door, and we’ll be on our way.” Dick makes to move forward; Ellie continues to block the path. Holding her hand out in front of her warding off his advances.

“Whoa, just slow down here kid. You are in no shape to be heading out into god knows what. Let’s just think this through and…”

Dick pulls the cutter from his belt and points it at the woman’s head. He watches as her face loses what little color she had. Her eyes are wide as she stares at him with betrayal. Dick can’t bring himself to care. They are losing time, and he’s out of patience.

“Ellie, there is more at stake here than just us.” Dick hisses. “Word about what’s happened here has no doubt made its way to the Justice League. Which means that as we speak, they are making their way towards us. If the Marker isn’t gone by the time they get here, there is a VERY high chance that it will indoctrinate all of them the second they arrive. Tell me, do you wanna deal with a bunch of mind controlled, mutated supes? Cause I don’t. Now, move out of my way. Before I make you.”

Ellie has her lips sealed in a thin line. She’s pissed and Dick has no doubt that she would beat his ass into the ground if he gives her the opportunity. He can’t really blame her for that. He’s felt that same betrayal. Still, the older woman says nothing as she steps aside. Dick leaves the tram.

Stepping onto the platform he looks back to find her watching him. Her gaze is intense. He sighs. “I am sorry, Ellie. But I can’t afford to waste time. I have a mission to finish. If anything happens, just leave.”

With that, Dick heads inside the building.

“Mmmmm.” Dick hums in frustration. “I should have asked if she could give me some pointers for where to go.”

Honestly, he should have handled that entire situation better. Dick isn’t sure where he is or where he’s going. The map isn’t pulling up anything recognizable and there are no coordinates for him to follow. The large room he’s in looks the same as the past few storage rooms he’s been in. The warehouse is CEC that much is obvious, but where the track starts though the building? Not so much.

‘You could ask for directions.’

“After what just happened? No, I’ll figure it out.”

‘You’re wasting time.’

“And you’re annoying me. It’s lose, lose all around aint it.”

He won’t call Ellie for directions. He can’t call Ellie for directions. Dick feels bad about threatening her. She just wanted to help, wanted to do the right thing and he put a gun in her face. He feels bad, guilt weighing in his gut like a stone but he’s not sorry. This is bigger than them. If something isn’t done fast more are going to die.

There is gurgling and huffing breaths coming from deeper in the room. The noise easily recognizable. Pods. Harmless enough, unless of course you get too close. The Marker sure likes its explosions.

Dick sees the first one sectioned to the floor. It moves like its breathing, stringy tentacles swaying out of the center. He couldn’t be sure what part of the body these things were from. Just a small mass of flesh and gore waiting for someone to move into range.

It’s not worth the ammo. Dick leaves it alone.

Behind a container lies a body. A man, mutilated beyond all recognition. The face is gone, leaving only a hole in its center. A few of his limbs are missing as well. There is a badge on his belt.

Kaleb.

The name sounds familiar. Enough so that it gives Dick pause. The slight movement of his foot has him hitting something and looking down he finds a audio log. He kneels down to inspect it.

A man speaks, out of breath. “I’ll leave this for who’s left-our crew is chasing us. Our DEAD crew is chasing us. It’s just me and Ellie right now. We’re not gonna make it!”

“No, get up Kaleb, just a few more meters!” Ellie’s cries are heard in the audio.

“I hear them coming. Don’t kill us both Ellie, just run. I’ll hold them as long as I can. Just go.”

“No. Kaleb…Kaleb!”

“This is Kaleb, from shift one. We lost.”

The log is ended with the howl of Necromorphs overrunning it’s narrator.

Dick stays kneeling for a moment. Allowing the grief and hopelessness to wash over him. He stares at the man. This man who gave himself up so someone, Ellie, would be given a chance to escape. A friend who haunts the woman traveling with him. He wonders if this man would condemn him for dragging Ellie into his shit.

Dick grabs the badge off his uniform and wipes the blood off as best he can. It isn’t much, but Ellie may want this. He pockets the audio log as well. He stands and leaves the corpse.

The doppelganger is sitting on top of one of the containers watching him. Dick thinks he understands what people mean now when they say his stare can be…unnerving. He feels like a bug under a microscope.

“What?”

‘I know you feel bad, but we have to finish the mission. You can apologize to her once we save her life. And the life of everyone else.’

Dick continues past, making his way through the rest of the warehouse. “This feels like that botched training assignment we did last year. I said I didn’t want to be like Batman, yet here I am again, putting the mission first.”

‘This is nothing like that. You had to sacrifice your teammates in that mission. You’re just not letting a civilian get in the way. Totally different.’

Dick hums in acknowledgement. Neither agreeing, nor disagreeing.

A choir of raptor like cries fills the silence of the room. Out of the corner of his eye Dick sees a hunter dash between two containers. The other observes from his perch.

‘Duty calls.’

Dick takes a deep breath and readies his cutter.

****

“Little fucker. All the shit of done for him up until now and he.” To say Ellie is pissed would be an understatement. She is livid. Spitting fire and poison as she paces back and forth in the tram cabin. “The nerve of that brat. I should have left him on the fucking floor. Pointing that gun at me.”

Ellie stews, clenching her fist so tightly she can feel her nails dig into the flesh of her palm. She notices Stross is watching her from the corner but is keeping as still and quiet as possible. Good. She doesn’t want to deal with him anymore than the brat.

She’s half tempted to take the tram and go back the way she came. Leave the kid to his fate since he’s so fucking determined to meet it. He wants to play hero so fucking bad he can. Ellie has no qualms about letting him.

Not anymore.

Except.

She can’t go back. There’s nothing to go back to. The best chance of her finding a working ship to actually get off the station would be in the government sector. She has to stay. Sit tight and wait to see if Dick can figure out what’s blocking the track. See if he can figure out a way to clear it.

Ellie sinks into a bench seat and holds her head in her hands. She’s has to acknowledge that Dick is resourceful. More than she is, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. Ellie can feel her anger simmer down as she really thinks about what he said to her before he drew his gun.

He’s been trained to do this. To go on missions. To run headfirst into dangerous situations. To put ‘civilians’ like her and Stross above himself. Ellie grits her teeth in a snarl. It makes her sick to think what must have done to get him into that mindset.

Another point makes itself known. The Justice League is on their way to help. A team of supers from Earth are inbound to save what’s left of the station. From how Dick put it, they’ll be here soon. Someone must have gotten a signal to them early in the outbreak. Was Dick the one who managed to do that. But then, why would he be so set about solving all of this before they get here. The sound of rescue coming should be a relief to hear.

It isn’t.

Finally getting over the initial feelings of betrayal, Dick’s warnings begin playing on repeat inside her thoughts. If the Marker is given even half a chance, it’ll add the supes to its collection of undead nightmares. These things are already too much after being turned from regular people. How much worse would they be if they had a supe under its control.

Ellie shivers. Wrapping her arms around herself in a poor attempt at comfort. This is too much.

She’s still mad. Still hurt, but with her head cleared Ellie finally looks back at the scene that caused her temper to flare up. Dick’s grip on the cutter was tight, his hand shaking uncontrollably. His voice cracked anytime he went higher than a whisper. Like he was afraid going any louder would bring his fear into fruition. The wild look in his eyes that screamed to be understood behind the desperation and terror.

Dick wasn’t threatening, he was scared.

“Stross.” Ellie calls to the man from her seat. He perks up. “Why do you call Dick, Little Bird?”

“Oh,” A smile stretches across the older man’s face and he claps his hands together. “Well, because he’s a little bird, of course. That’s what his mama used to call him. Yup, yup. That’s what she told me. It’s what his teammates call him too. His official title is Robin, but Little Bird is just as good. Yes, just as good.”

Ellie freezes.

Robin. Robin. Robin. The name, no, the title clicks into place finally connecting all of the dots. The final piece to the puzzle and suddenly the whole damn picture makes sense. The skill set, the focus on the mission, the inside knowledge of the Justice Leagues movements.

“Holy shit.”

She’s only read about Gotham City’s protectors and seen a few Earth news reels when the planet was under attack last year. The dynamic duo, everything makes so much more sense. He’s the protegee of The Batman. Oh, she has a few choice words for that man when she sees him. How is this legal? Though, she supposes vigilantism is also illegal.

Ellie looks up when the com on the console goes off. A soft and quiet voice speaking through the small device.

“Ellie? Are you there?”

Her heart squeezes at the uncertain question. Dick acts like he’s not expecting a response. Like he’s ready to hear nothing but static on the other line. Ellie can admit that if she didn’t give herself a moment to think she might just have proved him right. And what does that say about her.

She picks up the com. No reason to give the kid something else to be anxious about. He’s got enough to worry about. “Hey brat, what’s up?”

The sigh of relief she receives in return is telling. “Cool, okay. So I found the problem.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Oh, that tone doesn’t sound good. “It’s a hu… giant tentacle. It’s just sitting against the transport door and wrapped around a big tank. Can’t see what it is though.”

Ellie thinks. A big tentacle, that doesn’t sound too bad. Right? “What does the tank look like?”

“Um, big and metal. I don’t know. There’s a blue and red label on the side but I can’t read what’s on it. Too much…flesh in the way.”

“Nitrogen Trichloride. Be careful with that it’s incredibly…”

“Flammable! Perfect!”

“What?!”

“A bit of added heat and it blows sky high. Okay! Ellie, back the tram up a bit. Things are about to get hot.”

“Whoa! Hold on!” Ellie panics. This kid is going to kill himself. “I don’t mean to break down this ingenious plan of yours but you’re going to need to be in that room to set it off. You’re going to blow yourself up!”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t my first rodeo with setting off explosives. I got this. Get ready to move.” Dick ends the call and Ellie can only stand there dumbfounded.

“This kid has a death wish.” She continues to growl at the absurdity of it all while she positions the tram away from the sealed metal doors. “Fuck, this is insane.”

For a moment everything is still and quiet. It does nothing for her rising anxiety for the teen. “Is it always like this?” She doesn’t really ask anyone in particular but Stross answers her anyways.

“Oh, it does no good to worry. The Little Bird has been through many similar situations in the past.” The man nods to himself like he’s just explained everything about everything. “Best to keep out of his way and let him work.”

Ellie glares. “Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel better Stross. How would you even know that? Dick said you two met the other day.”

Stross stares at her like she’s the crazy one. “She told me of course. Does…does she not talk to you?”

Before Ellie can even begin her next line of questioning, mainly what the fuck, the tram shakes.

An explosion only just covers the wail of something big that closely follows it. The door doesn’t so much as open as it collapses to the side. The rail the tram is on is undamaged, but Ellie isn’t willing to wait to see how long that holds up and guns the tram forward.

The room is in ruins. Metal is bent in unnatural directions and sharp at several points. Gore and flesh is writhing on the ground. Without the explosion the inhuman cries are much more noticeable. Standing on the lower platform Ellie sees Dick waving with his one good arm. He’s surrounded by the still burning remains of the tentacle. The com goes off.

“Wait up ahead for me. There’s another tank of the stuff that I can see right next to the tram. Get ready.”

Sure enough, the tank is right there. And it’s close. Too fucking close! The room they’re currently in is circular and the door out is blocked by another fleshy abomination holding tightly to the tank containing the highly flammable substance in its grasp.

“Dick?! If you set that off, it will incinerate everything in here!”

“That’s the idea.”

Ellie can only watch in abject horror as the pintsized lunatic begins to launch pressurized gas canisters at the large tank with the telekinesis module. One after another until the room is swimming with gas. Dick runs to the lift that will take him up, his helmet saving his lungs from the fumes no doubt filling the air.

“Move!”

“Move where!?” Ellie panics, her hands are on the controls to push the tram forward, but the door is still sealed, and Dick isn’t in the car with them.

She can see him sprinting towards them on the catwalk. Not knowing what else to do Ellie opens the doors giving Stross and herself a heavy dose of noxious air that leaves her gasping for breath. She pushes the tram forward as he said planning on having him jump in as they pass. After that, well…

Dick is just at the doors when he raises his cutter and shoots the tank. With one shot, the room lights up. The explosion so bright Ellie has to cover her eyes and back away from the window. The eruption sets off multiple chain reactions chief one being the remaining tentacle spasming and releasing the door.

Ellie has her hands back on the controls when Dick is thrown through the open-door landing heavily against the opposite wall. He gasps out a pained breath. “Ugh! Go go go!”

Ellie doesn’t have to be told twice. Door already being closed and the accelerator being pushed forward. The tram picks up speed. Dick pulls himself into a seating position and holds tightly to a handrail. Stross clings to the bench he’s sitting on. Ellie herself has to reposition her feet so she’s not knocked to the floor.

The explosions continue to go off behind them. The fire follows them outside of the room and through the tunnel they’re traveling in. Bright heat encircling the whole tram. The temperature inside is beginning to become unbearable. Sweat is pouring down the back of her neck.

“Faster, Ellie faster!”

“I can’t make it go any faster!”

Flames have almost completely cut off view from the front windshield. No matter where she looks, all Ellie can see is fire. Ahead of them another fleshy wall collapses, and inhuman screams are heard over the raging inferno around them.

Just as the wall of fire is going to swallow them, they burst through. The sudden lack of oxygen as they return into space choking the life from the flames.

The three all let out a collective sigh of relief. Behind them the CEC warehouse is reduced to ruins as the flames eat away at the structure before the vacuum snuffs them out.

Ellie sinks to the floor, finding her legs have no more strength to hold her up.

“See,” Dick heaves. “We made it.” He has a nervous smile on his face when he addresses her. Like he isn’t sure if he’s allowed to joke with her.

Ellie just shakes her head. “One of these days your luck is going to turn to shit.”

“This isn’t shit yet?”

Ellie notices that at some point Stross has laid down on the floor and is staring listlessly at the ceiling. “I don’t want to do that again.”

“Pfft, ow shit. Don’t make me laugh.” Dick whines into the floor while he holds his ribs.

Ellie can feel the tension leave her body now that they’re all safe for the moment. The adrenaline high she’s kept for the past few hours finally draining from her system. She slumps to the floor with the other two, content to stare at the ceiling for a few minutes.

“Alright,” Dick starts. “the Government Sector should be just ahead right?” Ellie just nods. “Cool. Almost there.”

The tram is quiet for a moment. Each occupant resting in their respective corners on the floor. If she isn’t careful Ellie might just fall asleep. She needn’t have worried.

The moment of peace is shattered by the trams video screen opening with a call. An unimpressed voice echoing across the small space. Ellie lifts her head to see the head of EarthGov security glaring at the boy next to her.

Tidemann.

“In another situation, I might admire your persistence, Mister Grayson. But this is bigger than you and bigger than the lives of everyone on this station.”

Dick for his part doesn’t move. If she didn’t know any better, she’d probably think the kid was passed out again. His body is too taunt for that thought to go too far though. She glares back at the man in his place. Seriously, what was this guy’s beef with the teen?

A man in heavy security armor appears behind Tidemann. “Sir, final preparations for evac are wrapping up.”

Tidemann nods and pinches the bridge of his nose. He sighs. “It looks like it ends here. At this point it’s all just dead weight.”

Ellie doesn’t think they were supposed to hear that part. No sooner were the words spoken does the screen go black as he ends the call. Ellie turns to her youngest companion with the intent of telling a joke. His expression holds her tongue.

Dick is stuck staring after Tiedemann. His eyes wide with disbelief. He’s so still next to her. Then, he’s shaking. She sees the moment dots connect in his head, watches as his pale face turns red. Eyes harden, teeth clench. Ellie isn’t sure what connections he’s just made, but it clearly wasn’t good.

“Dick?”

“That fucking bastard.”

“What?” It isn’t what he said that suddenly has her on edge. It’s how he said it. Quiet. Calm. His still rage is so different from her own explosive outbursts. She isn’t sure how to take it.

“This whole time I thought he was trying to get the situation back under control. He isn’t. He’s a fucking Unitologist. He’s been using the Marker this whole time. That’s why he doesn’t want me near it.” His voice never rises past a whisper. Forget what she thought before. He isn’t pissed. Dick is seething.

Picking herself off the floor Ellie makes her way to him. She makes sure to keep her hands in front of her. Just in case. “Dick, what does that mean? What did he mean when he said dead weight?”

No sooner did she finish asking the question did a blinding light rush through the tram windows. Outside, one of the solar arrays activates in the distance and is being aimed directly at them.

“Stop the tram.” Dick says staring at the array ahead of them. Ellie stays frozen next to him. “Stop the tram now!”

It’s his panicked command that gets her off her feet. Rushing to the controls, Ellie grabs the emergency brake and pulls it back. The tram lurches to a stop, throwing all occupants inside forward.

Ahead the track collapses to a flash of light. The metal floating listlessly off into the open void of space. Ellie and Dick stare after it in horror as they realized it wasn’t just the track Tiedemann hit. It was the lower half of the government sector’s building. The whole structure began to drift away from the foundations on the moon’s surface.

“He…he cut the station in half.” Ellie said.

“How does that work? He severed buildings connection to the power grid.”

“Oh! Well, you see each building has its own power source and life support system. So technically the building will be perfectly okay for quite a while. Oh yes.”

Ellie and Dick look back at Stross as he explains. Ellie feels defeated but Dick just looks more or less annoyed that another obstacle has made its way into their path.

“So what now? The track it gone.” She didn’t mean to voice the question out loud. The last thing the kid next to her needs is more problems to solve. He does so anyways.

“Can we go forward anyways? Just fly towards the building?”

“I mean we could, but the tram doesn’t have steering. Without the tracks we’d just crash into a wall at best and miss and fly off into empty space at worst.”

Dick just nods. Likely coming to the same conclusion as soon as he asked. Ellie can see the gears turning in his head. The way his eyes roam around and pause on certain locations. She’s almost hesitant to interrupt his thought process. Until she sees him lock onto the docked Ishimura not far from them.

“Back us up to the docking station.” The command from him caught her off guard. After what he told her Ellie was sure Dick would never want to set foot on that ship again.

“What? Why?”

“Just do it, Ellie. I’ve got an idea.”

Not knowing what else to do, Ellie follows instructions. “Plan on sharing with the class kid?”

“The Ishimura, it has those gravity tethers to latch onto a planet’s surface, right?” He is very purposefully not looking in her direction. His shoulders hunched to his ears.

“Yeah?” It takes longer than she cares to admit for her to figure out where he’s going with this. But when she does. “Hold up! You want to use the gravity tethers to snare the Government sector and, what, drag it to us?! Dick that’s crazy!”

“Okay, just hear me out.” The teen waves his hand around as he attempts to explain himself. It’d be funny if the situation wasn’t so dire. “The plan is, if I can line up the tracks for a few seconds, then you should be able to get the tram across. The whole track wasn’t destroyed I just have to connect them enough to get you through. It should work.”

“I mean theoretically, yeah but…” Ellie startles when the tram stops at the dock house. The doors leading directly to the airlock for the Ishimura. She can’t help the dread she feels being here.

“That’s all I need. Stay ready and take care of Stross for me.”

Dick moves to leave once and again and Ellie can’t stop herself from taking hold of his arm, regardless of how well that went last time. “Okay no. This is nuts. Even for you. This can’t be a good idea, Dick.”

The lopsided smile that appears on his face takes her off guard. For a moment he seems younger, full of life at the idea of pulling off a crazy plan. “Stick around, I’m full of bad ideas.” Then in a gentler tone. “This will work. Trust me.”

Funnily enough, she did.

Ellie watches as the teen disappears into the planet cracker. Off to attempt his crazy plan. For some reason, Ellie doesn’t doubt that Dick can pull it off.

Chapter Text

Chapter 23:

Titan Station

Ship Docks; USG Ishimura

200 Hours

The landing pad leading into the welcome center of the Ishimura is...quiet. Quite the opposite of the last time he stood in this exact spot.

No, that’s not quite right either. It was quiet last time too, but it was the kind of quiet that came from standing in a tomb. The echoes of distant cries and screaming of the changed crew never ceased. The alarms of quarantines or new problems cropping up always sounded somewhere.

So, quiet, but not silent.

Now...Now it is silent.

There is the creaking of metal as the ship shifts in zero g space. There are small beeps and whistles of machinery doing its work providing life support. There is the whoosh of vents recycling air. But it is silent of all the sounds Dick has come to identify with being on the planet cracker.

No yelps or cries, or screams, or gurgles. This silence is something missing. Gone. Not forgotten though, no, certainly not forgotten. The aftermath of a tragedy that nobody wants to acknowledge. A mess that’s been swept under the rug. Out of sight. Out of mind.

Dick waxes poetics about the silence as he stands frozen in front of the blast doors. Deep breaths are taken despite the ache in his chest. The cutter in his grip trembles slightly. Boots glued to the walkway.

“You can do this.” Dick whispers. “You’ve been here before. You know this ship. Inside and out by now. You can do this. You HAVE to do this. The mission must be completed.”

The teen mentally runs though his route once more.

“The bridge should be a straight shot, baring some collapse. If not I can go around and head up though engineering. To the bridge, easy. Find the controls for the planet tethers, shouldn’t be a big deal. I can hack into Justice League security, Pentagon and the Kremlin, getting the tethers up and running will be a peace of cake. Lock controls then head back to Ellie. Cake walk.”

The plan is as solid as it could be. It is set.

Now he just. Has. To. Move. Forward.

The large lettering spelling out the ship’s name above him feels...looming.

The hair on the back of his neck rises as he feels the stare of his doppelganger behind him. Waiting for him to continue. The weight of the gaze is almost as suffocating as standing in front of the door controls. Dick swallows hard, wincing at the drag across his abused throat.

‘The sooner you move, the faster you’re out of here ya know.’

“Yeah.” He still can’t make his feet move.

Dick looks back up at the name again.

The USG Ishimura, the birthplace of this hell for him. It’s been months since it’s recovery at Aegis VII. There have been noticeable repairs to the landing pad at the very least. The wreckage of the USG Kellion is missing. So are the blood stains.

Months for the Ishimura. To Dick, he only woke up three days ago. It doesn’t seem real to be here. Not after he destroyed the Marker the first time.

Arguably, everything that’s happening on Titan is so much worse than what happened here and Aegis. And yet, the dread he feels while staring at those closed doors is paralyzing.

There is a pressure against his back. Gentle but unyielding, pushing him forward. ‘Move.’

He does. With one last shaky breath and unsteady hand, Dick opens the door.

It slides open with a soft sound. A rush of stale air comes to greet him. The heavy smell of chemicals and disinfectants wafts in his face. Plastic sheets and tape render the entrance hall almost unrecognizable from the darkened and blood soaked corridors before.

They’ve erased the evidence well. No claw marks or broken vents. No gore staining the metal walls and floors. No bodies dismembered and scattered around the room like broken toys. If Dick hadn’t of had to walk this room before, he’d say nothing happened here.

But he did.

And he knew.

“Wonder what happened to the clean up crew.”

‘Dead. Most likely.’

That’s probably right. With a cult like Unitology. It wouldn’t be out of character. Was the team sworn to secrecy or were they going to go ‘missing’ once the job was done? It bares investigating, but he’ll leave that task to the Justice League when they arrive. There is no point in delaying progress just to find out.

His boots make crinkling sounds as they step on the plastic sheets. Various tools and cleaning equipment are scattered around. His grip on his cutter tightens the further he walks into the ship. The halls whisper unintelligible words. The sense of Deja Vu is making him nauseous.

Dick walks further into the welcome center. The scattered construction lights cast heavy shadows. And memories of both times he was last here resurface. The first was when he arrived on the Ishimura at the start of his mission. The second, he was sprinting to the landing pad to warn the newest arrivals on what fresh hell they just landed into.

He failed to save a single one of them.

The glass he was trapped behind as the new arrivals entered and were subsequently ripped to shreds is now covered in plastic. He doesn’t remember the window to the check in being broken. He remembers the panicked and confused screaming though.

Dick picks his way across the room and towards the ship’s tram station. There is a barricade of bio-hazard crates in front of the door. Well, there answers the question about the lack of bodies. As he sets about moving the crates, Dick checks in with Ellie.

“Ellie, I’m in. I’m making my way to the trams now. I’m hoping it still works but I’ll let you know if I have to take the long way around.” God, please don’t make him have to take the long way round.

“Are you okay? You sound a little nervous.”

“Last time I was here, things didn’t go so well.” He shakes his head. “But I’m fine. I’ll call back soon with an update.”

“Alright. Keep me posted then.”

The crates are dealt with easily enough. Pushed aside to allow him access to the tram station. The hall is similar to the welcome center. Plastic taped to the floors and walls. Bio-hazard stickers decorated practically every 5 feets of surface. Dick couldn’t really recall if there had been that much viscera to warrant so many warnings, but he wasn’t clean up so what did he know.

There is an audio log sitting just outside a set of bathrooms. There is a data pad next to it with schedules and a progress report on the ship. Dick plays the log out of curiosity while he walks.

A man’s shaky voice responds to the button press.

“Golan, this is Hedrick. You really don’t hear anything when you’re cleaning these bathrooms? I swear, I hear something in the walls, like a scratching noise. When I stop moving, it stops. When I move again, it waits a bit, then comes back.” The longer Hedrick talks the more panicked he sounds. “Today, it followed me around, right under my feet. Like it was stalking me. I… I… I can’t take this man. This ship is cursed. It is a bad omen that it’s here. I’m putting in for a transfer. You should too.”

A whistle sounds from above him and Dick looks up to find Robin walking with him from the ceiling. Gravity having no affect on the doppelganger as he tags along.

‘Hope that guy got the transfer before everything went to shit.’

“Yeah.”

‘Doubt it saved him in the end, but we can hope for a good outcome.’

“Sure.”

Dick doesn’t have the spare energy to really feel anything more than slightly bad for the scared man on the log. Whether the man lived or not can’t concern him at the moment. And maybe that’s bad. Maybe that says a lot about his role as a hero, but Dick can only compartmentalize so much at a time to keep focus. If he thinks about it too much, really thinks about how many are dead he’s going to crash again. There’s no time for that.

If he listens hard enough Dick is sure he’ll hear the scratching too. Just beneath the whispers that are following him. He’s not too sure which of the dead are trailing him. The necromorphs or the ghosts.

The door to the trams is shut down. The sign above reading down for maintenance and Dick can’t stop the groan of frustration. That means he’s going to have to fully retrace his steps and navigate the majority of the Ishimura again to get to the bridge. With a childish stomp of his boot, he makes his way back to the welcome center.

If he remembers right there is a computer that will give him access to the ship’s diagnostic report just outside of the welcome center. Maybe not a full ship status, but at least enough to figure out what’s going on with the tram system.

“Gravity and life support on reserve power. Primary systems offline. Main centrifuge offline for repairs.”

Dick curses.

‘What’s the problem?’

“You heard what the problem is. With the centrifuge under repair, it means I got go down to engineering, again, and try and jury rig my way into fixing it. Again!”

‘And? What’s the problem? You know what to do; go do it.’

“The problem is I don’t want to do it. That’s the problem.”

‘Quit your bitching and get going.’

Dick just grumbles and pulls up the map for the Ishimura. He has the basic layout memorized at this point but who knows what’s been changed from his last tour here. So far everything looks the same. Which means he get to take the same route as the last time. Oh memories.

“This is a nightmare.”

‘More than the one you’ve been living in up until now?’

Dick has never felt such a strong urge to punch himself in the face until that moment. He’s starting to understand the Gotham Rouges murderous tendencies towards him now. He settles for giving the doppelganger the finger as he walks past.

‘Very mature.’

The path is the same. Just down this corridor is an elevator. That elevator will take him down to the tram controls and baggage handling. Then it’s a straight shot to engineering. Easy. He’s done this before. Piece of cake.

‘Lot of cake running through the mind today.’

“Shush. I’m trying to listen here.”

Dick has to force himself not to break out into a sprint as he makes his way down the winding hall. The phantom banging and roars inside the walls. The flickering lights and fresh blood coating every inch of surface. Every time he blinks it’s like being flashed forward and backwards in time.

There is no blood. There is no flickering lights. No banging. No roars. Nothing is behind him. Dick is not going to waste what little energy he has left running from ghosts. His legs still tremble with the effort it takes to keep a slow and steady pace. Breathing consciously kept deep and level, even as his heart is hammering in his chest.

Reaching the elevator, Dick has to stop himself from smashing the call button over and over again. He stands completely still. Resisting the urge to look back. Nothing is behind him.

Nothing is following.

Nothing is there.

After an eternity the elevator dings with it’s arrival. It takes everything in his power not to dive forward. Dodging an attack that was not coming. The past cries of a horde echoing just behind him.

He steps in carefully and turns to face the empty hall. ‘See, nothing to worry about.’ Calmly, Dick selects the desired floor. That same button sits oddly in the wall. Out of place.

“Did I do that?”

Dick has a vague memory of punching the control pad after rolling inside. To be fair the well-being of the console was the least of his concerns. More focused on keeping his head attached to his shoulders.

‘You can pretend not to be bothered, but being here rattles you. Doesn’t it baby bird?’

Dick nearly bites though his tongue in surprise at the voice in his ear. The feeling of breath on the back of his neck almost sends him spiraling. He won’t give it the satisfaction. He doesn’t turn around to look.

‘All this plastic and tape covering the scars. Trying to hide the blood and bodies so no one will ever know. But you remember what happened. No matter how deeply you try to bury it.”

By the time the elevator door opens to another familiar room the presence is gone. The lighting is better with the lamps set up and the blood has been cleared away. It’s like walking into some mirror verse. Everything is the same but slightly to the left. Out of place.

Funnily enough, it seems wrong for the room to be so clean.

Curious, Dick peeks his head around a corner and looks to see if the message that was left before is still there. Written on the wall in red.

It isn’t.

Not clearly, the letters that were deeply gouged into the wall still hold a hint of color. He can’t read the words now, but he knows what it says all the same.

SHOOT THE LIMBS

It’s unnerving leaving the room and making his way forward. The path is the same as before, but nothing is playing out like it used to. There should be a man being dismembered right here. Screaming for help as he’s disemboweled. A Slasher finishing the job with due diligence then gunning for him.

There is nothing. No screams, no fight, just the quiet.

And the whispering.

“Almost wish something would happen.” Dick feels stupid saying it. But it’s not a lie. If things played out the same way as before then he would at least know what to do. How to act and react. Where his part in the script starts.

‘I’m sure something will come up.’

That doesn’t bring much comfort either.

He’s almost halfway across the ship when he hears it. An inhuman yelp in the distance. Dick can’t care that he feels crazy at the sigh of relief that leaves him. This is familiar. This is normal. The lights are flickering above him, and at the end of the corridor a canister rolls into view as if disturbed.

Yeah, this is familiar.

The tram control room isn’t too bad. The shutters looking out at the track are closed. It leaves the room strangely claustrophobic. Despite its abandonment a few of the control screens are still active. Though all of them show nothing but static.

“Flight control, this is ISH 0ne-Five-One. Requesting permission to land.”

Dick startles at the voice coming from one of the screens. So distorted he almost can’t distinguish whats being said. He’s about to rush to the comms and bark out a command to retreat before another voice answers ahead of him.

“This is flight control. Welcome back. Your shuttle has been authorized to land. Did you get it? Are the rumors true?”

“What?” Dick steps away from the screen. Unsure what to do.

“We’re getting conflicted reports from the colony. Can you say again?”

“Over a hundred dead on the colony. Most from violent crimes, suicides.”

“God, what is happening down there?”

“I don’t know, I’m just glad to get the hell out of there. It’s like they’re all going crazy down there.”

Oh, it’s an old transmission, Dick realizes. One he’s heard before. One-Five-One was the last shuttle to land aboard the Ishimura before the Captain saw fit to abandon the colony.

Well, maybe the last shuttle to legally land anyways.

Dick leaves it. He’ll get nowhere if he just stands there reminiscing. Another transmission starts. Following him even as he leaves the room. But his one is filled with more static. Less a transmission and more just a conversation.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Ever since we got here. I’ve been having horrible nightmares. I need it to stop.”

“All I could get for you are these sleeping pills. People have been hoarding the good stuff. They’re getting harder to find. God, I’d kill for something to numb this headache.”

“Why is this happening? Is anyone even trying to find out why this is happening? I know it’s not just me. Johnson hasn’t been able to stand up without passing out for days now. And Carlton…It’s like they’re not telling us something. Why all the secrecy?”

“I don’t know but I heard this is how it started on the colony. Look, do you want the pills or not? I need a buyer today.”

“I’ll take them. I’ll try anything at this point.”

Listening to the two men, long dead, was surreal. And surprising. Surprising because he had forgotten just how bad it was on the ship before everything really went to shit. By the time he had arrived, the Ishimura had already docked above Agesis VII.

He didn’t suffer the headaches and nightmares until a few days later. After the ship was taken over, none of that seemed to matter. He wrote off the odd behavior of the crew as people just being homesick or stir crazy. With how fast everything fell apart the red flags didn’t even register.

And the Marker wasn’t even on the ship yet. Which begs the question. What was the range of it?

Another thought enters his head as well.

Dick never heard that second conversation. So how was he hearing it now? Was it something this new Marker was making up to mess with him, or are the Markers connected and share information? But this new Marker was built using himself and Stross. Only finished just recently. Not nearly as old as the one found on the colony. Is it using memories of his time here and adding new ones or is it the same Marker with a new body?

Are the Markers sentient?

“Nope, that’s enough of that.” Dick shakes his head. “I do not need that horrifying thought making the rounds in my brain.”

‘It’s worth looking into.’

“Not right now it’s not!”

Dick is ready to start a fist fight with the double when it starts laughing at him. The black of his uniform gloves held up in surrender. ‘Alright, alright. Not now. But maybe keep it on the back burner. We can give that task to someone else.’

Dick continues to glare for a while longer before turning and stalking away.

The next lift is where everything comes back to life. The sound of heavy machinery echoes through the empty halls. The cries of unidentifiable enemies sing in harmony. Though nothing visually has changed. Nothing is moving, no sudden increase in lights or anything else. Dick is convinced he’s hallucinating again.

Until he gets into the tram tunnel.

Dick enters the large corridor and immediately the difference is stark. Plastic is torn off the walls. The ground is dented in and the whole tunnel is shrouded in darkness as most of the lamps have been destroyed.

The newest generation has founds it’s way onto the ship.

It’s the purposeful stillness that lets Dick know he’s not alone in the tunnel anymore. The hair on the back of his neck rises with anticipation. He stops and listens. Observes.

Ahead of him are a few dropped glow sticks to light the path. A large pile of cleaning supplies, tarps and crates are set to one side. The vents are empty.

That’s fine.

The creature here is too large to for the vents anyhow.

There! A shadow, slightly darker than the rest, moves slightly. The subtle light was enough to catch the shift. It’s all he needs to see. Dick raises his cutter, making sure his stasis is at the ready and kicks a glow stick towards the mountain of supplies.

The effect is immediate. A large Brute bursts through the pile looking for his ambushed prey. It stops short when all it sees is the glow stick sitting in front of it.

Dick whistles and waves from a safe distance as the brute looks towards him. He can’t tell if the malformed face is confused at first, but he knows when that confusion turns to rage.

Large, meaty arms swing and slam on the ground, denting the grated walkway. It howls at the trick, and like a rampaging bull charges forward without thought. The boy is quick to move out of the way. The Brute hits the wall behind him with a horrid sound.

Dick glances at the cutter’s display and finds he only has half a clip left. He sneers and puts the weapon away. “Okay, time to play with the environment.”

There is scaffolding set up along the walls. Cleaning equipment and heavy chemicals sit along the levels. Dick backs up into the tallest of them. Watching as the Brute shakes itself off. The boy bends at the knees and raises to the balls of his feet. Ready.

The Brute charges again. This time Dick stayed until the last possible second. Jumping onto the scaffolding and leaping over the carcass just as it made contact with the metal. The whole structure shakes and starts to collapse. The metal beams all raining down on top of the monster. The smell of chemicals is overpowering.

Dick won’t leaving anything up to chance. Using the kenesis module to grab several of the metal bars and he begins to shoot them forward.

The sound of metal spearing through flesh was almost lost under the cries of the dying Brute. Dick’s aim was true. The makeshift weapons landing in each soft spot between the armor. It takes six of them to full dismember an arm and another three to pin the creature to the wall behind it.

Just as is gave it’s last dying scream, it’s call is answered. A horde of necromorphs crawls from the vents. The com on his rig goes off.

“Dick! Holy shit! They’re swarming the ship! I can seem them crawling all over the outside!”

Dick responds as he takes position to fight. “I know! Are you and Stross safe?”

“Yeah, I moved the tram away from any structures they could reach us from. I don’t think they know we’re here.”

‘That can change real quick.’

Dick can’t help but feel like the Marker knows where everyone is. “Okay, Just stay there for now. If you have a feeling they might be aiming for you just get out of there.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

The call ends. Dick faces down the horde. Slashers lead the charge. In the back he can just make out the glow of Exploders. A few smaller bodies of the Pack are quickly making their way to the front as well.

Standing in the middle of a darkened corridor of the Ishimura, Dick feels confident.

***

It takes Dick twenty minutes to get down to the engineering deck. The call to Ellie to update her on his progress is short and to the point. Now all he has to do is make it to the centrifuge.

“Warning: The Engineering deck has not completed final clean-up and decontamination.” The automated voice informs him the second he approaches the main room.

“That’s fine. I won’t be here long.” Dick looks through the computer to grant himself emergency access. “By all fairness, the place looks much better than before. Be sure to tell higher ups to give the cleanup crew a raise. That can’t have been easy.”

‘You seem in high spirits.’

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Despite all the plastic, tape and the heavy smell of bleach, the room is familiar. Navigation will be easy.

“Like I never left.”

There is a report sitting on the desk. Another audio log. Dick isn’t sure why he keeps listening to them. Picking them up. They don’t help. Don’t do anything but take up space in his pockets. But a sense of responsibility has him grabbing everyone he finds. Most of them have been the speaker’s last words. It feel important to him that someone hears them. Makes sure they’ll be remembered.

He presses play and a woman, Dr. Heidi Latchford, begins to speak. “Dr. Latchford’s research summary organic material analysis: There are several shocking findings relating to the sludge-like material found throughout the Ishimura. First, it’s human DNA,”

“Well I could have told you that.”

“Second, and far more disturbing, it re-animates in the presence of Marker signals. The only conclusion we can come to is that the entire Ishimura crew was infected and “reconstructed”, and then fell into a soupy DNA-sludge when the Aegis VII Marker was destroyed.”

That...that Dick did not know.

He thought she was referring to the flesh-like growths that he found all over the walls and floors. After a while the interior of the Ishimura looked less like a ship and more like the inside of a stomach. But he never knew what happened to the remains of the crew after he blew up the planet and the Marker with it. He was stuck on a shuttle by then, drifting aimlessly for the better part of a couple weeks.

In hindsight it makes sense for the bodies to seemly devolve into the mess. The recovery team wouldn’t have met any of the necro’s. Authenticating that the Ishimura was simply victim to a biochemical terrorist attack. No hostiles, no bodies. Just the aftermath of a horrid event. An easy to maintain lie for the church.

“Wonder who the scapegoat was.”

Not him anyways. First, who would believe a fourteen year old could successfully render an entire ship empty, take out a whole colony and blow up a planet. Well, he did do that. But even Dick can’t believe he did all that without biting the dust.

Second, there would have been some public broadcast, his face plastered on every screen marked as a bio-terrorist rather than a lowly escaped inmate.

He turns to his double. “Hey, I’m already making a name for myself. Think I got what it takes to escape Arkham at the next breakout?” The unimpressed look he gets in return leaves him grumbling under his breath. “I think I could. Bet I’d do it better than Riddler.”

It takes no time at all for Dick to make it though decontamination and to the centrifuge. Another fifteen minutes and the large machine is back online, power returning to the ship.

“Alright that should bring the Tram’s back online and give me a straight shot to…” Dick screams as his ankle is snagged in the clutches of a large tentacle. The same one that attacked him months before. In this same hallway, too, he laments.

Dick feels his head smack the floor as he’s lifted off his feet. He scrambles. Grabbing for his cutter. He needs to sever the end. It’ll drag him down the hall into the large hole it made in the wall in further into it’s depths.

Nope.

Dick lifts the cutter trying to focus his eyes to make the shot only to blink. The hall is empty. Nothing clings to his leg. No amalgamation of body parts is attempting to kidnap him.

The teen lays on the floor breathing as deep as his abused chest will allow him. He stares at the florescent light above him. Throbbing head, sharp pain in his arm, rib-cage screaming.

“That was a dirty ass trick you stupid fucking rock.” He snarls through gritted teeth.

‘Almost wasted some vital ammo there.’ The doppelganger appears in his line of sight with a shit eating grin. ‘Pretty funny to see you flail like that though. Thought you shit yourself there.’

“Shut up.”

Dick works on getting back on his feet. A wave of pain sweeps through from everywhere making the teen sit and breath past it. The healing aids are wearing off faster this time. Opening his inventory, Dick grabs for another one, jamming it into his neck and waiting as the cool rush of relief settles in. He calls Ellie as he waits.

“Good news. Centrifuge is back online.”

“You did that yourself?”

“You were doubting me?!” Dick is insulted by her incredulous question.

Ellie sputters. “I mean, can you blame me? That’s a huge engineering undertaking. How do you even know how to do that?”

Dick finally pushes himself back onto his feet and begins the trek back. “I’ve had to mess with the centrifuge on the Ishimura before. I just retraced my steps from the first time.” He’s not going to mention the months of training and studying he did with Bruce on the layout and engineering of the ship before the mission started. That might be a bit much for her.

The line is quite for a moment while she takes in the information. Dick can hear Stross rambling in the background. He can’t make out what the man is saying, but the tone is enough.

“Alright, I’m not even going to ask anymore. At this point you could probably do my job.” Not too far off. “You’re heading back to the tram then?”

“Yeah, I should be there…”

Ellie’s scream cut him short. Followed closely by what sounds like a sucker punch and Stross yelping in turn. Dick stops short.

“What was that?” Dick can feel his heart though his throat. In his peripheral he sees his other. Watching him intensely.

“Ohh, you smarmy bastard. I should punch you agai...piece of shit! Dick, Stross just bit me!”

That caught him off guard. “He...he bit you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Had to punch him in the nose to get him to let go but he didn’t break skin or anything.” There’s a pause. “He sitting in the corner now. Not talking. You sure this plan of yours is going to work?”

Dick swallows hard around the lump growing in his throat. “Yeah, I’m almost to the tram, then it’s a straight shot to the bridge.”

“Good. Okay. Those things are still crawling all over the ship. Looks like there’s a hole near the medical deck if I remember the ship’s layout right. Avoid Medical and you should be fine.”

The tram stutters to a halt, almost knocking Dick off his feet. “What?”

“Unexpected structure ahead. Shutting down systems until pathway is cleared. Welcome to Medical.” The soulless feminine voice of the ship announces another obstacle for him to maneuver.
Dick isn’t sure if he wants to be mad or laugh. Ellie is quiet on the other end of the line before she utters a small, “Sorry.” in his direction.

“No, that’s okay. Just the Grayson luck, I guess. I’ll call you back.”

Dick leaves the tram to see his mother sitting in the waiting area. Her back is to him. She sways from side to side humming to herself. Dick is content to leave her to it and make his way to the other tram opposite of the medical ward. Her voice follows after him. He freezes watching her.

“Medical. I never did make it to the hospital, did I?” Her voice has an airy quality to it. Like she’s reminiscing on a particularity funny moment in her life. The impostor cracks her neck looking at him. “Did you know I survived the fall? Just for a few moments. Just long enough to watch you run towards me screaming. I felt everything. My last seconds. Felt like years. Frightened. Cold. Alone.”

Dick’s mouth is dry. It takes tremendous effort to turn away from her and continue out of the waiting room. “Keep walking. Keep walking.”

The mantra is repeated over and over again under his breath. His boots slam hard against the metal floor. It’s steady bang doing little to drown out the ringing in his ears and the whispering of the ghost against his neck.

“Don’t be shy, my little bird. Talk to mommy.”

Dick ignores her.

The clean up crew hasn’t made it this far into the ship. That much is abundantly clear. The supplies are there. Ready for use. But so is the old blood smears and the flickering of broken lights. The bodies are gone though. Or, they’re stuffed in the many, many bio hazard boxes that are stacked against the walls.

As Dick ventures further into the medical ward the flickering florescent lights are replaced with a black light. Blood splatters and smears painted cyan in the cobalt light are highlighted along every visible surface. Messages and Marker symbols are drawn on the wall in the same color. It isn’t long before the welcoming party shows up. They’re cries for his body and death are more than enough to drown Her out. The black light makes it hard to see them. Their malformed bodies blurring into one great blob of bone and melted skin. A slasher in the front of the pack lifts it’s arm.

Dick looks down, blinking. He turns and looks behind him. He’s leaving behind wet blue footprints. Limbs and viscera are scattered like forgotten toys in the room. The cutter in his hand is dripping in... His face feels sticky with...

Something happened.

‘You fought a horde. Nothing new.’

He doesn’t remember the fight.

‘You won. Does it matter if you remember it?’

It doesn’t, he supposes.

‘Then move.’

Nothing has changed since the last time he was here. It’s like he never left. Did he ever even leave to begin with?

‘Have your breakdown later. Focus’

Dick squeezes his eyes shut. The after image of the black light greets him behind his eyelids. The color is making navigating the dark halls so much harder. The smell of decay is making him nauseous. Dizzy. He wants to sit down.

A familiar lullaby is being hummed from the vents. The world around him spinning. Dick leans against the wall to breath for a moment. Must be looking bad if his double is not urging him forward.

Something crashes into the ground right behind him as he rests. Dick screams and whorls around. Collapsing on weak knees at the sight in front of him.

Mary Grayson stares up at her son from the floor. Red hair staining the ground around her head. Her limbs are laid in unnatural angles. A one for one pose on the night she died.

Her broken jaw moves to mimic words, but her voice is somewhere in his ear. “You never saw me buried. Never came to the funeral. Never did say goodbye. Are you so sure they did the correct rites for us? How do you know this isn’t just my spirit finally finding you after so long searching?”

Dick presses his face against the wall. His nose burns at the contact. His eyes sting. “No. No. You’re not her. You’re not. This is just my own insecurities about the subject and the Marker is just using it against me, because it’s a giant piece of shit.”

The smile she levels at him almost makes him lose his stomach. Dick leverages himself on the wall and gets back up. He turns away and walks. The sound of something scrapping along the ground starts up behind him. If he looks, Dick is sure he’ll see his mother dragging herself after him. He keeps his eyes forward.

“Just another statistic among Gotham. Another random casualty. Buried in the mass grave that is that city.” She continues to speak sweetly. “Do you see me? In the faces of the women you save. Do you hear me? In every scream that echoes in those dark alleyways. Am I a motivator for your continued heroics? Or am I an excuse for you to jump in front of every bullet fired? Hoping to see me soon, baby bird?”

“STOP!”

The voice is silenced at his command. Her presence gone, if the mirror of his reflection staring at him at the end of the hall is any indicator. It’ll be back. He knew.

‘so what’s the plan?’ The masked teen takes it’s place behind him. Walking just within his peripheral.

“You know the plan.”

‘don’t be cheeky. i mean once we get to the government sector.’

“Find the Marker, destroy it.”

The other snorts. ‘that’s it, hu?’

Dick stops, pissed. “What more do you want from me? We have a target and a destination. What more do I need?”

‘Batman would pop you upside the head for a dumb-ass question like that.’

“Yeah? Well news flash dickhead! Batman isn’t here! It’s just me. I’m doing this by myself. So we’re going to go with my dumb-ass plan and you get to zip your lip or fuck off!”

Dick stomps down the hall. The signs hanging from the ceiling tells him he’s close to the other station. If he doesn’t find a tram waiting for him, Dick might just do something stupid.

The double follows after him, not taking a single thing he just said in. ‘We need to figure out what to do with Ellie, we can’t take her with us to the Marker.’

“I’ll think of something.” He grits his teeth.

‘And Stross?’

“Stross is going to help m…”

‘Stross is no use to anyone. Guy can barely string together a coherent thought anymore. He’s a liability. Worse, he’s dangerous.’

“That’s not…” Robin strides forward and cuts Dick off, standing in front of him.

‘How much longer before he does something more than just a bite. He’s going rabid. He needs to be put down. What. Is. The. Plan?’

Dick falters, unable to look at the other boy. “I...I’ll think of something.” The other doesn't say anything further, just watches as Dick steps around him and flees the conversation.

There is a tram at the station. And even better the track is clear to the bridge. It's a quick trip. Before long the speakers announce his arrival to the bridge. He’s made it.

If the cleaning crew was just getting started in Medical, they haven’t even touched the bridge. Blood still coated everything, only no cleaning supplies were in sight. The only noticeable difference to the last time he was here was the yellow spray paint. X’s and a few ‘Clean here’ tags were scattered across the deck.

“Thanks. Never would have seen that puddle of blood without your help yellow paint.” Dick can’t help but sass at the redundance of it all.

The multi-leveled bridge seems almost twice the size as it was in his memory. The large spread windows giving the best view of the planet he’s seen yet. The orange glow of it’s eternal storms lighting up with room with ease. The added view of the station is a nice addition to the amazing sight. Given the circumstances.

A small area, set up for future cleaning crew sits at the entrance of the bridge. A little table, a few chairs and an empty cooler, all ready for whom ever was unlucky enough to be stationed here.

A commlink in a monitor nearby is still active. One message is blinking on the screen. Curious, Dick investigated.

“Allison Landers, this is Brandon Lurrach:” The man’s voice in the audio sounded like he had a very punch able face, Dick decided. “Thank you for identifying Ishimura archive footage and RIG logs that could possibly contradict the official story line of its demise at Aegis VII. It is critical that no word of the artifact’s recovery ever be surfaced to the public. It is disturbing that such records still exist this long after the incident. We have locked out your research team’s access and will be replacing them with EarthGov specialists effective immediately. Please contact me once the replacements arrive.”

Dick can feel his teeth ache from how hard he clenches his jaw. “Slimy bastards.”

The false story of the bio-terrorist attack sounded like a government cover-up but this just confirms it. It's not just Tidemman. Dick isn't sure just how far up the corruption goes, but the fact remains, Unitology and EarthGov are in bed together. And their affair is going to be made public if he has anything to say about it. Dick makes sure this particular message is saved directly to his rig.

The lift down to the captain’s nest is short, just beneath the rest of the bridge in it’s own isolated area. There are a number of escape pods sitting just outside the captain’s chair room.

“They replaced them.” Dick remembers when all the escape pods were launched. Not a single crew member inside any of them. He never figured out who did it.

The centrifuge has done it’s job of lighting the room up. A beautiful holographic model of the ship rests in front of the captain’s chair, awaiting her orders. Dick has the passing thought that the Ishimura will never again have a captain to follow. Just a boy with no clue what he’s doing. Flying by the seat of his pants with nothing more than a half-backed plan and a prayer. Dick sets about looking for the Planet Cracker’s tether controls as he calls Ellie.

“I made it. Give me a couple seconds to find the right controls and we’ll get you over.”

“Alright. I’m all set on my end. Just tell me when.”

“Don’t worry you’ll know.” Dick’s fingers fly across the monitor opening and closing different windows until he find what he’s looking for. “Gottcha.”

The last time Dick saw the tether’s in full action was something he won’t ever forget. A surge of energy and power so crazy it was almost terrifying that such technology can even exist. Watching as the bright beams of light and cables hold up several crust layers and a continent size piece of the planet up to it’s atmosphere with the only anchor being a parked ship.

Dick remembers an engineer explaining how it worked. Remembered listening to every word with awe and excitement. He can’t recall a single sentence that the nice man said to him all those months ago. Explanations lost in the inciting panic and tragedy. But it doesn’t take much for Dick to figure out what steps to take. He sets the tethers on the lowest setting. If he needs to up the power he will.

The tethers activate and Dick watches as the lines connect to the slowly drifting government sector. It sends both the ship and the building rocking as it reeled that part of the station back. Dick brings up a camera doing his best to reconnect the tram line with the shitty view point he has. Dick does his best to keep his hand from shaking.

“Almost got it.” Ellie’s voice lets him know.

He doesn’t hear the metal connect but he sees the rail bend slightly at the impact. Dick winces.

“That’s it!”

“Can you go over that? Looks like I bent the beam pretty bad.” Dick isn’t sure what he’ll do if they can’t get across.

“No, it’s fine. The track is more to help stop the tram from floating off into space and for braking. It’ll be bumpy but I can make it. Hurry back.”

“I need to keep the tethers steady. Go ahead. I’ll use an escape pod and meet you over there.”

Ellie looks like she wants to argue but she just nods her head. “Call me when you make it over there and we’ll find a way to meet up.”

“Sounds good.”

The call ends and Dick watches as the tram slowly makes it’s way over the deformed part of the track. The tethers are holding steady and the down time gives Dick an idea. Opening up a screen and accessing the comms array, Dick begins a public broadcast to all channels.

“My name is Dick Grayson. Location, Sprawl Station, Titan. You have been lied to. This is a message and a warning. Stay away.”