#Dismantled

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Dismantled Chapter 10

ao3

happy leap yeap

Trigger Warnings: light mentions of murder

1689 words

Leo was drowning.

He was no Raph, but he was finally beginning to understand why he went savage when separated from his brothers. 

He had never been so desperate. 

As much as they wanted it to, their current method of knocking down every door in New York just wasn’t working. They needed resources. The problem was that the only one that could probably find Donnie was (you guessed it) Donnie himself. 

But where else could they possibly turn? It’s not like they had any other super geniuses on hand. Or even someone with enough resources to make up for it.

Unless… no. That never went well. 

But there was someone that he knew would have resources like that. Resources that would get Donnie home to them that much quicker.

But god, it was risky. And the others would never agree. Or maybe they would. Would they? What if he brought it up and he was shut down? 

Would it be worth it to just… keep it a little bit of a secret? It was always better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, in his experience, but… this was a whole other thing. This wasn’t stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. This was a dangerous secret mission that could land him in some seriously hot water.

No. He didn’t care what he had to give up in exchange. He didn’t care what the price would be. Whatever it was, he would pay it and it would be worth it. His family would get over it, if it let them find Donnie alive.

He’d made up his mind. He was going to pay a little visit to the Hidden City’s favorite crime lord.

------

With his ōdachi on hand, sneaking out wasn’t the hard part. That would be everything that came after he landed in a heap on the floor of Big Mama’s office. 

If she was surprised at his rough entrance, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even look at him at first, reading over some papers in her gross spider claws. Did spiders have claws? Wait, that didn’t matter.

He opened his mouth to explain himself, but before he could get a single word out, she put up a… hand? He really wasn’t sure, but again, irrelevant. Anyway, she put up a hand or something, eyes not once leaving whatever she was so preoccupied with. 

Probably boring business stuff. Maybe taxes? Did someone like her even pay taxes?

He dusted himself off, sitting down in the chair he’d just slightly missed in his tumble through the portal. He sat up straight, crossing his arms and hoping that he was portraying just how serious he was. He wasn’t use to that, but there was a first time for everything.

After several minutes of Big Mama slowly (and he meant slowly, he was sure she was doing it on purpose) sifting through her forms, she finally straightened the stack with a few taps on her desk, before setting them down neatly.

Finally, she looked up, addressing him for the first time in the many minutes he’d been waiting around. “What a splendid surprise,” she said with a smile that oozed false sweetness. “To what do I owe the pleasure, turtley-boo?”

His stomach churned with anxiety. This was such a bad idea. Especially considering it could have been her who had taken Donnie all along! But… no, he’d made up his mind. He’d face the consequences it would bring. 

“My brother has gone missing,” he finally offered through grit teeth.

She nodded. “So I’ve heard! Quite the tragic tale, but I’m afraid I haven’t got a diddly-do to do with that!”

Big Mama was a lot of things. A liar, a manipulator, a crime lord… the list went on. But the most important thing she was? Flashy. If she’d taken Donnie, the whole yokai-world would know about it. So, against his better judgment… he was actually inclined to believe her. 

“I know,” he said, slumping slightly into his seat. That wasn’t to say he was letting his guard down. He’d be a fool to fall prey to her tricks again. “I want to…” was he really doing this?

The fear of what could have already become of his twin was enough to get the words out. “I want to make a deal.”

In an instant, Big Mama perked up, her many eyes zeroing in on him. “Oh, well why didn’t you say so, turtley-boo? What type of deal are we talking?”

No going back. He just had to commit. For his family. “I need your help,” he said, spitting it out before he could change his mind. “With your resources, finding Donnie will go so much faster and… I don’t know how much time he has left.”

“Ooh, tracking down a taken turtle sounds like quite the tiresome task! You do realize payment will be rather… high?”

Leo set his jaw, nodding. He knew. He knew, and it would be worth it. “Name your price, spider lady.”

She was grinning. He felt a lot like a fly wandering into her web.

------

Mikey closed the door of his bedroom as slowly and quietly as he could, one hand against the frame to reduce the noise of it finally clicking shut. He let out a breath, turning around — only to nearly crash into Leo.

He just barely stopped himself from colliding with his brother, falling back against the wall in his effort to re-direct himself. Leo stared at him with wide eyes. Aw, shit, he was totally busted.

Don’t give anything away, he told himself. Leo might not know what he was actually doing!

“Whatcha doing?” 

Mikey laughed awkwardly. “Oh, me? I was just gonna go to bed early… and stuff.”

“Okay.”

Wait, seriously? That had been easy.

“I think… I think I’m gonna do the same thing,” he agreed, punctuated with a heavy yawn. “G’night, Mike.”

“Night,” he echoed softly, watching until Leo stumbled down the hall to his own bedroom. The guy really did look exhausted, for some reason. But as far as Mikey knew, he hadn’t been out searching or anything, and that’s all they’d really been doing recently… 

But hey, Leo hadn’t questioned him, and that was what mattered, right now. He couldn’t believe he’d bought that!

Satisfied that no one else would come out to catch him, Mikey continued to the nearest sewer grate. 

It wasn’t that Mikey wanted to lie to his brothers. It was just that the only way he could do anyone any good was by going behind their backs! 

Here was the thing. He’d only initially planned to give a starving used-to-be-supervillain some food once. But he’d sort of… gone back a few times afterwards.

If the others knew, they’d put a stop to it immediately! They wouldn’t trust Draxum as far as they could throw him! That wasn’t to say that even Mikey fully trusted him yet… but he’d yet to try anything. And that spoke volumes, didn’t it? Even when he had been a bad guy, he’d never tried to really manipulate them into joining him. He figured that if he did try anything, it would be an outright attack. And… considering his state right now, Mikey kind of doubted that.

Generally, he could read people. Pretty well, if he did say so himself. Draxum just kind of seemed like a harmless, sad, and bitter old man now. It was just like the movie Up! Mikey had been a Todd Scout… so yeah, it was basically the same.

And slowly but surely, the Baron had begun to open up (not without a fight, of course). With just a little more time, he could start worming some knowledge out of him! And… even if he couldn’t, it wasn’t like rehabilitating the guy was a waste of time. Pushing someone from supervillainy to civilian…y, was still a good thing.

If Mikey couldn’t help Donnie, at least he could help someone. But oh, he would help Donnie. He wouldn’t stop until he did.

------

“So…” Mikey began as he took a bite of his food, “is there like… some kind of locator spell you might know of? Y’know… for people?”

From across the picnic table they’d settled at, Draxum chewed his rice, eyes narrowed at the orange-banded turtle. 

Mikey had been experimenting with different human cuisines, determined to figure out what Draxum did and didn’t like. He hadn’t threatened his life yet, so he’d kept coming back with new foods for him to try. He figured that for a homeless guy, he wasn’t really in the position to pass up free food. Tonight was Chinese take-out, complete with the fortune cookies.

“You’re not going to stop bothering me about this, are you?” he finally asked with a tired sigh.

Mikey’s beak twitched into a semi-apologetic frown. “Im sorry, I just — I know you can help. And I can repay you! I’m not like, super liquid right now, but I can do something else!”

Draxum looked unimpressed. “What could you possibly offer me?”

“Well, besides giving you free food all the time — you’re welcome,” he snarked, taking a moment to wrack his brain. “Uhh… okay, I don’t know right now, but I swear I’ll do whatever — I will literally get you an apartment, dude, just please help me.”

“An… apartment?” he asked, like he wasn’t entirely sure what that was. Yokai did have apartments, didn’t they?

“Think about it,” Mikey said, the idea coming to life in his brain, “you would have a roof over your head — protection from the elements! A place to store extra food!”

“And how exactly do you plan to do this?”

“Don’t… don’t even worry about that. I’ll figure it out. Are you in?”

Draxum just stared at him for a long time, the food all but forgotten. Finally, he let out a drawn-out groan. “Fine.”

“Ohmigosh, really?” Mikey squealed.

“Yes,” he sighed, “but don’t make me regret this.”

“Oh, you won’t! This’ll be awesome! Where do we start? What kinda mystic mojo do you got in that big old brain of yours?” “We start,” he said, already exasperated, “at the market.”

[heart-songs]

I am a collection of dismantled almosts.

Anne Sexton

[saltlakehardcoreflyers]

[postcard-from-the-past]

12-13th century Hambye Abbey, dismantled by the locals after the French Revolution as they used it as a quarry, Normandy region of France

French vintage postcard

[dailyworldecho]

[moniquill]

You folks know that there is nothing inherently dangerous about penises, right? They don't emit radiation or anything. You will not be harmed by being in the same room as a penis.

[proxycrit]

DAY 27- NORTH LOMEI LABYRINTH ISLAND

I can’t believe Purah finally gave them more of the main quest (Purah’s defense is it’s hard to herd our heroes when they hold the collective brain cell of a bag of cats.)

This totk au is called familiar familiar! It’s a what if zelda doesnt go back in time and draws from elements in botw a lot more then from its source material. Flourish with me.

((Wanna support this work and look at my sketchbook at the same time? Check out my patreon!))

Bonus treat:

[dappermouth]

Is it just me or does some of your new work seem ai generated? At the very least the composition seems a bit artificial. I’ve noticed that with a lot of artists not just you so I was wondering.

yeah it’s just you dude

[brainrotcharacters]

the easy grip on the knife. the leg over the seat. the hand over the other seat. the sassy "come get it" move. you know the bitch is smiling behind that mask even as he said the line.

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Dismantled Chapter 11

ao3

exposition in MY fic? no way

1207 words

The market was an interesting place, filled with shops of all shapes and sizes, tables displaying hundreds of different items. There was so much, Mikey wasn’t even sure where to start. Luckily, he had Draxum with him. 

They hadn’t been able to acquire a cloaking brooch, so they’d settled for a plain old cloak. It covered the man well enough, and so far, they hadn’t been stopped. Mikey considered that a win! And if anybody did recognize the goat, he’d just hit them with his sick ninja skills. Nothing could go wrong!

Unless of course, his family realized that he wasn’t home. Or if they got outnumbered by people who realized who was under the cloak. Or, you know, any number of things, but he was trying to stay optimistic here. 

“Where to?” he asked, looking up at his considerably taller companion. “Are we getting supplies for that locator spell?”

Draxum sighed. “It likely won’t be that simple.”

It never was, was it? “How come?”

“While locator spells can be used on people, I would imagine whoever took the purple one would have precautions in place against something like that.”

Mikey frowned. “What… what kind of precautions?”

“A blocker of some kind, probably. He’s likely… ‘off the map’, as they say.”

“But… not for sure?”

“If his captor is a fool. There’s no harm in trying, at least.”

That’s all he could hope for, at this point. “Alright, what do we need to get?”

The list was actually a lot shorter than he’d been anticipating. He didn’t really know much about mystics, but a locator spell did sound pretty simple, in theory. 

The biggest problem was that Draxum didn’t really know where he was going. Apparently, it had been a long time since he’d been here, and the cloak did make it kind of hard to see. That left it up to Mikey to read out signs, directing them around to the best of his ability.

That also meant that every time he got distracted, there wasn’t a whole lot Draxum could do about it.

“Whoa,” Mikey said as they walked through shops on the outermost edge of the place, some tucked into shadowy corners that only seemed slightly illegal. “What does this one do—?” He asked, reaching for a cylinder of a glowing pink liquid. 

Draxum smacked his hand away before he could actually grab it. “Don’t touch that.”

“Why not?” He whined, before gasping. “Does it explode?”

“What — no, of course not,” he scoffed, ushering Mikey away from the booth.

When it seemed like he wasn’t going to elaborate, Mikey stared at him. “So… what does it do, then?”

Draxum sighed. “I’m surprised that vendor even had it out. Its uses are very powerful and very… controversial. As well as incredibly easy to screw up. Even I wouldn’t be fully confident in using it.”

“What is it?”

“It’s — if I’m identifying it correctly, which of course I am — what’s known as a linking potion. A form of magic that is commonly known as — ugh — an ‘emotion potion’.” 

“Hell yeah, I love a good rhyme! Uh, sorry. What’s a linking potion?”

“It was initially created to assist in overcoming mental blocks; fears and phobias. The idea was that it would be able to link nearly any two concepts in one’s mind. A fear linked with calm can practically eliminate it.”

Mikey turned over the thought in his mind. “But people used it for… other stuff, too?”

He nodded. “Hence the controversy. It was more difficult than expected to get the intended result — and far too easy to plant unwelcome associations in the subject’s head. Mind magic is tricky… especially of this sort. Not to mention how exceedingly powerful it is, and nearly impossible to break.”

“So like… if we used it to help get Donnie over his beach ball thing—?”

“I don’t know what that even means, but no. Well — in theory it could work like that, but firstly, it’s far too dangerous to actually attempt, and secondly, the purple one would actually have to be here.”

Mikey withered at the reminder.

“Now, need I remind you that we came here with a goal?”

No. No he didn’t. The search continued. 

------

“Wait, I’m doing this?”

“Of course you are. It’s your brother, is it not?”

“Well, yeah, but I know literally nothing about all this magic stuff!”

“Mystic,” Draxum corrected. “And I will be guiding you, obviously. Since you insist I do this, you’ll be learning, too.”

“Oh, sick,” he said with an enthused nod. “I’ve always wanted to learn this stuff! What do I do first?”

“Place an item of Purple’s in the bowl.”

Mikey pulled out the chosen item — a kind of gross old toothbrush. He dropped it into the bowl, which was a plastic one with cartoon depictions of Mrs. Cuddles all over it. He suppressed a shudder.

“Did this have to be the bowl we used?” He asked.

Draxum glared at him. “Apologies that my lab and everything in it is not available to me at this time.”

“Yeah, I know, but you couldn’t have found any other bowl—? Yeah, haha, anyways… what next?”

About twenty minutes later and a head stuffed full of new mystic mumbo jumbo, they were ready to go. If this was what school was like, Mikey did not envy April.

“Activate it, now,” Draxum instructed, and with bated breath, Mikey did.

He hoped against all hope that it would give him something, anything… watching and waiting for it to work. Please work. 

His heart hammered as he imagined what the next hour could look like: going home to his brothers with the news that he’d actually found Donnie. The overwhelming relief they’d all feel when they finally had him home safe. It was so close, he could practically reach out and touch it…

Nothing happened.

Mikey tapped the bowl, looking to Draxum in a panic. “Did I do it wrong?” He asked, eyes watery.

“No. It seems to be as I thought… there is a blocker on him. I am… sorry.”

Oh. So that was — that was fine, that was… tears filled his eyes, and he furiously blinked them back. He’d really thought this was it.

Draxum looked awkward, clearly not used to displays of emotion. One of the many reasons Mikey was trying not to cry right now. 

“There are other things we can try,” he suggested in a stilted tone. “Spells more complicated than this will take some training, but they may be able to break through the barrier hiding the purple one.”

Mikey sniffled, wiping his eyes. “Are you saying you’re gonna… train me to do mystic stuff? To help me find Donnie?”

“I… suppose I am?” He cringed, as though he were already regretting it. “You would make… a worthy student.”

Overwhelmed once more, Mikey threw his arms around the man, hugging him tight despite the stiff form Draxum held.

“Oh, thank you!” He gasped, “thank you so so much!”

“Yes, yes… don’t mention it.”

Well, that would be no problem. He especially couldn’t tell his family that he was going to be training with their former number one bad guy. They’d flip out!

But it would pay off. He just knew it. 

[saltlakehardcoreflyers]

[tenth-sentence]

"(...) The dwelling was dismantled; but we could see a white man had lived there not very long ago. (...)"

"Heart of Darkness" - Joseph Conrad

[dailyworldecho]

[alwaysbewoke]

[somnoir]

Gotham's newest Crime Lord - part 3

Part 2 | Masterpost

"You know your way around the city." Dan commented, eyes narrowed once he realizes that Kitty and Johnny adapted a little too well to Gotham. Going to places even he didn't know existed, exploring and giving them intel he never realized was relevant. They knew history of Gotham in a way a local would. 

Johnny shrugged, turning back to Kitty who welcomed Ember with a bright smile. The two were squealing, talking about how they were going to help mess with Firefly after burning down a well-loved studio down town. 

For Dan, he wasn't going to intrude too much on his former rogues but... "You're from Gotham. Both of you." 

Johnny twitched, watching as Shadow moved to play with Elle in the air. 

"Yeah, we’re not too sure if our folks are still kickin’, but Kitty and me took off after they flipped over our thing. This place still gives me the heebie-jeebies, but hey, you guys are here. Gotham’s cool these days with all the furries and rogues runnin’ around." Johnny laughed, his cocky nature still burning bright, even when he looked almost melancholic at the memory of this place. 

No ghost was truly comfortable in their hometown, whether they died there or not. This was where they were born, where their lives began. 

"I see..." Dan mumbled, glancing to the space where Danny was usually in. His younger brother was off doing kingly duties again, slumped by work and the Observants pestering him about shit. 

There's a quiet knock on his door and Jeremy was poking his head into the room again. The ghosts didn't even care, continuing to be visible and floating around. Discomfort and a bit of fear was clear on the man's face but he turned to Dante with as much courage as he could muster. 

"Boss, we've got a lead on the missing kids." 

Ah, yes. The recent disappearances of children. He doesn't know where they go, what happens to them. All he knows is that children were picked of the streets and never to be seen again. 

"Someone's been takin' kids?" Kitty grimaced, not minding how Jeremy shuddered. "Dan, dear, darling! Send me and Johnny. We know this city better than Batman and his little birdies."

Again, Dan sighed. "Gimme a minute, Kitty. Not enough information." He grunts, turning to Jeremy to hand him the report. 

"Anything else?"

"Well... About the Bats..."

"They snoopin' around again?" 

"Trynna sniff out Phantom." Jeremy shrugs. "Red Hood's been pretty active. Heard he's been wonderin' about Phantom not visitin' the kids last week." 

"Thanks Jeremy. Tell Marigold I said hi." 

"Will do, boss!" 

Once Jeremy left, the other ghosts were swarming Dan like bees. Their eyes glittering with anticipation, excitement, and vengeance. It felt strange for them to pay attention, to follow him. Danny's always felt like the better leader, struggling and suffering in the role yet rising above it all. That was why he was the king now. 

"Alright, let's get to work. Most of these kids have one thing in common. Their skills. Flexible, acrobatic, and have some sort of combat training. Usually in self defence." Dan plugged in the USB into his laptop, projecting the screen on to the tv. "The latest disappearance is Layla Smithson. Fourteen. Gymnast and was sent to take taekwondo classes by her parents. Before that was Evan Chavez. Another gymnast but was also known to get into multiple fights."

"So whoever is takin' the kiddies, they go after the ones with pretty good skills." Ember hummed, turning to Kitty and then nudging her. "You've got anything to say about that?" 

"Well... Maybe." Johnny shrugs too. 

"Ooh! What about that nursery rhyme every Gothamites gets to listen. Y'know. About the court."

Dan frowned. "What court?" 

"The court of owls!" Kitty grinned, "Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowy perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send the Talon for your head." 

"Who the fuck uses that kind of shit for a nursery rhyme?" Dan scowled, but considered the possibility. "Any idea if they're real."

"Very." Johnny warned, "When Kitty and I died, we came back here a couple of times. Explored the place and tried to dig up secrets that would have killed us if we were livin'. One of 'em was the court. A secret society of a bunch off rich bastards."

"Johnny," Dan warned, knowing that something was still being kept from him. 

"There's another thing..." Johnny hesitated but Kitty took his hand and continued. 

Kitty grimaced, "The Court of Owls has a bunch of soldiers. They got this chemical they use on people, turnin’ ‘em into their own assassins. From what me and Johnny dug up a while back, these assassins were trained when they were kids. They call 'em Talons."

Dan wanted to yell, scream. Burn down the cursed with it's cursed bricks. Fuck. Fuck. Was the world always so shitty? 

"You're telling me... There's an entire secret society that uses chemicals to turn children into assassins?" 

Children.... Fucking children. They were weaponizing kids!

Ancients, he might just commit mass genocide again. 

"Alright. Alright. We leave the living people out of this. The court? Their talons? I want all of you prepared. I'm gonna contact Danny to drag Skulker and Wulf's asses here immediately."

Elle grinned, "GRAB AMORPHO TOO! We're gonna need his help if we want to dismantle the court."

The office is vacated quickly, with Elle dragging Ember and Kitty for girl time and Johnny runs off with shadow. Dan is left alone, frustrated at the new information before he does his best to summon his brother, the very annoyed ghost king that appears before him in full royal regalia. 

"A bit busy, Dan. Still tryin' to fight the laughing magician to help with getting rid of the Anti-Ecto Acts. Constantine is running around trying to destroy the GIW now." 

Dan snorted. He knew about John Constantine. The crazy motherfucker who's soul fragments were scattered around and Danny had to deal with the paperwork and mission to collect them all. 

"I know, yeah, sorry. I get that's important. But we've got a situation here."

"What would that be?"

"Secret society of rich fruitloops that are worse than Vlad. They're kidnapping children and making them into brainless assassins."

Immediately, the room grows colder than the far frozen. Danny's eyes are as green as they could ever be, but his pupils were an icy blue that would have made Frostbite shudder. 

"What do you need?"

"Skulker, Wulf, and Amorpho." 

"I'll send them on your way. They'll be here within 3 hours." Danny sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I'll finish up things on my end to help."

"Sure thing, twerp."

"Fuck you." Fondly. 

"Fuck you too." Affectionately.

"OH! Your revenant was looking for you." 

"THE SEXY RED HOOD WAS LOOKING FOR ME?!" 

It was an entire week of silence. Of Wraith not doing anything at all. Even the rogues felt apprehensive to act on anything after Wraith's new subordinates started popping up to pester them. The reports were the same. Distorted footage, meta-human abilities, and a ridiculous amount of chaos. 

Apparently, Two face has waged war on one of them, named Ember. Riddler was also ready to throw hands with Specter. And then Harley and Ivy were hunting down a couple names Kitty and Johnny 13. Why they were named that, none of them knew. But considering Wraith and Phantom's titles, the entire group was Ghost themed. The majority of Gotham have taken to calling them the Ghosts. 

But then...

"Bruce... Get a look at this." Barbara's voice shook, horrified as she stared at the screen. Majority of the family was already in the cave, preparing to patrol once more. But their eyes were drawn to the screen. They all froze, struggling to fathom what the fuck was it they were looking. 

"Holy shit." 

Everyone was frozen, staring at the clear, untampered screen. 

Bruce sucked in a deep breath, reading the bloody message written on the wall of... He couldn't recognize it properly. "Farewell to the Court of Owls that once watched from their shadowy perch. Their talons covered in the blood of children they once purge. Farewell to their judge, the parliament says goodbye. To Talons, to owls, the ghosts says hi." 

And right beside the message was the hanging body of what Bruce recognized was the Judge of the Court of Owls. 

The Court of was in ruins. 

"Holy shit. HOLY SHIT!" Tim screeched, almost stumbling as he stared at the morbid message. "The Wraith and his ghosts took out the fucking court."

There was a loud rev of an engine, momentarily dragging their attention to Jason who was hurriedly getting of his bike and taking of his helmet. "Fuck, you've already seen it."

"You saw it in real life?! Where the fuck is that? The location is distorted but the entire thing is being broadcasted to the entirety of Gotham." 

"There are two of 'em. That one's on the clocktower."

Barbara snapped her head towards him, "MY clocktower?!" 

"Sorry 'bour that Barbie. But it got the job done for them, all of Gotham know about the court now."

Bruce grimaced, "And the other location?" 

"Arkham... The Talon is the one being hanged up there. The message is shorter: Bye-Bye owls. Shouldn't have messed with the dead." Jason clicked his tongue, "That's either about the fact that the court has been messing with the dead or it's cause Wraith's group is called the Ghosts." 

Jason shook his head, knowing for the fact that he'd have to track down Phantom soon. His eyes turned towards Dick, who stared at the screen as if a burden was just freed from him. Jason thinks it has. 

They had found out about the Court a little while ago, then found out about Dick's situation with them. How the circus he grew up in was one of the facilities that groomed Talons. How Dick was supposed to be recruited as one when his parents died. 

"Dick?" Jason murmured, gently taking Dick's hand. The other man jolted, his domino mask hiding whatever emotions there was in his eyes. 

"Little Wing..." 

"C'mon. Let's go grab some of Alfred's cookies. The rest of the family can deal with this." Jason quickly hurried his older brother out the cave, urging him to change our of his suit. 

Dick, once again, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, struggled to understand that his nightmare that was the Court was finally dead. Most likely slaughtered by the hands of a new crime lord, a rogue that seemed desperate to keep children safe. He held the tea tightly, closing his eyes as Jason sat opposite to him. 

The court was dead. 

Talon was dead. 

"I'm gonna go look for Phantom in a bit." Jason hummed, trying to appear comforting to Dick. 

And the image of the Judge of the court's body hanging from the clocktower flashes in his head again. 

"Jason." Dick whispered, "Get me a meeting with Wraith."

"What?" Jason blinked, "Dickie, no. Wraith might seem like a pretty nice guy with how he's protecting the kids, but he's still..." He paused, "He's still like me." 

"I need to meet him, Jaybird. I need to confirm that the Court is gone for good. He's the only one who can do that for me." 

"Why would Phantom even let you meet him?"

Dick frowned, sucking in a deep breath before taking Jason's hands. 

"Tell him that Nightwing was supposed to be a Talon."

Part 4 | Masterpost

[johnvenus]