FIVE: Everyone Has Nightmares

I couldn't dwell on the news that Green Arrow was alive for long. Gar needed to get back before Lex figured out what he was up to. I gave him a hug before sending him on his way.

Once Gar was gone, I started to struggle. Green Arrow was alive, but I'd watched the love of his life, Black Canary, get murdered. Even if we rescued Ollie, who knew if he'd want to come back to the good guys once he found out that Dinah Lance was dead.

"Dick, are you okay?" Kara asked gently.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Totally whelmed. Feeling the aster, even."

Kara looked at me in confusion. "Kal-El helped me master English, but I don't understand those words," she admitted.

"Whelmed... Not underwhelmed or overwhelmed, but just the right amount of whelmed. And aster is the opposite of disaster." I managed a small smile before explaining, "I came up with the words when I was younger."

She smiled as she considered this. "I love it," she decided.

"Thanks. Wally used to-" I hesitated as my chest tightened with grief.

"Who's Wally?" Kara asked.

"Wally West was my best friend... Kid Flash. Please don't tell anyone his real identity."

"I won't... Did he...?" She didn't finish her question, but I understood.

"Wally was a Speedster. Harley says Lex has one, so it's possible he survived, but I'm not getting my hopes up. It will hurt too much if I let myself think he's alive and it turns out I'm wrong. The only thing I know for sure is that he and Artemis went missing together right before I got cornered with the others." I shook my head. "If Wally was alive and still himself, he wouldn't have stopped until he found me."

"Dick, how did you survive everything?" Kara asked cautiously.

"I don't completely know. After I lost Bruce, I was in bad shape. Apophis was coming to kill me when I blacked out. I heard someone show up right before I lost consciousness, but I don't know who it was. When I woke up, I was in an abandoned warehouse that wasn't far from where I'd been. I was injured, but someone had stitched me up before I could bleed to death. Whoever it was did a really good job."

"Why didn't they stay with you?"

"I'll never know... Not unless I can figure out who it was. I owe them my life. If they survived, I'd like to thank them."

I heard a crash come from upstairs. I hurried toward the sound. Kara followed right behind me as I raced toward Damian's room.

I relaxed slightly as I realized that Damian was alone. He was tossing and turning violently in his sleep. He'd knocked down the lamp on the bedside table.

"I've got him," I said to Kara. She nodded and left us alone.

I knew there was a good chance that the homicidal toddler might try to kill me if I got too close, so I started off by listening to him as he mumbled in his sleep.

"Mother... Mother, no!" Damian said.

My heart immediately broke for the kid. I knew that feeling entirely too well.

"Damian, wake up," I said gently. "You're having a nightmare."

"Mother... Mother, please, wake up..."

I saw the pain on his face and understood it all too well. I gently touched his arm.

Unsurprisingly, Damian pulled a sword out from beneath his pillow and immediately went for the kill. I dodged the strike just in time.

"Damian, it's me! It's Dick!" I said.

"Grayson?" Damian asked in confusion as he woke up fully. "Why are you in my room?"

"You were having a nightmare," I replied.

He scowled at me. In that moment, he looked so much like Bruce that it hurt.

"I do not have nightmares," he said firmly.

"Everyone has nightmares sometimes," I replied. "I get them all the time... About my parents dying, or your dad dying, or a pack of hungry hyenas trying to eat me and your dad for lunch while the Joker and Harley slow danced without music a few feet away."

He raised an eyebrow at me and said, "That last one was oddly specific."

"That's because it actually happened. We were restrained. If the Flash hadn't run by and taken us with him, we both would have been mauled to death."

"You lead a weird life, Grayson."

"You have no idea. The point is, nightmares are normal. They don't make you weak, Damian; they make you human. So if you ever did have one, no one would think any less of you."

He didn't say anything, but his body relaxed slightly, and I knew my words meant something to him even if he'd never admit it.

"Has there been any word?" Damian asked, changing the subject.

"Gar came by," I replied. I caught him up on what we'd learned. As I finished, we heard glass shatter. Both of us raced toward an empty bedroom two doors down.

Kara was already inside. She knelt beside the package that had broken the window, careful not to cut herself on the glass. The package was wrapped in fancy red paper. Damian's name was carefully written on the attached envelope.

"Kara, don't open that," I said. "It could be a bomb for all we know."

"A bomb?" Kara repeated. She cautiously set the package down.

Damian shook his head. "I know that handwriting," he said. He grabbed the package and opened the envelope, pulling out a letter written on fancy stationary.

Damian paled. "Merlyn..." He mumbled.

"Merlin? What's next? King Arthur?" I asked. "Is Excalibur in the box?"

"It's Merlyn with a Y, as in you, not an I, as in idiot," Damian corrected me. "I'm talking about Malcolm Merlyn. He was one of the top people in the League of Assassins. My grandfather trained him directly. He was second only to my mother."

"What does this package have to do with him?"

Damian hesitated for a moment before apparently deciding he trusted me.

Hello Damian,

The League survives. Most were killed, however, a small portion escaped with our lives. We are rebuilding and request your return at once.

I have ascended to the role of Ra's al Ghul. With your mother's tragic passing and with you still being so young, I am certain this is what your grandfather would have wanted.

Come home, Damian. I will continue your training.

-Ra's al Ghul, formerly Malcolm Merlyn

"Why do I get the impression this guy isn't exactly trustworthy?" I mumbled.

"He's not," Damian confirmed. "In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover he joined forces with Luthor."

"You can't go back to the League, Damian. This guy might kill you."

"Unlike you, I'm not an idiot, Grayson. I know this is a trap." He cautiously opened the box. Inside was something that made Damian tense. He pulled it out and held it in his hands.

"Nice dagger," I said.

"It was my mother's favorite," Damian replied. He continued to hold the weapon like it was the most precious thing in the world.

He really is just a traumatized kid beneath all of that rage, I thought. "If this came through the window, Merlyn knows you're here," I said, changing the subject slightly. "The question is, how did he get it through a second floor window in the first place?"

"He's exceptionally agile. I'm sure he had no difficulty scaling the gates and trees in order to get the right angle." Damian shook his head. "He's playing games... He gave me a piece of my mother to try to break me and lure me back to him at the same time... I have to leave."

"We can protect you, Damian."

"I'm not the one who needs protecting. I can handle Merlyn. You and Kara, however, are out of your league."

"I'm a lot more skilled in this area than you seem to realize, and Kara is from Krypton. We can handle him."

"Did you ever encounter my grandfather?"

"Not directly," I admitted.

"Then you have no idea what sort of threat Merlyn poses. Stay out of this, Grayson."

The debate was interrupted as a message came in over the radio. "Testing! Testing, testing!" Harley's voice said.

"We read you loud and clear, Harley," I replied. "How are things on your end?"

"So far so good! Lexy's thrilled to have us! And I confirmed a few more people are alive and under his control... Green Arrow and his little blonde sidekick are both here."

"Artemis? You saw her? She's alive?" I demanded.

"Yep. That one's a real firecracker! I like her."

I almost started to cry in relief. Artemis might be evil, but we could try to fix that. We couldn't fix death.

A thought occurred to me. "Harley, have you identified the Speedster?" I asked. If Artemis was alive, maybe the Speedster was Wally after all.

"Yeah, he stopped moving when he got here and I finally saw him," Harley replied. "It's the Flash."

My heart simultaneous broke and filled with relief. Barry was alive, and that was amazing. I genuinely loved Barry... But that meant that Wally was really gone, and with Artemis alive, I'd hoped that my best friend was still out there, too.

"Thanks, Harley," I replied in what I hoped was a detached tone that wouldn't give away my emotions. "Is there anyone else?"

"Yeah, there are a few I haven't seen yet... And Lex has a little girl here. She can't be a day over nine, but she's a tiny powerhouse."

"A little girl?" Kara repeated. "Who is she?"

"I'm not sure. Whoever she is, she has magic. Lex is being very protective of her. I don't think she has any family. She's a little off, but that doesn't bother me! I heard her mumbling to herself, having a full on conversation with a voice in her head. It could be a trauma reaction... The poor kid seems scared out of her mind. I don't think she's been turned evil, but she's obedient to Lex."

"Harley, you need to find out who this kid is," I said. "There has to be a reason that he's keeping her so close."

"I'll work on it," Harley promised.

"We can't just leave a child in his hands," Kara said. "Maybe we should move in to rescue her."

"I second that," Damian replied. "I'm sick of waiting."

"Lex is taking care of the girl," I said. "She's safe for now. Let's give Harley and Gar a day to figure out who she is, and then we can get her out of there."

I didn't love the idea of leaving a kid with Lex any more than the others did, but it was better than running in blind. I just hoped we'd get answers quickly so we could rescue the girl and work on rescuing everyone else, too.