TWELVE: Trouble

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Constantine mumbled, "Bollocks..."

"Your daughter?" Billy whispered in horror. "You and Lex had a daughter?"

"Think what you may of us, but Hannah was everything to us both. We raised her in secret, out of the public eye. We wanted her to be safe," Tala replied. "It wasn't enough. There wasn't even a body left to bury. All we found in the debris was part of her teddy bear, covered in blood."

I felt sick. "We didn't know," I said softly. "God help us, we didn't know..."

Kara wrapped her arms around me. "It's not your fault, Dick," she said softly.

"It is his fault!" Tala snapped. "It is the fault of everyone who was there that day! The Joker and Harley Quinn may have set up the explosives that killed my baby girl, but Green Arrow triggered the first explosive, and none of you checked the area to make sure it was clear before you began your battle. Superman and Superboy both had X-ray vision, yet neither detected that an innocent child was still inside of that building! All of you came to fight, and none of you even tried to ensure there were no civilians nearby! And even Lex and I failed her. We held a meeting with Ra's Al Ghul to discuss an alliance with the League of Assassins, and we left Hannah under the watchful eye of his daughter, but she left her!"

Damian snapped to attention then. "My mother would not have done that," he said firmly.

"She fled that building, and she left my child behind, alone, to die!"

"You're wrong."

"She knew Batman was in trouble, so she abandoned Hannah to go save her little toy!"

Damian tried to attack Tala, but I gently stopped him, realizing she was baiting him. "Talia Al Ghul wasn't with us during that battle," I said.

"According to Lex's surveillance footage, she stopped an attack that would have killed Batman," Tala said. "The Joker sent an explosive at him that detonated prematurely. That only happened because Talia Al Ghul hit it with a throwing knife and set it off. None of you saw her lurking in the shadows like a coward."

"My mother was no coward, you harlot!" Damian shouted.

My eyes widened as I remembered exactly what Tala was talking about. "Joker thought it was defective," I said as I grabbed onto Damian tightly to hold him back.

"She stayed to watch. She left Hannah in the other building... That's why we targeted the League of Assassins. We intended to make that useless wench watch as we murdered her child, but she sacrificed her life so he could escape."

Damian tensed in my arms. "You were after me," he said.

"Yes, Child. We were going to force your mother to experience the very loss she put us through, but you escaped. In the end, killing her had to be good enough."

Damian broke free of my grasp and lunged at her. "Elibommi!" Zatanna cried before the kid could get himself killed. Damian froze in place. I tried not to panic as I flashed on M'Gann's memory of Zatara casting that spell on Wally.

It's not the same thing, I reminded myself. Zee is just protecting Damian.

Damian's face twisted up in rage as he tried to break free from the immobilization spell, but he couldn't.

"Easy, Baby Batsy," Constantine said in a surprisingly sympathetic tone. "Just breathe."

"They murdered my mother!" Damian shouted. "And my grandfather!"

And they were after me, he added silently. I heard his thoughts as clear as day, which meant he was in serious distress. Everyone I knew is dead because of me...

My heart broke for the kid. I really wanted to comfort him, but that would have to wait. Tala turned toward me and said, "We made Superman kill the boy who was practically his son. That was satisfying. We wanted to force Batman to watch you die, Robin, but Apophis went against that order and made you watch him die instead. He felt it was best to eliminate Batman rather than recruiting him. You only survived because someone was foolish enough to save you."

"Who was it?" I demanded.

"I'm not going to tell you that. Just know that your savior suffered greatly for that choice."

I was torn between attacking her myself and begging for answers. Instead of doing either, I waited in silence, trying to remain outwardly calm.

"Enough talk," Constantine said.

"Are you going to kill me, Constantine?" Tala asked.

"As tempting as that is, not today, Tala," he replied calmly. He then spoke rapidly in a language I didn't understand. Tala was sucked into a doorway and vanished.

"Where is she?" Damian demanded as Zatanna released her spell.

"She's still here, Baby Batsy," Constantine replied. "She's just locked away where no one can find her. I basically put her in storage until we need her again."

"She has to pay for what she did!"

"I agree, but not yet. Right now, she still has valuable information to give us."

"We will learn what she knows and then eliminate her," Damian agreed.

"No," I said softly.

"What?" Damian asked.

"We don't kill, Damian. That's what separates us from them. We don't kill people intentionally. We capture criminals and let the law decide what to do with them. We're not Gods."

"Maybe you don't kill, Grayson, but I do. She was one of the people who murdered my family. I owe them her blood on my hands."

I looked at everyone else and said, "Give us a minute." I motioned for Damian to follow me.

He didn't look thrilled, but he followed me anyway. We walked into a more secluded room. "I get it, Damian," I said as I knelt in front of him so I was closer to his level. "More than you realize."

"You obviously don't," he replied.

"I watched my family die, too. My parents were murdered, and I overheard the guy who did it making threats but I didn't tell them. I blame myself for what happened to them, even though I was your age, and it wasn't my fault." It was hard to say that, because I'd probably never believe it even if I knew it was true on a logical level.

"Did you avenge them?" Damian asked after a minute.

"I wanted to... I probably would have tried to kill the guy, but your dad taught me there was a better way. Killing doesn't bring anyone back, Damian. It doesn't change anything. In the end, that's not justice."

"My father is dead. Perhaps his ways weren't the best."

"Your mother and grandfather were killers, and it didn't save them. In the end, they still died."

His face fell slightly. I could see the guilt in his eyes. "They died because Lex Luthor and his harlot were after me, Grayson. I have to avenge them."

"Damian, I want you to listen to me. Even if you ignore everything else I tell you, don't ignore this. What happened to your family was not your fault. Not even a little bit."

"They were after-"

"Damian! Stop, okay?" I hugged him before he could escape from me. He tensed awkwardly, like he was torn between killing me and allowing me to comfort him. "Just stop," I said again, gentler this time. "No matter what, this isn't your fault. You'll probably always blame yourself, but I promise you, it's not."

He went slightly limp in my arms, defeated. I continued to hug him until he finally pulled away. He started to leave the room, but paused by the door. Without turning around, he said, "I'm sorry about your family, Grayson. I hope their killer got what was coming to him."

Coming from Damian, that was practically as good as if he'd hugged me back.

"He did," I replied. "Your dad and I put him in jail. When the prison blew up, so did he."

Damian nodded and headed back to the others. I followed behind him. He sat beside Raven. I noticed the way he visibly relaxed as she leaned her head closer to his.

"Alright, I need to tell you guys something," I said. "I found this mirror here that let me see M'Gann."

Constantine looked concerned. "Be careful of that mirror, mate. It might open a door you'd rather keep shut."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, M'Gann showed me some of her memories." I started to explain what I'd seen. Everyone listened as I spoke. It was hard to repeat everything, especially about how M'Gann, Conner, and Wally had died, but I forced myself to.

"Are you okay, Dick?" Zatanna asked softly when I finished speaking.

"As the team leader, I have to be," I replied. "There's more... M'Gann shared some of her telepathy with me. If anyone experiences heightened emotions, like fear or pain, I'll be able to hear your thoughts. And if I focus, I can reach out and open a telepathic door to communicate with someone. I did it with Kara earlier."

"So that's how I heard you," Kara replied. "That's really useful, Dick. It should be a lot of help in battle."

"I'm going to have to practice and get better at it, but I'm a quick study."

"The sooner you master it, the better," Zatanna said. "Let's start practicing."

***

I spent a while exploring the heads of my teammates. We were taking a break and eating lunch when I unintentionally slipped into Harley's mind.

Harley knew something was wrong, but she remained outwardly calm. "What can I do for you, Lexy?" She asked casually.

He smiled at her in a way that further set off alarm bells. "Did you really think I didn't know, Harley?" He asked.

She played it cool, trying to use her background in psychology to figure out what to do next. "Didn't know what, Lexy-Lu?" She asked. Her use of annoying nicknames was intentional. She needed to keep him focused on his agitation at the disrespect instead of whatever else he had in mind.

"I killed your beloved Joker, Harley. There is no way you'd ever be on my side... But when you showed up with Beast Boy, I took advantage and kept my enemies where I could see them."

"Did you ever consider that I was just genuinely impressed that you took down my Puddin'? It wasn't an easy task," she said. "I like power. You're a very powerful man, Lex."

He smirked at that. "You are very good at what you do, Harley. Unfortunately for you, so am I." He drew a gun. "Say hi to your Puddin' in Hell."

He was about to fire his weapon when Gar flew into the room as a big green hawk. He let out a squawk before ripping the gun from Lex's hands. He carried it in his beak and dropped it into Harley's hands.

She immediately fired three shots at Lex. To her horror, the bullets hit a forcefield and flew back in her direction. Harley barely dove out of the way in time.

Apophis entered the room. He focused on Beast Boy and started to attack. "Stop!" Harley said. "He's just a kid. I brainwashed him. He didn't know I was plotting to betray you, Lex. The kid's a good minion. Keep him alive and he'll serve you well. I'm the traitor. If you're gonna kill someone, kill me."

"Beast Boy will be a valuable asset to us... Your offer is acceptable," Apophis said. He immediately knocked Gar unconscious with a single blow to his head. Gar fell out of the sky and reverted to his natural form.

"Make it slow," Lex said to Apophis. "Make her suffer for as long as you possibly can." He left the room, dragging Gar out with him.

"Alright, you big tin can of evil," Harley said, "do your worst!"

I focused as hard as I could, not sure if I could push my thoughts into her head at such a distance. Just hang on, Harley, I thought. We'll get you and Gar out of this.

Robin? She asked.

Yeah, it's Dick. We're coming, I replied. Just stay alive for a little bit longer, okay?

Don't worry, she said. I excel at staying alive in situations that ought to kill me.

I knew I had to break the connection so I could focus and help Harley and Gar, but that was harder than it sounded. I didn't know how to escape from Harley's mind while her adrenaline was so out of control.

She fought back, determined not to let Apophis take her down without a fight. The battle was intense, and with every hit Apophis landed, Harley laughed and fought harder as if she was simply enjoying a game they were playing. She was holding her own until he landed a powerful hit to her head.

I screamed in pain as Harley blacked out and I got knocked out of her mind. The pain was so severe I couldn't think straight at first. I clutched my head in my hands and tried not to lose consciousness.

"Dick, what's wrong? What's happening?" Kara asked in concern.

"Harley..." I managed.

"What about Harley?" Constantine asked.

"Lex... Onto her... Gar, too... He..." I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind. "Lex knew they were lying the entire time," I said as I was able to focus slightly better. "This was a trap. They're both in trouble."

"We have to save them," Billy said firmly. "We have to go back. He'll kill them, Dick... Or worse."

"I know, but we can't all go... Billy, stay here with the kids."

"Respectfully, Dick... No," he replied a little bit nervously. "This is Gar. He's my friend, and I know the layout of the lair better than anyone else here. I'm going with you."

I sighed, because he was right. As much as I wanted to keep Billy safe and away from the place which had traumatized him so severely, he was our best asset when it came to navigating our way through Lex's lair.

"Alright," I agreed, "but someone has to stay here with the kids."

"I'm going with you, too, Grayson," Damian protested. "You need me to keep you out of trouble."

"Damian, I'd feel better if I knew you were safe," I said. "And Raven feels safer with you around. If you're not willing to do this for my sake, do it for her."

Raven looked at him with frightened eyes. "Please don't leave me, Damian," she said softly.

He sighed. "Fine. I'll keep you safe, Raven," he finally agreed.

"I'll watch over the kids," Zatanna volunteered. I had a feeling she didn't want to return to the place where she'd killed her father unless she absolutely had to.

I nodded. "Kara... Do you want to stay here?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "Harley and Gar need our help."

"We might run into your cousin again, luv," Constantine pointed out.

"That's okay," Kara said bravely. "This time, I'll be ready to face him."

I hoped that was true, because we were out of time. "Alright, Team," I said. "Let's go rescue our friends."