A/N so uh... long time no update?

oops?

sorry?

anyway, enjoy.

Dick lined up the sight of the rifle.

He zeroed it in, finger hovering over the trigger, as he moved the angle of the firearm just slightly. he breathed out, slowly, eying the people below through the glass.

And he landed on his target. Allen Drewmore. He didn't much so matter as a person, it was his position that was important. The Light needed to get people into high up powerful positions, and the league of assassins would take care of it for them.

Which meant Dick was technically working for the Light.

He didn't know how he felt about that. The light was... well, he didn't subscribe to their beliefs. But work was work and he honestly didn't give a damn anymore. No matter who was in charge of the world there was always something wrong. Dick's job wasn't pertaining to government officials, he looked after the bloodthirsty villains.

But whatever, he had orders. He had no real reason to leave as of yet, and plenty of reasons to stay. The light was questionable, but they hadn't done anything too crazy yet. It's not like they were bartering the entire earth for power or something.

So he did his damn job. Even though that meant slogging through Bruce Wayne's speech about the importance of education and supporting those who seek to further themselves. Dick agreed with the message, but it was coming out of Bruce's mouth so Dick couldn't help but roll his eyes.

And if it was because he was guarding himself from feeling badly about Jason Todd's death... well, he wouldn't let on.

Bruce had funded a new building on the local college's campus, it had been named after Jason as a memorial. The guy had died just three months ago and Bruce was very clearly still emotional about it.

Dick hadn't even known him and he was emotional. Although that was because he felt slightly at fault. It was his legacy that Jason was following, he'd died in Dick's name.

And to the joker. Dick couldn't imagine anything worse.

But he wasn't thinking about that. Definitely not.

So he waited till the speech was over and people were spreading out and conversing. Then he focused the sight on Allen Drewmore, the state official, and he fired.

The crowd turned terrified, screams rising, panic ensuing.

Typical.

Someone would figure out the angle and send someone up to where he was soon. He flicked the safety on and swung the weapon over his shoulder, making sure it was tight against his chest so it wouldn't swing around while he ran.

He turned and bolted.

"Duvall, are you in position."

"of course, sir," Duvall answered, "shall I move to phase two?"

"I'd appreciate it!"

Dick jumped from the building and grappled to the next. If his estimate was right he had about twenty minutes before Bruce was done quick-changing. He had to be in the helicopter by then.

But also he had to shake off any followers before then, they couldn't see the helicopter. They'd know he had an accomplice, which would make the case look more suspicious.

Especially if they got a good look at him. he was nineteen which meant he was tall and definitely no longer looked like a child. But he was lean and didn't exactly look like the usual run-of-the-mill dark-web assassin. Especially in his gear, which was anything but ordinary.

So he grappled to another building, moving with ease throughout the streets, till suddenly someone attacked him from the side.

He rolled, just a centimetre from the edge, but stood before he'd even stopped moving.

And he was face-to-face with Batgirl.

Great.

He'd heard rumours, but found no evidence. She'd apparently been skulking for a few years, not long before Jason Todd became Robin.

Well, here was his evidence.

She attacked, she fought well. Batman had definitely trained her. He'd considered the idea that she wasn't affiliated with him and had just started fighting because she could.

But this was taking way too long. He managed to use her momentum to throw her, she flipped and turned back to him.

Dick slid his sword from his sheath, enjoying its familiar weight in his hand.

"who are you?" Batgirl asked. And Dick felt... did he know her? She sounded familiar.

Dick smirked, bottom half of his face hidden behind the mask, "no one you'd know."

He didn't give her a chance to prepare herself, moving in to attack. She flicked out a bo staff to protect herself.

He twisted under any hit she gave, never allowing her to gain the advantage. He stayed on the offensive and she slowly crumbled in her defence.

He didn't have time for this.

After his great grandfather's attempt at turning him into a talon he'd had accelerated healing, but sometimes when he was particularly panic-y or in need of a boost, he felt a... well, he assumed it was some kind of affect from Cobb's meddling.

As soon as Slade noticed he'd started training Dick to be able to harness that. Now he reached for it and turned to Batgirl, feeling a new energy thrum through him. a calm settled over him. his breath was relaxed, every movement turned precise.

He flicked between a hit and landed three fast ones of his own. He tripped her up and she rolled back to standing, turning back with ease.

He twisted out of a hit, instead of attacking he hooked his sword around her staff and used it to pull her closer. He wacked her under the chin with the pommel then elbowed under her shoulder, she dropped the staff with that hand and he kicked her leg out from under her.

He didn't wait for her to get up, he jumped back as he slid his sword away. As she stumbled up he jumped off the roof, vanishing.

He met Duvall, hovering near the top of a building. He jumped without hesitation, the door was open and he stumbled through, grabbing the handle nearby and swinging himself into the seat. His arm was sore from the impact, but at least he hadn't fallen into the other side's door.

He swung his side closed and tossed the rifle onto the seat, then buckled himself in and placed the helmet over his head.

"any problems?" Duvall asked over the comms of the helmet, the sound of the helicopter distant but still present behind the noise proof headset in the helmet.

"a small interruption on the escape, nothing to worry about," he answered.

A successful mission, plus proof of the rumoured Batgirl. Nothing to worry about indeed.

"then you'll be able to make the parade without trouble."

Dick's heart stopped, the parade.

Fuck, he'd forgotten about the parade.

Duvall's cackling reminded Dick to watch his expression, he forced the scowl from his face.

"chin up, Master Grayson, it's your ceremony after all."

That did little to make him happy.

"do you swear to protect, to guard and to aid; to support and encourage; to guide and defend?"

"I swear it."

"do you swear to adhere to the laws of the League, to live as a citizen of our community, as an independent but also as a member?"

"I swear it."

"do you give your life in service to your fellow man, to your people and to the League?"

"I swear it."

"and do you, Richard John Grayson, give your name in service to the Al Ghul line and all other leading lines of the League?"

"I, Richard John Grayson, pledge my strength, skill, knowledge and name to the Al Ghul line and all other League families," Dick did not break eye contact with Ra's, his fist over his heart as he knelt before the Demon's Head, "to fight and protect till I can no longer."

"then I, Ra's Al Ghul, as representative of the Demon himself, as head of the League, name you, Richard John Grayson," Ra's took the sword offered by Thalia, balancing the sheathed blade across his hands, "as a noble guard of the League of Assassins."

Dick stood, the ceremonial armour and robes shifting as he took the offered sword from Ra's, he bowed a final time and turned to the gathered parade. As they applauded Dick couldn't fight the smile on his face.

He glanced over to Alex, her grin was contagious. Standing behind his nanny's legs, Damian watched on in contemplative glee, probably only just grasping what was going on.

Ra's stood behind him, murmured a, "welcome to the family."

Thalia's hand fell on his shoulder, "we'll try not to make it too crazy."

"no promises," Alex grinned.

"of course not."

He pulled the armour off first chance he got.

After the usual feast and celebration he and Alex snuck away, hiding out in the wing of the main building that held their rooms. Really the 'main building' was a palace, but when everything except a few outcroppings is underground the nobility of such a building tends to be lost.

He and Alex changed into more comfortable clothing in their own rooms and then met up in the halls.

"Come on, I've got something to show you," she said, grabbing hold of his wrist and pulling him along.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," she grinned, "figured I'd get you a present."

Dick snickered, "some money in a card would be enough."

"hilarious."

She lead him to the training wing, where several rooms were filled with gym equipment and others with training mats and others all manner of equipment for all kinds of fighting styles. She dragged him all the way to a door that lead to an outcropping of the mountain. Dick had been there, it was just a huge overhang of rock with a nice view. It could have been a landing bay or something of the sort if it wasn't on the opposite end of the palace.

Alex gestured dramatically and swung the large wooden door open, "after you."

Dick stepped out, recognising the giant rock features above him and the walls of stone. It was, more or less, a pocket of space tucked into the face of the rock.

But where there was usually empty space something else had been placed. Wires and poles making up a giant structure.

"I talked to Mother about it a while ago, it took a bit of time to actually happen," she said, arms crossed as she stood in the doorway, "finished right on time."

Dick looked back at her, "did you seriously get me a trapeze."

Alex grinned, "it was annoying to constantly have to visit gyms across the world, this is easier."

Dick laughed and ran closer to the trapeze, looking at all the features and pieces, "this is awesome."

"I know."

"I hate you so much right now," Dick said, still smiling, "do you have any idea how hard this'll be to one-up when your birthday comes around?"

Alex snorted a laugh. Dick eyed the wires, mesmerized.

"figured I'd get you something to make you happy," Alex said, face dropping, "seeing as now, as an official guard, you'll be stuck going to meetings and accompanying people to stuff."

Dick scrunched his nose, that was a definitive downside. He wondered how his father was able to deal with it, he'd always known him to be incapable of staying still.

"which means dealing with all the annoying wannabe supervillains the league does dealings with," Dick grumbled, "including the Light."

Alex snorted, "they're all a bunch of idiots. I'm not surprised you and your teen hero team could beat them."

Dick pursed his lips. Ah yes, his teen hero team.

He wondered what they were doing now. He'd tried the past three years to foster up some dislike towards his former best buddies, but he couldn't. his qualms were with batman and the methods of the League. He didn't hate his friends, he just thought everything they fought for would wind up fruitless. You lock a supervillain away, they break out, they kill people, the cycle begins and feeds into itself.

At least the League of Assassins actually rid the world of filth, they just got rid of the problem. Sometimes it was self-serving, sure. But a lot of the people the Justice League considered harmful to society were also considered such from the League of Assassins point of view. They were just more willing to work with the villains to get what they wanted, the heroes had decided to give themselves a rule book no one else was bothering to read.

"Dick?"

He snapped back.

"you spaced for a moment there," Alex grinned, "did you sneak something from my stash?"

Dick made a face at her, "I'm just thinking."

"don't do that too hard you'll hurt yourself."

"Oh you wanna go?"

They snorted and laughed as they started throwing punches, Dick handsprung away dramatically and Alex called it cheating, Dick made a face at her and ran before she could grab him. they sprinted back inside, down the hall and into a training room. Dick side stepped out of a hit and they circled each other for one second before Alex dived for his legs.

They trained often, with all the grace that came with their years of experience, but sometimes they preferred rough housing.

After a while they rolled, Alex locking Dick's head in a grip, and found a pair of feet in their vision.

They looked up, and it was Thalia.

"you're trained assassins," she said smoothly, "and you resort to common street fighting?"

The two laughed as they extricated themselves and stood. Damian was in Thalia's arms, grinning.

"I showed Dick the trapeze," Alex grinned.

"does it meet the standard?"

"of course," Dick said, "thank you."

If Thalia were not such a formal person she'd have shrugged, "it was not a problem."

"so, something going on, or..."

"the light wishes for a meeting, face-to-face." Thalia answered her daughter, "I've sent you the coordinates of the meeting place, familiarise yourselves. The usual people will be there, ensure you're up-to-date. We leave tomorrow at 1600 hours."

The two nodded and took the dismissal. Dick shot Damian a grin as he left.

This wasn't the Lazarus pits.

He had not been in the pits himself, but even he knew what they looked like. He'd been injured so badly once that he'd been bedridden. The medicine in Nanda Parbat was just as leading edge as everywhere else but they had one thing over everyone else- Lazarus. They watered it down and changed it into their own medical miracle.

So yes, he'd felt Lazarus. This was not Lazarus.

His throat tickled and itched, he pressed his hand against it. it came away smudged in red, a trail following in the liquid he was submerged in.

It was tinged with some kind of cold colour, he couldn't figure it out. As his hand drifted forward it hit a glass surface. A wall.

He finally realised he was underwater, or whatever this was, and his lungs seized. He panicked. He couldn't breathe. His head forced him to breathe in and he struggled, hands flying out looking for an exit. As he choked, as his lungs filled with liquid, he was wrenched from the water.

He coughed, spluttered, rivulets of water running down the sides of his face. Arms circled him from behind, embracing him across the chest.

"what?"

The word flew out of him as soon as he got his bearings.

"ssh," a low voice murmured beside his ear, "it's finished now, you're one of us."

Dick hit the arms around him away and turned, a corpse stood before him. skin pale and limbs stiff with rigor mortis, hair stringy, nails knurled and cracked eyes rimmed in dark circles and red lines running through the whites...

And shining gold irises.

The face was his mother's. his mother, dead but in a... preserved way. The cold deathly beauty of the afterlife.

A breath rushed out of him as he stumbled back. this wasn't his mother, it couldn't be, it couldn't be, it couldn't be.

"this is impossible." the sound was half air.

"of course it's possible," as the word left her mouth it echoed, possible, possible, possible, as it hit his ears again it became impossible, "with the blessing of the court," Mary Grayson's face dropped from sweetness to sadness, "Dick, my little Robin, please, come back to me. Why have you forsaken your family? Your destiny?"

Dick's hands turned to fists, "you're not real! You're not my mother!" he grit his teeth, "my mother never wanted me to be a talon!"

Mary Grayson's expression turned sour.

"little Robin, be smart about this," she hissed, "without the court you will lose your family, you will lose me."

"my mother is always with me, you are not my mother," he said.

Mary glared, "no," she stepped forwards, "this is your mother."

As her foot hit the ground her ankle snapped, her knee twisted, the skin of her leg crumpled and turned rotten, the slimy cascading clumps of skin trailed up to her torso. With the rot her hips twisted, ribs cracked, her spine twisted and snapped and she hunched.

Dick stepped back, eyes wide, he was going to be sick.

But his fake mother followed, her neck twisted, her eyes turned back to blue, tears falling until they became streaks of blood down her cheeks, dripping down her chin by pale rot that used to be lips and now gave way to missing teeth and a yellow jaw bone.

"Dick..." his mother gasped, "Dick, what have you done to me?"

Dick's stomach heaved and he felt like he was back in the water, unable to breath.

"Dick, why didn't you save me?"

Dick backed up and his heels hit an edge, he gasped as he glanced down, darkness stretched before him.

A hand fell onto his chest, rotten skin crumbled off and became a yellowed bone, a skeletal hand clung onto him. Dick shook his head as he tried to wrench the hand off, it wouldn't. his mother's corpse latched its other hand onto his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He gagged out, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"sorry doesn't bring me back!" the skeleton hissed, clawed bones latched around his neck, "sorry doesn't bring anyone back!"

Dick's tears were dripping onto the bones around his neck, he couldn't move, he was frozen, the grip his mother had on him wouldn't come undone.

"sorry doesn't change anything!"

And she pushed him off the edge.

"you've never been able to change anything!" the voice followed him as he fell.

Falling. Falling, falling, falling.

Rock appeared around him, green tinged and glowing. Dick couldn't see what was below him, but he recognised the smell and the feel of the Lazarus pits.

His ankles hit the water-

He woke up, sweating and tied up in his sheets. He had barely come back to himself before he had to push himself over the side of the bed, falling off the sheets and stumbling down from the short platform the bed was on and onto the wood floor of the sitting area in his room. He threw up everything in him. body shaking and covered in sweat, his spine tingled and his throat felt sore, he changed from hot-to-cold between each second.

He threw up once more and managed to push himself a metre away before he collapsed. His chest shook as he heaved a breath in.

What the hell was that?

He wanted to have a shower to get rid of the feeling of sweat and wash out his mouth and soothe the tremors he couldn't stop, but at the idea of water he froze and felt like he was going to throw up again. He took some deep breaths and held a hand against his forehead. It was slicked with sweat and burning hot.

He forced himself up and stumbled to the bathroom where he splashed his face with water and stared at the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes gave him flashes of his mother- no that was not his mother, that was...

He didn't even know, but whatever that ghoulish monster was it would haunt him for a long while.

Dick rifled through his bathroom drawers, hands shaking. He made a mess of stuff, not caring about putting it back as he searched for a new toothbrush. He ripped open the packet, covered it in toothpaste and shoved it in his mouth. He scrubbed for way too long, but it cleaned out the vomit and the bad taste. He felt the need to clean everything about him after seeing the putrid state of the bones and skin in his dream. Even the natural off-white tinge of his teeth felt too close to the yellowed fangs of the dead spectre.

His legs shook as he stumbled out of his room, his gaze landed on the mess he'd made on the floor and he felt everything in him deflate. He could call a cleaner, there were plenty employed in the palace, several who regularly pulled night shifts. As much as it was their job that they got paid for, Dick didn't want to be a hindrance. He also didn't want to explain it.

And if he got someone in Thalia or Alex could find out.

But he really didn't want to clean it himself. He was tired and his limbs were tired. His head was pounding.

He headed over to the end of the room and swung the window open, crawling up onto the small outcropping. The palace had the most rooms and exits that lead to the outside, seeing as it was built first.

Dick crossed his legs and leaned against the rock around the window. The breeze was nice, it would be too cold and give him hypothermia if he wasn't careful, but for now he could enjoy the soothing nature. Besides, his healing would take care of it.

Isa fluttered by, sensing his distress most likely. She sat on his shoulder and nuzzled into his hair. Dick scratched behind her ears but soon found his arm too tired and let it drop. Isa seemed disappointed by the lack of scratches but also understanding.

He could see the lights of Kabul in the distance, just slightly. he'd been several times, he had to admit, he preferred it to Gotham.

There was the odd light in the rock, only just barely visible. Usually from the glow of someone's lights, there were a few other buildings in Nanda Parbat that had the luck of real windows.

Dick took a deep breath, forcing his mind to calm down. He didn't meditate often, so he wasn't used to it, but he could manage it in a time like this.

Isa made a trilling sound, Dick translated it as questioning.

"It's nothing, Isa," he sighed, "just needed to remind myself of where I am."

"it's finished now, you're one of us," the nightmare ghost had said. It couldn't have been more wrong. The League of Assassins was nothing like the court.

"I just needed to remind myself of who I am."

Wally had been expecting many things when he walked into the shop that morning.

Tools everywhere, the pungent smell of metal and fuel, crashing and banging, the bald-spotted head of Johnny Pizzo welcoming him with a wave of his arthritic hands and pointing towards whatever car he had to fix.

He was not expecting five dead bodies, scorch marks and his great uncle staring at it all in confusion.

In other words he wasn't expecting a crime scene.

Tape had been marked out around the building, the cracked cement had pooled water from the night's shower and detectives and officers kept stepping in them, cars were parked around the building and for the first time ever all the machinery was parked where it was supposed to be.

Wally's steps slowed as he drew closer, his hand fidgeting on the leather strap of his satchel. His great uncle noticed him and speed walked over to him.

"Wally, what are you doing here?" the words flew out of his mouth.

"I... work here," Wally blinked at the crime scene, "what the hell happened?"

Joe stared at the scene then back to Wally, "we're... not sure. How 'bout you head home?"

Wally stared at the scorch marks, lightning shaped and spreading across the concrete. The bodies were singed and bleeding and steam was still rising off of them.

Wally felt like he was about to throw up.

"Zoom."

Joe stared at him, "how'd you know?"

Wally blinked, voice choked as he said, "I have to go."

"Wally-"

"see you around uncle!" he called it over his shoulder as he turned and booked it to his car.

Zoom was back. Zoom had attacked his day job- that couldn't be a coincidence.

Oh shit, he was fucked. 

A/N anyway, what y'all thinking? hope you're enjoying it!