As soon as we sat in the chairs, we were cuffed ankle and wrist and I heard a projector whirring up behind us. Whatever this was, it wasn't good. An image appeared on the rock wall in front of us, a simple title:
Richard's worst moments.
Definitely not good. The image changed, fading into a different picture. I knew what it was going to be instantly. The noise from the circus tent seemed to overtake us and then the chair was gone from beneath me. The rest of the team fell to the floor whilst I just stayed in a squat, standing up and looking around in horror. We weren't just watching that night, we were are part of it.
"Where are we?" Artemis asked as she moved over to Wally.
"Welcome, all, to Haly's Circus." All our attention was diverted to the centre of the ring where Haly stood, still in his prime as much as he ever was, "The only circus where our trapeze artists fly without the safety of the net. Introducing, our opening act, the Flying Graysons!"
There was a loud round of applause as a spotlight focused on the three figures almost 50 feet up in the air, the Graysons.
"Is this, the night?" M'gann asked this time and Roy nodded slowly as Dick's parents leapt onto the bars.
We all watched in wonder as we saw them fly around, but I had already seen it. I was sat maybe three rows up from us as the performance took place. And I didn't even try to save them from their fate. I looked away, not able to watch it for a second time, but I still heard the snap. The intake of breath from the team and the audience. The scream as Dick reached for their hands. And the crack as they hit the floor and never got back up. There was mass panic around the tent then, audience members screaming and running out of there. Circus members fighting their way to the middle of the ring to see their friends on the floor, wings clipped. Dick climbing down that ladder and kneeling in their blood as he begged them to come back. It was only a couple of seconds, but it still felt like hours. And then it started fading, turning to ash to reveal a new scene. The first time he got badly injured on patrol.
There he was, fighting alongside me against Two-Face, his goons had already been taken care of. All it took was a simple blow to my gut to send me across the room and Dent had a hold of my son. We all watched in silence.
"Don't move Batman. Or his fate rests in the coin." Dent sneered as 'I' stood back up and assessed the situation.
At the time, I saw no way out of the situation, but now that I could see it from this perspective, there was one way. A small crack in the ceiling, but one that had caused a lot of structural damage. That was what Dick had been trying to tell me as he kept moving his eyes upward, and I hadn't been good enough to spot it. This one was my fault.
"Good choice Batman." My attention was drawn back into the memory as it continued to play out.
"What are you doing?" Wally burst out and I couldn't look at him, "Dude, there's structural damage. Get him out of there."
"He couldn't see it." Artemis piqued up, "From where he's standing there, the support beam hides it. We can't blame him for what happens."
"Yes, you can." I said as I looked over to them, "He was trying to tell me and I didn't notice. This one's my fault."
"No, it's not." M'gann said as she came over to me, "None of us wish to blame you. And none of us will, you didn't know what was happening. You acted on what you thought was right, we all make mistakes."
"Not this bad though." I muttered as a scream pierced the air and we looked back over to see the scene had continued without us and Dent had started cutting up Dick.
He cut lightly around the R symbol on his chest, and then deeper until it became his first scar.
"Should we keep going?" Dent asked and my other self let out a low growl as he flipped his coin again, "Fate says yes."
And he went at Robin again, this time he traced a line down the inside of his arm until he reached the elbow, and dug it in without mercy, Robin letting out another scream. But that was all I had needed as I launched myself as Dent whilst he looked for a new weapon and took him down, hearing Robin land heavily on the ground behind me, and as I watched I realised why his arm was broken so badly, it had landed on the knife again, putting it all the way through.
This one faded as well into a new one, one I hadn't seen before.
His time with Deathstroke.

I arrived back at the mountain, tired to the core. Not just from the fight, but from the fact that so many innocents had died. I used to not care, that was true, but Roy had softened my edges, rid me of my razor edge and I was thankful to him for that. Life was much more fun when you had something to constantly worry about.
"Jade, are you okay?" I jumped as Barry asked me the question.
I hadn't even noticed him arrive.
"I'm fine. Just need a shower." I replied, "Is Diana back yet?"
"No, I'm about to go out to find her." He said, "Let's hope this day goes better than the last, hey?"
"Yeah. Let's hope." I sighed as he ran off and out the mountain whilst I continued to the shower.
I must be really out of it, I hadn't even noticed the sun start to rise to mark the first day of November. The shower was cold, but I didn't mind. I needed something to wake me up anyway. I finished my shower and changed into some clothes from Artemis' room, a grey tank top and green leggings with a black hoodie, leaving my wet hair to straggle down my back. I re-entered the medical wing to find Jason was awake now whilst Clark was fast asleep in a chair next to Dinah who was still awake in her bed and Arthur had replaced Kaldur in his armchair John must have gone around the corner to better focus on his task.
"Morning guys." I greeted with a fake cheer, "How are you all doing?"
"Not good." Jason breathed, "I was dropped from the top of the garage."
"I know. I was there." I let a half smile grace my lips, "Does anyone need anything, breakfast, supplies?"
"Could you just check up on Jason?" Dinah asked, "Clark did his best to treat him but we just need to know that there is still enough Oxygen getting into his lungs."
I nodded as I went over and followed the tube from his mouth to the O2 to see it was still pumping steadily. And then I quickly had a look over his chest to check the stitches.
"Who did this?" I asked indicating the stitches much to the displeasure of the ungrateful child.
"Alfred. He is in the kitchen at the present moment, sorting out the breakfast you so kindly offered." Arthur said, "He is extremely good one would assume because he has been treating Bruce for however long he has been in this line of work."
"Can only imagine." I rolled my eyes as I took a seat by Dinah, "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better." She smirked, "Alfred looked me over as well. Bruised ribs, fractured arm and snapped tendon in my ankle."
"Yesh, he was having fun." I said, "You sure you're good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I can handle 6 weeks in a cast. If Artemis has to do 8 weeks in a wheelchair and another 2 after that with little activity, I can do 6 weeks." She smirked as the door opened again to show a bloody Diana and Barry.
"What happened to you two?" I asked as they both collapsed into a chair opposite each other.
"Diana didn't like the fact that she couldn't save them. Took it out on me." Barry explained, "I'm just thankful I heal fast."
We all looked over to Diana, who still seemed to be radiating anger, and decided it would be best if we were quiet for a while, though Arthur did try to offer a few kind words which fell on deaf ears. Until Alfred came in with food. Not even Diana could stay in a bad mood as we devoured his meal and he told us a sleep schedule so that none of us would pass out. I swear, he was the most fatherly father I had ever met.

I watched as little 13-year-old Dick crouched in a corner, shivering and bloody. His uniform was torn to shreds and I could see frost forming around the edges of the room. I'm surprised he wasn't suffering from hyperthermia. I moved closer to him, looking around the bare room from the corner of my eye to see what conditions he had been kept in. And now I was closer, I could see every injury on his body, every scratch, every bruise and it filled me with rage. My son, in this condition for months. And I had done nothing.
"Bruce, you need to calm down." I turned as Miss Martian put a hand on my shoulder, "We just need to get through these memories, then we can find him. We'll save him."
I could hear footsteps beyond the door and then it came flying open, the sudden noise of the door against the wall deafening in the otherwise silent room.
"Get up." Deathstroke growled and Dick was up faster than I could register, still shaking and his eyes down at the ground, "I hope you've learnt your lesson Richard." I swear, this man would be getting beat into the next dimension when I saw him next. Dick nodded slightly as Deathstroke stalked closer to him and knelt so that he was eye-level with him, "Good. We're going back to training. Follow." He didn't stop to check he was alright as he stood back up, turned on his heel and left, my son limping after him.
"What happened to him?" Roy asked as we followed the memory through the hallways.
"He must have been here for a while to be this complacent." I said, "Maybe three months, if not more."
"Jesus." Wally breathed, "I never knew."
"None of us did." I growled as we pulled to a stop inside another room.
I assumed this was the training room due to the equipment. Throwing knives, swords of all kinds, dummies, mats, weights and a treadmill all before it turned another corner which I couldn't see past.
"Ready." I turned my attention back to the scene as they both got into ready fighting positions.
It was a few moments of tense silence, Artemis holding Wally's hand, Roy's fists curling as he tried to control his anger, Megan slinking back into the corner and watching with terror clear on her face, and then Deathstroke moved.
I almost couldn't follow his movements but Dick clearly could as he ducked and rolled forward, coming back up to try and punch his opponent but it was easily blocked and a kick to his stomach sent him flying across the room. He got back up as Deathstroke advanced on him again, but he picked something up this time, one of his knives. I'm sure that didn't go unnoticed. Deathstroke came at him again but Dick brought up the knife, stabbing it into his helmet and ripping down. I could feel all of us holding our breath as the orange part of the mask fell to the floor and this man's true face was revealed. But it was blurred, why couldn't we see it? Why couldn't I see the man that tortured my son?
"Calm down Bruce." M'gann came over again as the scene continued, now with Deathstroke pummeling Dick, "You can't change the past."
I didn't trust myself not to snap at her, so I remained silent. We watched in eerie silence as Deathstroke dragged my boy around the corner and we followed, Roy leading us, to see something even worse. It was a torture chamber, and all of a sudden the sound cut back in.
"I hope this hurts you boy." And Deathstroke did not sound happy.
The sound of the chains clicking around his wrists and ankle as he was pinned like a starfish against the wall were loud in the mostly silent room and then Deathstroke uncovered a tray of knives, serums and other devices. He picked up the yellowish-golden serum and injected Dick. The reaction took a couple of seconds and then he was screaming. But what was even stranger was that not even thirty seconds later he stopped. His skin became deathly pale, his veins prominent and black. And when he opened his eyes again they were golden. This was no longer Dick, this was Talon.
"What the hell?" Apparently, Deathstroke hadn't expected this either.
"Nice to meet you." He smiled as he leant forward in his chains, cuts appearing in his wrists but he didn't seem to notice, "I'm your worst nightmare." And the smile that split his face was enough to rival Jokers.
"Nice try Richard." Deathstroke said but his voice sounded wavered, "But you're not getting out this easy."
"Oh, I'm not Richard." Talon grinned, "I'm Talon. You may have heard of me."
"No..." Now Deathstroke was stumbling back, he obviously heard of him, "It can't be you. You're-"
"The Golden boy? Ha, you had no idea that I was the bad guy all along." He seemed to be enjoying the fear he was causing here, "Your reaction is simply priceless. I must admit."
Deathstroke by this point had gotten out of the corner and quickly closed the door, "Good luck getting out of this." And then he quickly turned and half ran off.
To scare a man like him, Talon had really been making a name for himself among the villain community. The memory faded to black as Talon relaxed against the wall and I could have sworn he locked eyes with me as he finally faded Chesire Cat style.