Talon chapter 6

A.N: This chapter is a bit short but the next ones will be longer. Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 6 - Tell me about home

"Hmm," One guard said as he placed a tray of food in Jason's cell, relatively close to the bars. "At least he no longer attempts to attack us every time we enter," He said to another guard who was standing a short distance away with a tranquiliser gun aimed at Jason, who was sitting in the left corner of the room, glaring at them.

"Maybe soon he'll learn to talk as well," The gun-holding guard snorted just as his partner left the cell and locked the door. "I'm growing tired of listening to him grunt and snarl all the damn time." He added just before the pair left the room.

"Assholes," Jason said softly once the two were gone. He got up and headed over to the tray and began eating, relaxed now that the guards were gone. It had taken a long time before he was comfortable enough in here to not look over his shoulder every minute. He was fairly sure now that there were no cameras in here, meaning he had the peace and quiet necessary to calm his mind and relax.

He was in no way perfect; he realised that. Sometimes he'd get flashes of his past, his mother overdosed and on the floor in front of him, the first night he spent in the streets, the first time Bruce taught him to throw a 'birdarang', the Robin version of the 'batarang', Batman's favourite bat-shaped throwing weapon and he even remembered the last time he wet the bed. But then he'd get flashes of things that he was fairly certain never happened. He was completely positive that he had never walked in on Joker volunteering at a soup kitchen; he was mostly sure that he had never lost to Alfred in a pull-up contest, he would bet his life that he had never walked in on Superman and Batman making love, and he was admittedly unsure if he had ever caught Dick Grayson (the first Robin, now known as 'Nightwing) spanking Barbara Gordon in the Batcave.

At times, he felt like he was exactly the same as before; other times, he felt like his mind was a puzzle with missing pieces that had been put together by a hyperactive two-year-old.

"How's the food?" A voice asked.

"It's fine," Jason said without looking up, knowing exactly who it was. Only one person showed up here to talk to him, only one person here wanted to talk to him.

Apparently, the boy was Bruce's son, the biological son of The Batman and the Daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. That sounded like the biggest recipe for disaster that Jason had ever heard. As Jason had noted before, Harry (or Hadrian, as his mother apparently called him) had inherited many things from his father and mother. Like his looks, natural fighting ability and a love of sneaking into a room without anyone noticing. Sometimes, even Jason found himself surprised by Harry's ability to enter a room undetected.

"That's good," Harry hummed, sitting outside of his cell, wearing a grey training gi. He flicked his wrist and sent a small, paper aeroplane into Jason's cell, where it landed on Jason's lap. "You're doing a good job at playing dumb, but eventually you are going to have to drop the act. Once they think you're brain is clear enough, they're going to start brainwashing you. On the paper is a list of brainwashing techniques that the league uses, along with counters to them. Read it, remember it and rip the paper into shreds and flush it down your toilet once you're done."

"Hmm," Jason ate his food with one hand while his other opened up the paper. A quick glance let him see a few brainwashing techniques he already knew, though admittedly, there were a few that he didn't. "Thanks," He said, putting the paper down. "So, what's up with you?" He asked casually.

"Nothing much," Harry shrugged. "Though if you want to know what's going on with the league, then Grandfather just lost his best fighter."

"Oh," Jason said in an intrigued voice, after swallowing down the food in his mouth. "How'd that happen?" He asked Harry, giving him his full attention.

"Apparently, he didn't know how to flirt properly," Harry said, as if that explained everything.

"Elaborate," Jason said at once. It had become clear to him early on that Harry wasn't much of a talker, despite his best efforts. The boy had a rather spartan way of speaking, happy to say the bare minimum and would often need encouragement to keep talking.

"He attempted to get closer to my mother," Harry continued. "It didn't go exactly as planned since the two ended up fighting each other. Grandfather found out and he decided that Slade would be put on trial, a trial where he would probably end up innocent, dead or in jail for the rest of his life. The men who took Slade to his cell were later found dead, and Snape had done a runner."

"What? Who's Snape?" Jason frowned.

"I beg your pardon?" Harry frowned back, adopting a confused face.

"You said 'Snape', who is Snape?"

"I think you're mind isn't at full capacity, I clearly said 'Slade'," Harry replied.

"If you're sure," Jason said doubtfully, even as his mind picked up on something else. 'Done a runner' was British Slang, wasn't it? Why would a boy living on a different continent speak like that? Then again, the League did take people from all over the world, so it was likely he heard it from others; besides, it's not like it was an unheard-of phrase in America either. "So what happened after?"

"Grandfather was furious, I could practically hear his blood boil," Harry answered. "He's sent men to find Slade, but he doubts that they'll have any luck. Slade was one of Grandfather's best; he's positive that if the league doesn't find and kill him, then Slade will be back, sooner or later."

"He's that good, huh?" Jason asked.

"Grandfather has compared him before to Father," Harry said lightly. "Apparently, the two are more or less at the same level."

"There aren't many people at Batman's level," Jason said with a deep frown. Either someone was underestimating Batman, or this 'Slade' guy really was that dangerous.

"I've often wondered if Father was truly as good as the rumours about him say," Harry said, giving Jason a questioning look.

"He's better," Jason said without hesitation. "You don't last as long as he does in Gotham without knowing how to take care of yourself. I've seen him fight dozens of guys without breaking a sweat. He's had hardened mobsters crying for their mothers, and only the worst of the worst dare to get in his way. Every thug with common sense knows not to mess with the Bat; it's just the crazy, super-powered and stupid ones that still think they have a shot."

"Mother once told me that he had travelled the whole world, training under dozens of masters, even under a former trainer of the league itself," Harry replied, leaning forward slightly.

"Make sense," Jason responded. "He's not your normal, average guy. He can put himself to sleep in less than a minute, no matter the time of day. He can do dozens of things that the average guy can't. He's the smartest and strongest guy I know."

"If it's not a bother to you, I'd like to hear more about Father and this family of yours." Harry requested softly.

"Really? Well, I suppose you would." Jason spoke after a few moments. It made sense that Harry would want to know about the father he had never met. Jason could only imagine some of what the League had probably told him. "Well, Batman found me when I was living on the streets, and I was trying to steal the wheels from his car," Jason revealed. "I was kind of hoping to reverse engineer them and use that as my ticket out of my own personal hellhole. But he found me just before I was able to get the last one off. I thought he was going to whoop my ass or at least give me a massive lecture. Instead, he took me to get a burger," Jason smiled warmly. "He asked me to come live with him. It was the best night of my life. Shortly after, I met the others. He has a butler, Alfred, but he's more like a dad for Batman, more like a grandfather for me. He was awesome."

"Sounds like it," Harry said agreeably while gesturing for him to continue.

"Then there was 'Oracle'," Jason spoke again. "She used to be 'Batgirl', now she's more tech support than anything else. She's dating 'Nightwing',"

"The first Robin?" Harry asked.

"The same," Jason confirmed with a nod. "We didn't really like each other much at first. Though I think he was more angry at Batman than he was at me, at least that's what I told myself. We're a bit better now, at least we didn't hate each other. He left Gotham and moved to Bludhaven. He wanted to do his own thing. I can respect that, I suppose. Everything was perfect, you know. I was getting a good education, I had all the books I could ever want to read and the best bed I had ever had in my life. I was fighting bad guys, and I had a family. It was all great, until him!" Jason growled, a dark look in his eyes.

"Him?" Harry echoed. "The Joker?"

"I'll kill him!" Roared Jason, tossing his tray across the room suddenly, leaping up to his feet as if Joker was somehow in the cell with him. "Kill him!" Jason snarled before shaking his head and taking several deep breaths.

"Feeling better?" Harry asked once Jason looked calm enough.

"A bit," Jason grunted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "The Joker...he...he's Batman's 'big bad', his nemesis, enemy for life, etc. The fucking clown would happily kill dozens of people just for laughs. Sometimes he would even kill his own men. Batman has a rule: we don't kill. I've always thought that we should make an exception for him. He caught me during a mission, and then he and his dumbass girlfriend beat the shit out of me. A few standard torture practices later, and I'm left beaten in a warehouse with a ticking time bomb. I closed my eyes and then I woke up here," He finished with a heavy sigh, gesturing around to the cell.

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you." Harry said sincerely. "Dying is an unpleasant feeling,"

"You say that like you experienced it," Jason noted, staring at Harry with narrowed eyes.

"Death's an old friend," Harry replied, his voice heavy. "Anyway, the others, what are they like?" Jason continued to stare at him for several moments before he eventually answered.

"Alfred's the best," Jason said matter-of-factly, as if it were just another commonly accepted fact of the world. The sky is blue, the sun is hot, and Alfred's the best. "For the record, if you ever get in trouble with your dad, then your best bet is to go to Alfred. You'll get a nice rescue, and if you're lucky, then you'll get cookies as well."

"Cookies are pleasant," Harry stated.

"Oracle, she's nice as well. She's a genius, can do things on a computer that I hadn't even thought were possible. Can hack into damn near anything," Jason continued, smiling once more. "I've more than once said that she's too good for Nightwing. As for him, well, he's a nice guy, truth be told. He's a former circus kid, can do flips all day, and he can walk on his hands as easily as he can walk on his feet."

"Impressive," Harry said genuinely before his gaze moved higher. He stood up and stared at Jason before looking up and past him. "I hope that maybe later we can continue this conversation. I'd like to hear more about my father."

"You're leaving?" Jason frowned before following his gaze and looking out of his cell's window, where he saw a white owl fly by. "That's a pretty bird," He noted. "Do you get many owls here?" Jason asked as he looked back at Harry and blinked when he saw Harry had disappeared from the room. "Wow, definitely Bruce's kid."