Talon - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Secret meetings

"Bloody boy's an animal," One member of the League said as he and the other man with him looked at the teenager in front of them.

In the dungeons, the boy had been taken into a room where half of the room was separated from the other by steel bars and converted into a prison cell. On the other side of the bars was a wall-mounted bed, a sink, a toilet and not much else. At the end of the room was a small window that came with its own set of bars. The two members of the league left, leaving the captive alone.

The prisoner, Jason Todd AKA Robin, let out an angry sound as his head constantly moved in all directions while supporting a crazed look on his face. His top half was confined in a straitjacket while his lower half was shackled to the wall with a chain long enough for him to reach everything in the cell, apart from the bars. Jason snarled, roared and screamed constantly as his mind went haywire.

One moment, he remembered finding his mother overdosed on the floor, the next, he was in Wayne Manor with Alfred giving him cookies. He had barely taken a bite before he was in the streets, narrowly escaping a kidnapper. Another memory flashed in his eyes, and he was in a cave, laughing loudly as he sparred with the closest thing he had to a father. The memory lasted for a moment before he was tied up and on the floor, being beaten with a crowbar.

He could still hear the laughter in his head. He could feel the shockwave from the explosion that followed. He could smell the flowers in the gardens, he could hear the pained cry of a mugger that he slammed into a wall, he could feel the vibration shooting up his hand as he slammed his fist into the jaw of a crooked cop, and the warmth that rocked through his body when Bruce had patted him on the shoulder. So many feelings, so many emotions all at once. He could barely take it. As of right now, his thoughts were primarily divided between taking out his emotional overload on the first person stupid enough to get close to him and between slamming his own head hard enough into something so that he no longer had to put up with the internal war raging through his head. He rushed towards the closest wall, slamming his shoulder into it. He roared and pulled his head back before slamming it into the wall with all of his might.

His vision blurred, and pain shot through his forehead. His body suddenly felt a lot heavier; he didn't care and slammed his head against the wall once more. Blood dripped down onto his cheek, another forehead slam, and his vision became darker. He hit his head on the wall again and again and again, not stopping until darkness consumed him.

He wasn't sure when he woke up, perhaps after five minutes, maybe an hour or two, possibly more. But when he woke up, he had to take a moment to make sure he wasn't hallucinating because there was a child sitting outside of his cell. Cross-legged, dressed in ninja gear with messy black hair and emerald green eyes.

"You know, there are easier ways to go to sleep than giving yourself a concussion," The child said in a matter-of-fact voice. "I'm Harry, by the way, it's nice to meet you." Jason blinked hard, not quite sure what was happening.

A searing pain shot through his head, causing him to scream in pain. He shook his head and stared once more where the child was, but the child wasn't there anymore. Where the child had previously been stood a clown, a wicked, laughing clown. With a murderous rage, Jason shot to his feet and charged towards the clown, only to be restrained by the chains that held him in place. He tried desperately to break through, to get to the clown. To punch, kick, rip, bite and inflict whatever damage he could.

"Hmm," The clown said calmly in between ear-ripping laughter. "Perhaps you're not in the mood for visitors right now." A flash of white filled Jason's eyes, and for a moment, the room was covered in fire. Jason closed his eyes, and laughter came again. He opened them and suddenly, he was alone.

(.)

"How has your training been, Harry?" Aunt Nyssa asked him as she sat down on his bed, crossing her legs as she watched him practise.

"It's alright, I suppose," Harry replied, performing a kata with a bo staff. "It's just hard to focus properly, knowing who's down in the dungeons right now."

"Ah, yes," Nyssa said thoughtfully. "You're father's second student, the second 'Robin'. Our research indicates that he's a fairly bright and talented young man. Your father certainly trusted him to keep up with the worst scum that his horrid city had to offer."

"Hmm," Harry hummed. On the one hand, he felt it was quite stupid to send a young child out to battle criminals; that was just asking for trouble. On the other hand, in his previous life, he had literally stopped worse before he was even thirteen years old. He doubted that Jason had ever stopped a basilisk. "I believe that Grandfather plans to use him. Take control of him and make him a loyal slave, or give him back to my father as a gift to showcase our power in another attempt to get him to join us."

"Yes, your father has always been an obsession of his," Nyssa sighed. "Worrisome that it is, it does bring some benefits for us. Your grandfather's attention is now at least partly focused on Jason. Last I heard, he broke a couple of legs last week when a few guards tried to enter his cell while he was sleeping."

"We're going to get him out of here," Harry stated.

"He's not exactly stable at this point. Besides, that's not a priority, Harry," Nyssa told him.

"If you can't focus on multiple goals, then you have no business leading a rebellion," Responded Harry. "At the bare minimum, he could be an incredibly valuable asset. Besides," Harry stopped performing his kata and gave his aunt his full attention. "He's my brother, isn't he, Aunt Nyssa? My father adopted him, which means we're brothers or at least somewhat like that. I can't leave him here. He needs to get out." Nyssa stared at him for several moments before letting out a very deep sigh and standing.

"I'll think of something," She said as she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile. "It amazes me sometimes," She confessed. "To be so young and yet wise, while also having such a big heart. I don't know your father personally, but I'm sure he'd be proud of you, just like your mother and me."

"I don't know if Mother would still be happy with me after she finds out I'm helping you with this," Harry said knowingly.

"Perhaps," Nyssa replied, tussling his hair. "But we'll cross that particular bridge when we come to it."

"Or we could just get a jet and fly over it?" Harry suggested.

(.)

Jason was sitting against the wall; he wasn't sure how long he had been in this place. It could have been days, or perhaps even a year. He wasn't sure. A few days ago, he had developed enough self-control not to scream and shout at every single moving thing that came into view. He had become lucid enough that whoever was holding him was comfortable enough to remove the straitjacket that he had been in. For a short while, he had believed that he had been put in a cell at Arkham Asylum or Blackgate prison. That thought hadn't lasted long; he had seen both of them enough times to know what they looked like. He wasn't in Arkham, and he wasn't in Blackgate.

He considered the possibility that he was in one of Joker's hideouts, but he ruled that out straight away as well. Yes, he saw the man constantly, but even he realised that he hadn't exactly been sane the last few days. Besides, he had all of his limbs and wasn't horribly disfigured or beaten to near death, which ruled out the Joker. In a way, it was also bad news. He had no idea who had him or where he was. If it were Arkham or Blackgate, then he could at least come up with a plan easily. Was he even in Gotham anymore?

The past few days, he had built a routine, recognising when the guards would come to feed him (they were smart enough to keep their distance and not give him anything he could use as a weapon), spending his free time exercising and going through what he could remember. He remembered Bruce and Alfred. Even Dick and Barbara. His memory was getting better and better as the day passed; he was remembering more and imagining less. The one constant that he kept coming across was the boy. Every day, the boy would come, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning. He hadn't been able to establish a routine for when the boy would come.

The boy was a few years younger than him; he had bright, emerald green eyes and messy black hair. He looked almost exactly like the pictures Jason had seen of a young Bruce Wayne. The same chin and cheekbones, even the same nose. Sometimes the boy would bring a weapon of some sort, like a bo staff or a sword of some kind, and he would practise with that weapon outside of his cell. Other times, the boy would bring a book of some sort and just read, or he would do some form of exercise like push-ups and sit-ups. Then there were times like now.

The boy was sitting opposite him, right outside his cell. He had his legs crossed, and his eyes were closed; the back of his hands rested on the top of his knees. Jason couldn't really tell if the boy was meditating or had just actually fallen asleep, given how little he had moved in the last five minutes.

"Who..." Jason stopped talking as a violent cough ripped out of his mouth. He wasn't used to talking anymore. The last few days (Was it a few days?) had been spent roaring and screaming and yelling at anything and everything that came near him. "...Who are you?" He asked with effort, taking a moment to get a good look at the boy who was dressed in a ninja outfit.

"I'm the closest person you have to a friend at the moment," The boy replied without opening his eyes. "You can call me Harry."

"Harry," Jason repeated slowly, as if testing the sound of the name. "Am I in Gotham?" He asked hopefully.

"Nowhere close unless that also happens to be in Asia," Harry said bluntly.

"Fuck!"

"Indeed," Harry agreed. "You're a long way from home. Still, it's nice that you've started talking again. Your constant screaming was getting a bit irritating, truth be told."

"Sorry to be a bother," Snarked Jason as he ran a hand through his hair while resisting the urge to rip it all out. "Where am I, kid?"

"You're currently in 'Nanda Parbat', the main hideout of the League of Shadows," Harry told him, finally opening his eyelids to reveal his emerald green orbs.

"Shit!" Jason cursed instantly. The League of Shadows, also known as the 'League of Assassins', were one of the few people that Batman had emphasised he should stay away from at all costs. And now he was right bang in the middle of their hideout on another continent.

"Indubitably," Harry agreed. "Just be glad it's not winter yet; it gets really cold up here. I wouldn't advise trying to escape right now. You're hardly at your best; even if you were, you'd still have to get past the assassins in the world and find a way to get off this mountain that we're staying on." The base of the league was at the top of a mountain range, something that not only served to help train students and reduce unwanted visitors, but also to help hide from prying eyes. After all, who'd look for the most influential and dangerous assassin group in the world on a random mountain range in Asia? At the very least, it wasn't many people's first guess.

"So, what? You're saying I should stay up here and rot the rest of my life away in the cell until they decide to kill me?" Jason scoffed.

"Well, that is an option if you want," Harry shrugged. "My personal advice is to play dumb, recover your strength and wait for the right moment."

"Right moment?" Jason's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a rebellion in the league," Harry explained. "It'll take a long time, admittedly, but eventually they will be trying to take over. They'll get you out. Like I said, you could try and escape if you want, but your chances are slim. You're outnumbered; you should take your time here and get your strength back."

"He'll be looking for me," Jason said confidently.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Batman," Jason said as if it were obvious. "He'll be looking for me, I know it. I won't be here long." He said confidently, earning a deep sigh from Harry.

"He likely won't be looking for you, I'm afraid," Harry said apologetically.

"And why's that?!" Jason demanded crossly. "We're partners. He wouldn't leave me."

"I'll take your word on that," Harry nodded. "But still, he is probably not going to be looking for you. Who would look for a dead man?"

"I'm not dead!" Jason said instantly.

"Not anymore," Harry agreed. "But you had died. Grandfather took your body and revived you with one of his Lazarus pits. That's also why your mind is twenty different shades of fucked. As far as Batman knows, you're dead."

"I..." Jason trailed off as he mentally digested what he had just been told. He had died? How? When? Was it the Joker? Did the Joker kill him? The Lazarus Pit explains things. Bruce had only ever mentioned it once before, but Jason could recall him expressing his intense dislike of the pit and his worries about the potential problems that came with it. It certainly explained why Jason wasn't exactly feeling at his best in the mental department. If the boy's grandfather...wait...grandfather? "You said your grandfather took my body, you...are you talking about 'Ra's Al Ghul'? The Head of the Demon?"

"The very same," Confirmed Harry calmly.

"That means you're Talia's son?" Jason guessed.

"Last I checked, yes," Nodded Harry.

"And your father?" Jason asked, despite already having a pretty good idea of exactly who the boy's father was. His face alone made it pretty obvious. Harry gave him a knowing look.

"I think you know exactly who he is."

(.)

A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter.

Earlier I was asked about Harry's magic, he'll start using it more in the later chapters. For example, I've already written chapter 7 and there is a major moment in there where Harry uses his magic. Also, before anyone asks, Harry won't be meeting Batman until around chapter 10.

Also, I've been thinking about posting my stories on other sites as well. The one I most commonly get recommneded online is AO3, but I am hesitant to join that as it appeares to me to be like nintey percent smut and lemons. I literally went on there earlier today and typed in Harry Potter and instantly got like ten smut stories. What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review.