Pawn of the Sea

Chapter 2

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Dick awoke with a start, immediately trying to get his foggy brain to kick in its bat training and figure out where the hell he was. He remembered diving into the river after the hit and run driver and then his memory got fuzzy.

He tried to shift his body into a more comfortable position only to find his arms tied behind his back and his feet lashed together at the ankle. Under normal circumstances this would not have posed much of a challenge for Dick, but his limbs felt so weak and he was having a difficult time focusing his thoughts.

He finally found the strength to open his eyes, and he studied the small, dilapidated wooden structure that was his current prison . He could smell the ocean breeze and hear the gentle slapping of waves. He shifted a bit, and looking around some more, realized that he was in some kind of building on a dock. He thought that maybe it could be an abandoned boathouse.

He sucked in a breath as he realized there was only a small bit of room between him and a gaping hole in the floor. Through the hole he could hear the unmistakable sound of lapping water. He shifted again to try and sit up, feeling the harsh scrape of rotting wood against his bare skin. His eyes widened when he realized he was stripped to his boxer briefs. Hmm, that must be why he was so freakin' cold too. Wonderful. Gone were any tracers Bruce had managed to slip into his police uniform, and he knew they existed. Sometimes having Batman for his adopted father came in handy, even if it did drive Dick crazy most of the time.

Before he could contemplate anything else about his situation Dick heard a quiet splash from below and a man climbed up into the boathouse.

Dick sucked in his breath and whispered, "Garth?"

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Of course, Bruce Wayne knew of Dick's unfortunate accident long before an exhausted and bedraggled Amy Rohrback drove up to the manor in her squad car. She and another man, whom Bruce deduced to be the precinct chaplain, emerged from the car and made their way to the door.

Barbara Gordon had discovered that Officer Dick Grayson was missing and presumed drowned, through her monitoring activities as Oracle. The panicked woman had called Bruce as soon as she heard.

It was all he could do not to drive out to the scene himself, but it would have been too difficult to explain how Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy had found out such information so quickly, all the way from Bludhaven. He waited impatiently for the official word to come, so he could dispense with the pleasantries and get to the bat cave and begin searching for his son.

Although he didn't believe Dick to be dead he knew something bad had happened to him and he was itching to get on the case himself. Of course he had other sources on the case, but this was important, and he didn't want to entrust his son's safety to anyone else.

Tim was already at the computer in the cave, running the tracer he had hidden in the collar of all of Dick's police uniforms. Cassie was in her Batgirl uniform and waiting for Tim to give her instructions to Dick's location.

"Ahem." Alfred cleared his throat, causing Bruce to turn away from the window of his study, where he was still studying the dented police cruiser parked in his driveway. "Sir, may I present Sergeant Amy Rohrback and Sergeant Thomas O'Halloren, police chaplain."

Bruce set his face with his best playboy smile, ready to greet the man and woman who were here to tell him that his son was most likely dead.

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Dick blinked again, and realized that the man before him was not his lover. He was built much like Garth, and had the same coloring and hair; even had similar facial features, but this was not Garth. Dick settled his gaze on the man's face and was met by steel gray orbs that were nothing like the unusual violet color of Tempest's eyes.

"Alas, no, I am not your Garth," the man replied to Dick. "I am, however, Garth's cousin, will that do?" His face split into a grin that was not wholly pleasant.

"Cousin?" Dick repeated. "Who are you, and why am I here?"

"Ah, straight to the point I see," the strange man replied. "You are here because you are my hostage…Nightwing."

He emphasized the name of Dick's alter ego and Dick's heart froze. How did this man know his secret? Both of his secrets. "I don't know what you're talking about. I am Officer Dick Grayson of the Bludhaven police force. Who is this Nightwing person you're talking about?"

"Oh, come now, Mr. Grayson. Really there is no point to this charade. I know all about your life and your nighttime activities. Including the affair you are having with my cousin. Whether you admit it or not, it doesn't change what I know."

Dick lowered his head in defeat, clearly there was no point in denying what this man--whomever he really was, seemed to somehow know. He refused to answer the man who moved closer to him and lowered himself to sit near his still tied form and began to speak.

"My name is Braden, and I have been watching my cousin for quite some time.  You see, while Garth and Arthur are all in favor of having relations with the surface world, I lead a group who are violently opposed to it."

"Why," Dick asked. "Why wouldn't you want an alliance with us?"

"Because you humans are nothing but careless, opportunistic and mercenary polluters. You care nothing of the sea or its creatures," Braden spat out. "Your question should be; why should we want an alliance with you?"

"But Garth is trying to change that with his work as ambassador, and because he and Arthur realized that contact between the surface and Atlantis was inevitable sooner or later. They wanted to initiate the contact so they have a greater degree of control over how it's handled," Dick argued.

"Humans will not change. Garth is a fool for thinking he can do anything.  No, we were much better off before Aquaman decided to make an appearance and expose our nation to the surface. It was he that ruined everything and now Garth is only perpetuating all of it."

"How did you find out about me and Garth?"

"Let me introduce you to a friend of mine." Braden gestured to a dark corner and both men watched as a what seemed like a pool of water slowly took a human like form. "I believe you've already met with Jelly Man. He is just one more reason for us to hate humans. He is an anomaly of nature, made by one of your chemical spills into our home, but he serves my purpose. It is very handy to have a spy who can take the form of a pool of water or slip under any door."

Dick had to silently agree as he eyed the gelatinous shape. While Braden had been speaking, Dick had finally found the strength to start working on his bonds. He had almost freed his hands when Braden stood suddenly and stepped away. "Jelly, Mr. Grayson's hands are almost free. I think it's time to give him another dose of your venom, and tighten his bonds. The jelly man moved toward Dick and reached out a tentacle to his shoulder. The same searing pain Dick had felt before in his leg returned and he gritted his teeth as the jelly's venom flowed through his body.

"Now, I think it's time to send a message," Braden commented as he pulled out a tiny Atlantean video recorder from his wet suit and began filming Dick's painful torture from the jelly creature.

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