Birdflash oneshots 2

There's something inside

Dick had always felt like there were two voices in his head. They were similar, but distinct at the same time. One always looked on the bright side of situations, while the other always tried to find the dark side. One tried to find the right way to fix situations, while the other tried to make it worse. One helped his self esteem, while the other destroyed it. At first, he thought it was just his imagination. He was a kid, and kids were known for doing strange things. Then he thought it was just his train of thought, since he was now thirteen and no longer a child. Dinah thought it was some personality disorder, but he didn't think so. If it was a personality disorder, then there'd probably be blanks in his memory from other personalities taking over, unless there was some sort of meeting room where they shared memories. He didn't know. Dinah had started him on some sort of medicine, which helped him sleep better, but didn't stop the voices.

It had taken a mission gone bad for everyone to realize it wasn't a mental problem. The team had been caught by some sort of cult, and the acrobat had been separated from everyone else. They'd covered him in chains and gagged him, surrounded him with some sort of weird crystal, and had lit black candles. There were papers with a bunch of marking around the wall, and a heavily reinforced door. Dick had struggled at first. He didn't like the chains, and he needed to get out of there. His team could be getting tortured or killed, for all he knew.  It was little use, though. The chains were solid, and they were connected to many different spots around the room. He couldn't reach the crystals or the candles, much less the door. There was no breeze in that room, which left him sweltering in his suit. 

He eventually sat down, feeling lightheaded and nauseous. Something was making him sick. The voices in his head had gone silent for once, making him feel alone.  The chains seemed to be getting heavier with every passing minute, and each breath was harder to take. He let himself lay down, curling up to try and get away from the sick feeling. He wanted to throw up, and it was a battle to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to close them, because then he'd fall asleep. However, he was losing his strength quickly, and he had to try to preserve it. What if there was a break out? He needed to be ready to move. Well, he couldn't move much anyway. His limbs all seemed to be chained to each other somehow. Hell, they'd even chained up his neck and waist. It would take forever to get out of these. Maybe he should get some sleep. It definitely seemed like he wasn't getting out of here anytime soon.

It seemed like he'd only been asleep for a few seconds when the large door creaked open, bright light filtering in from the hall outside. "What the hell?" Wait, he knew that voice. "Questions later. Right now, we need to get him out of here. Notify Leslie, tell her she needs to get a bed ready." He knew that voice, too. Dick managed to crack his eyes open to see two figures, their outlines blocking the bright light. Hal was looking around the room, apparently trying to find...something. Fate was kneeling down in front of him, gently reaching for the chains. "What is all this stuff? I've never seen this, and I've seen a lot." "It is an old religion. They believed certain humans were actually devils in disguise. This looks like a banishment ritual." "But he's not a demon. He's too nice." "Not a full one, anyway. He is ill, but he's still here. He'll be fine once we get him away from this room." Dick watched as the chains fell off, hitting the floor with clink after clink. Hands slid under his body, carefully picking him up and leaning him against a cool chest plate. Dick let himself fall unconscious, trusting the two men to take care of him.

He was met with more bright light when he woke up, reflecting off of bright while walls. He could hear one of the voices, but the other seemed silent. What was going on? He remembered being rescued, but he didn't remember being brought here. Dick tried to sit up, but his weak arms collapsed under his weight. Okay, no trying to sit up right now. Dick used his hand to shield his eyes from the light, looking around the empty room. He was in the med-bay at the Mountain, tucked into a bed with a bunch of tubes and wires connected to his body. There was a heart monitor beeping in the background, and...was that a cross over his head? Look, he may be part demon or whatever, but he's not going to attack anyone. He doesn't need a cross above his head. That thing looks heavy enough to decapitate him if given the chance. What had happened in that room. He remembered Fate saying something about banishment, but he was still here, so maybe it didn't work? It did something, but not its job.

The door to the med-bay opened, which revealed Leslie, who was arguing with someone. "No, you can't see him yet! I'm not done running tests." "It's been three days, Leslie! Don't I get some sort of exception for being his boyfriend?" "You get an exception for being family." "I'm close enough!" "Until he wakes up, it's family only. I'm trying to keep him calm right now, and we all know he doesn't like people crowding around him. I don't want it happening again." It? What was it? "I thought the crucifix was supposed to be doing that." "It'll help, but it won't eliminate it completely." "Ladies, I know I'm pretty, but you don't have to argue over me." Dick decided to break into the conversation, smiling as Wally looked down at him. "You're okay!" "Well, okay as I can be after a cult tried to banish me." Dick chuckled as Wally pulled him into a hug. "Alright, I need to get to your lover boy. You know the drill." Leslie sighed as she pulled out a pen light, scooting between the redhead and the avian. 

Dick tried not to squirm as she did the neuroevals. There were always one or two that got him, but he knew better than to try and resist the woman when she'd been in an argument. She had a tendency to make simple things hurt. It seemed, however, that he managed to avoid her temper that day, since she spoke to him once she was done. "Everything looks like it's getting back to normal. Your pupils are still dilated, and you're pale, but you'll be fine. I'll see about moving you to your room in an hour or two." "Where's B?" "On his way. He was stuck in a meeting. Fate will probably know more about what caused this, so I'd advise you to save your questions for him." "Thanks, Leslie. I'm sure they were a pain while I was out." "Does the sun shine? Of course they were." "We weren't that bad." Wally pouted. "You wouldn't eat for six hours straight." "Cause I'm not straight." "I don't care if you're gay or straight, you wouldn't eat.  That's bad enough, and it's worse when someone has your metabolism. I'm going to file this. Don't go anywhere yet."

"Well, I'd say she's happy to see me." "I am too. You scared us, when you wouldn't wake up. We thought you wouldn't make it for a bit." "I'm here now. I need to find Fate later, and ask him what the hell happened." "Like you said, we can do that later. Right now, I just want to make sure you're okay." Wally kissed Dick's forehead, moving to lay next to the other. "Cute. What's the crucifix for, by the way? I don't remember anything happening." "Fate said something got angry with the ritual and all, and it lashed out against the guys that took you. The crucifix forced it to stop, and he thought it came from you, since you were affected by it." "It was probably the voices, too." "Yeah. But hey, at least we can say you're not crazy now." "Wally, I'm your boyfriend. I'm already crazy." "Hey!"

Before you ask, yes I'm making a part two. I just needed to get something out before my trip. If it's bad, I'm sorry, but I'm rushed for time.