stranger things | dick grayson

twenty six

word count: 3.2k

a/n: a lot happens in this chapter so bear with me

~

The atmosphere of the tower was the darkest it had ever been since the last time a fellow Titan had died many, many, years ago.

They all had to flee the scene before anyone arrived and it took both Dawn and Donna to convince Dick to let go of Eleanor so Hank could carry her back to the Tower. The silence in the elevator ride up to the apartment was deafening.

Held between Kory and Dick was the boy that had saved Jason, unconscious. They owed him so much yet they didn't even know his name.

When the doors of the lift opened to reveal the living room, Rachel and Gar were the first to greet them, their smiles quickly disappearing when they saw the group carrying two bodies. At worst, they thought someone had been injured, not that someone had died. It just didn't seem plausible to them that one of them could be killed.

'Get him to the medical room, quickly,' Dawn said to Dick and Kory as she walked over to Hank and gently placed her hand on Eleanor's forehead.

'Dawn? What happened?' Gar asked as he and Eleanor raced over.

Dawn looked up at Hank and quietly said, 'Put her on her bed.' They were instructions that he followed without question. Donna and Jason went with him, their heads bowed. Dawn looked at Rachel and Gar with a pained expression on her face as she fought the lump in her throat to stay down. 'Deathstroke...' She stopped herself, unsure of how to explain it to them. Thankfully for her, she didn't have to.

'Is she...' Gar trailed off in question as he looked down the hallway, his face paling. It wasn't true, was it?

Dawn put her head down. 

Everyone in the tower jumped in fright at the sound of Rachel screaming, the shock having quickly taken over. The pain in her voice caused Hank to mutter a curse and turn away from where Jason and Donna fixed Eleanor's pillows for her.

Gar remained silent as he sat down on the steps with his head in his hands, trying his hardest to suppress his emotions. He knew if he let them all out now the wrong people would be receiving the blunt end of it all. Thought he fought the beasts inside, nothing could stop the tears from pouring into his lap.

Rachel raced down the hall, with Dawn hot on her tail, before swinging herself into Eleanor's room with urgency. Hank was facing the window with his arms crossed, Donna was staring at her feet and Jason sat on the edge of the bed, not daring to look at Eleanor or Rachel.

Stifling a sob, Rachel moved and sat down on the bed, opposite Jason, before grabbing onto Eleanor's hand. It was too cold. It didn't feel like Eleanor. It all felt wrong— Like this never meant to happen. Rachel knew this wasn't how she wanted to remember— her pale, bruised and bloodied. But the image was ingrained in her mind and would haunt her forever.

Kory and Dick entered the room shortly after with Gar following behind them, all of their eyes on Eleanor's face. Gar looked away with a wince at the sight of all the blood.

'She doesn't even look peaceful,' Kory said quietly, her bottom lip quivering as she fought to keep her tears at bay. Kory was thankful Donna had some sense to close her eyes whilst they had the chance to. Donna was currently the only one with a grip on reality other than Dawn.

'The next time we go up against Deathstroke.' Hank turned around and moved towards the door. 'It will be the last time.' He stopped in front of Dick whose glassy eyes were still trained on Eleanor. 'You hear me, Dick?' Hank pushed when he never even acknowledged his words.