Sad Beautiful Tragic | Dick Grayson [ON HOLD}

7

Gotham City, New Jersey

Ashley was numb to the words, she was numb to the world around her. She zeroed in on that sentence, replaying it in her head, a horrid movie playing in her head. "It's Hank, it's bad" was the only thought racing through her head as her heart pounded so loudly in her chest that it was all she could hear. She blinked back tears, refusing to show any weakness to her father's most trusted employee as she raced out of the room after apologizing, citing a family emergency. Hank was her family, her brother. Hank needed her. She could fix Hank, she just needed just to get home and fix Hank, then he would be all right. Hank would be okay, she told herself even though she didn't have a clue what was wrong with him. Ashley didn't even remember stumbling through the door of the Manor, screaming his name, or the gentle, calloused hands on her shoulders. The tears were streaming down her face and Dick was in front of her trying to calm her down before she went down to the cave to see Hank. Ashley wanted away from Dick, she wanted to be there for her friend. She couldn't lose another, it was too soon. Dick tried hard to soften blows, and he had no idea how to stop her wailing. "Calm down" Dick told her. "You acting this isn't good for him right now" Dick told her sternly and Ashley looked up at him condescendingly. 

"I don't know what's wrong with him" Ashley said angrily, pushing him away with the little strength she could muster. She ran down to the Batcave where she saw Hank surrounded by everyone. She pushed everyone out of the way to get him and a horrified look crossed her features when she saw what was in his chest. "Oh my god" Ashley hyperventilated, seeing the bomb in his chest. 

"We can't figure out what it is" Connor said quietly to her. 

"I know exactly what it is" Ashley said, feeling sick to her stomach. 

"Enlighten us then because we've been trying to figure out exactly what it is" Dick said from behind her. 

"Dad drew up the plans for them, apparently they had just received the prototype today" Ashley whispered. "There's no way they could already be in the streets" Ashley whispered. She ran over to the console before she called Connor over to her. "Your hands work faster than mine, so get ready buddy" Ashley told him. He nodded and Ashley accessed the database for WayneTech and pulled up the schematics for the bomb. "This thing is damn near nuclear in terms of how hard it is to unwire. Too much force, we're all dead. Wrong wires? Dead. That one in there looked modified, but this is the only bomb I can think of that would look like that. Were there deep-set prongs?" She asked Connor. 

"Yeah, and it's going pretty quickly" Connor said to her handing her the diagram he drew earlier. 

"We need to get Hank to relax, the slower his heartbeat the more time we have to get it out" Ashley told Connor who nodded. "Great, get to work. I got a few questions for Hank, then I'll be back to help" Ashley told Connor who nodded, and started looking over the bomb so he could build a similar one to test out the process of getting the one in Hank's heart out. Ashley walked over to Hank and patted his shoulder comfortingly, her eyes welling up with tears she refused to cry. "I'm sorry" She told him. He nodded and Ashley offered him her hand, and he gripped it tightly. "Who did it?" She asked him. 

"Jason" Hank answered, not showing his anger. Ashley squeezed his hand, wanting to cry in this situation nightmarish time.

"I'll fucking kill him" Ashley promised Hank. "You don't fuck with family" She told him. 

"I'll get the heart monitor if you want to take him to his room" Dawn told her quietly. "He'll be more comfortable there." Ashley nodded as she took in the unsaid message and carefully helped Hank off of the table. Ashley led the large, imposing man up the stairs while she made sure he kept his breathing even and his heart rate down as they made their way upwards. Ashley and Hank made their way up the stairs. Though she hadn't known him anyway near the length of time she had known Dick or Donna, Ashley was filled with the existentialism of the possibility of Hank not making it out alive. It made her stomach lurch and her brain feel jumbled, her body felt off course and unsafe. She felt horrible, though she couldn't imagine what was going through his head. Ashley opened the door to Hank's room and helped him inside, making sure he was comfortably settled on the bed.