Don't Fear the Reaper

16) A One Eyed Man, an Albino, and a Woman All Walk in to a Bar...

Tim burst into Dick's room, efficiently waking him up considering it was 4am on his night off.

"Dick, you need to see this," Tim said, panting slightly. He had been in the cave and sprinted all the way there.

Dick had one escrima stick in hand and the other holding his bedside lamp as he sleepily blinked at Tim. "Why?" he said in a tired whisper.

Tim ignored him, sitting on the bed next to him and turning his computer to face his brother.

Dick just stared at the screen through sleepy eyes, putting down the things in his hands. "What am I looking at?"

Tim rolled his eyes, zooming into the picture on the computer. "This is some of the footage from the mission B was on with Billy on Santa Prisca. This is the LoA base."

Dick just stared at it blankly. "Okay? And?"

Tim scoffed. Pointing to two people that were barely in the shot through a window. "That's Lady Shiva, Slade, and someone else just out of frame."

Dick blinked a few times, attempting to clear his vision as he took a closer look. "I don't know. It's kinda blurry. It could just be assassins who look vaguely like them."

"No way, it's totally them," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "Trust me, I've fought them both."

Dick just leaned back, plopping back onto his pillow. "Slade has been trying to kill me for years— not to mention the fact that I was trained by him for a while. I think I'd know if it was him. Maybe it is or maybe it isn't— either way, that footage isn't enough proof."

Tim smacked Dick's arm, attempting to get his attention again, but he was just ignored. "This could be a lead. Maybe one or both of them took B."

Dick groaned, pulling his blanket higher over his body. "Then why don't you go ask our resident assassin, if you're so sure."

Tim's eyes widened. "You're right. He'll know if it's them. He probably trained under them," he said as he moved out the door.

Dick called after him, yelling that he had been being sarcastic, but Tim ignored him.

He knocked on Nico's door, only realizing that it was 4 am and the kid might have been asleep after he had already done it.

Two stomps.

Tim opened the door, peering his head in. "Sorry if I woke you up, I just had a quick question."

The teen was just sitting on his bed, a notebook in hand, as he nodded for Tim to enter. "I was awake already."

"Oh, good," Tim said, crossing the room to stand next to the bed. He might have had a little too much coffee and not a lot of sleep, so he didn't even think about if it would be weird to be basically leaning over the teen as he showed him the picture on the computer. "Can you identify these people for me?"

Nico looked at him for a moment, eyes not giving anything away, but Tim could feel the judgment. Finally, he let out a breath and looked at the picture.

"It's a bit too blurry to be sure, but probably Lady Shiva, Slade Wilson, and Dusan."

Tim's eyebrows furrowed. "Dusan?"

Nico just blinked at him. "al Ghul."

"Wait wait wait. There is another al Ghul?"

Nico let out a sigh. "How do you not know this? You've fought the League hundreds of times."

Tim glared at him, though there was no real malice behind it. "I don't know every person in the League of Assassins."

Nico let out a sigh, moving his notebook to the side and sitting up more. "Ra's is the Demon's Head-"

"I know that-"

Nico shushed him. "Talia is his daughter. Damian is Talia's son, also known as the Demon's Son. He's the next in line— however Talia isn't Ra's only child."

"Yeah, Nyssa Raatko is his other daughter," Tim said, slightly annoyed at the history lesson.

"And he also has a son. Dusan al Ghul. Ra's disinherited him because he was albino and Ra's thought he was a disgrace. Dusan was kicked out, but snuck back in under an alias and worked his way up the ranks. Once he had reached as high of a rank as he could, he revealed himself. Ra's admitted to Dusan's skill, however still did not acknowledge him as a son. After that, Dusan left."

Tim looked at him in surprise. "But then... how are you sure this person is Dusan? If he's not in the League-"

Nico shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it's a decent guess. Dusan is albino, and that person is as pale as they come."

"Then why is he at a League Base with two of their top assassins?"

"One."

"What?"

Nico ran a tired hand over his face. "One League assassin. Slade left years ago. He's black listed from the League. Shiva is still a member, though she has become more distant."

Tim stared at the photo on the computer. "So Shiva is working with two disgruntled ex-assassins..." Tim's mind began to whirl. "If that's what they were doing in Santa Prisca, then maybe it's not a real LoA base. They might be using it as a base in order to plan a coup."

Nico just stared at him. "Yeah."

"That's it? No bigger shock?"

Nico just shrugged. "I figured that out after I read the file about the base on Santa Prisca. There are no League bases on the island— none run by Ra's at least. Plus, it makes sense. Dusan, Slade, and Lady Shiva all have something to gain by Ra's being gone."

"Do you think they took Bruce?"

Nico shrugged. "I mean, maybe? Bruce was supposed to be the one to take over the League, so it would make sense that they'd want him out of the picture, but they also would have just killed him. Bruce is alive."

Tim's eyebrows furrowed. Nico was right about the fact that Slade would have killed Bruce. There would be no point in keeping him alive if they were trying to get rid of the people in line to take over the League.

Tim ran a hand over his face before standing up. "I need to look into Dusan more," he muttered as he began walking to the door, hesitating once he got there. "Thank you— for the information and stuff."

Nico just gave an awkward nod.

Tim smiled lightly. "This is the most we've ever talked."

"I'm working on it," Nico said, looking away from the older boy. "It's easier to do one on one."

Tim nodded. "I get that. If you ever wanna say something but can't or don't want to talk, all of us know sign."

Nico just gave a small nod.

"I'll see you at breakfast," Tim said with a small smile before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

A/N: oooooo will these be our villains? or is it a mislead? hehehe

Vote. Comment. Tell me who your favorite villain is (I enjoy writing Slade, but I love reading Court of Owls).