Sick Bird.

72. Gotham

_=_

Sebastian didn't stop at one bullet.

Even after the man in the gold mask had fallen to the ground with his gun still clutched in his hand, dead with a portion of his grey matter splattered across Dick's face, he didn't stop shooting.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Dick flinched at every gunshot as he slid to the floor, his legs not able to support his battered body. Pain numbing his senses, he stared blankly at the corpse in front of him, watching it shudder as each bullet imbedded itself into its flesh.

Somehow the piercing ache that went through his ears after every gunshot faded somewhere into the back of his mind as he watched Sebastian walk to him, step by step, finger fixed on the trigger, emptying the magazine of his handgun into what was once a man in a gold mask.

The man who had been torturing Dick just seconds ago had transformed into a bleeding pulp lying face down in a pool of red.

The red seeped into Dick's shoes as he stared at the mutilated corpse breathlessly, his hands shaking and the overpowering taste of death still on his tongue.

He keeled over, the urge to throw up too strong for him to resist. He coughed up a mix of his breakfast, blood and stomach acid until he had nothing left to expel. Yet he couldn't stop.

Fluid kept on leaving him until he was dry-heaving, throwing up nothing but air.

"Dick." The gun in Sebastian's hand dropped to the floor when he finally reached the boy, surrounded by shell casings that had rolled down the corridor.

The man knelt by the bird, and Dick slowly turned his head to look at him, his eyes filled with tears and a pained grimace stretching his lips. "You're here," he all but whispered.

Sebastian didn't say a word, his face covered by a dark cloud that kept his expression unreadable. He reached up to his face and pulled off his mask, then gently removed the silver one on Dick's face to reveal the swelling bruises along his cheeks.

The masks in man's hands broke into pieces under the force of Sebastian's hold and Dick's eyes widened as he watched Sebastian's eyes darken with emotion.  The man let the broken masks fall into the pool of blood by their feet and used his fingers to graze each bruise, eliciting a wince from Dick each time.

The bird didn't dare let out a sound of pain, not that he could. The pain was too much, even with Sebastian's feathery touches barely touching his skin.

"I'm. . . okay." the boy lied when he noticed the fury that flared in Sebastian's eyes when the man's fingers left Dick's face and came back stained with blood.

The thirteen year old set his hands on the floor and looked away ruefully, resisting the urge to curl up into a ball as a spasm ran through him. "I. . ." his throat was too sore for him to continue. I'm sorry.

He let his eyes fall to the floor and he was filled with even more guilt. He was covered in blood and vomit and Sebastian was kneeling right next to him unconcerned that his expensive suit was now beyond saving. Thank you for saving me.

He shifted his gaze back to Sebastian, stared into the man's dark eyes, and suddenly he could breathe properly again. "I know this will reduce the time you have to find the antidote, I'm sorry," he paused, sensing a spike in the older man's emotion and unconsciously anticipating a hit, "I should have followed—"

Sebastian threw out his fist.

"Shut up!" The man slammed his right hand into the wall by Dick's head, his shoulders rising. "Just stop talking."

The bird did as he was told, not because he was afraid of getting it, but because he had never seen Sebastian so enraged. He couldn't even bring himself to predict what would happen next. "Sorry," he croaked.

"We're going." The man said, his arms carefully encircling the boy to avoid aggravating his wounds.

Dick stiffened when he felt Sebastian move to hold him and a gold mask flashed in his mind. Unconsciously, he had already started to struggle.

"You're hurting yourself more." Sebastian growled quietly in his ear, forcing the boy's head against his chest. "Just because you can't feel it, doesn't mean I can't."

What? It was only now that Dick noticed that he didn't feel anything anymore. He felt devoid of sensation, or any pain. At most, he was numb.

"Where are we going?" He gripped tightly onto Sebastian's arms, only to find that the man was trembling.

Sebastian tightened his hold on Dick and stood up, his back to the breakfast hall and one hand over the boy's head to shield his face from view.

"Anywhere but here." The man started walking, a tick in his jaw. "Anywhere," he repeated as he turned a corner.

"Gotham." he finally answered, just as Dick felt the lull of sleep take him away.

Gotham, the bird thought sleepily. Bruce.

~.

Tada. We're finally going back to Gotham. Any thoughts on why? ;)