The Labyrinth

Chapter 6: Mostly Harm, Fully Foul

Dick groaned as he woke slowly, everything was aching and felt dull, like his body was far far away and his consciousness was just drifting in a fog. He heard voices through cotton, one he recognized as Wally, but there was another that was new, female. He dragged his numb limbs closer to his body, he then got his hands under him and pushed up, only to fall back down.

"Ugh- what-?" Dick felt so discombobulated, he was so dizzy and there was this annoying weight on his back along with an uncomfortable pricking sensation.

"Dick! Dick wake up! How are you feeling?" Wally's worried voice echoed in his brain, spiking the headache throbbing behind his eyes.

"Wah's... h-heav-vy?" He slurred with tight eyes. The child gathered his hands under him again but paused to more accurately felt the oppressive weight on his back.

"Dick... they uh... they activated your Metagene." Wally said cautiously.

It took a second for Dick to process, his eyebrows knitting together before his heart leapt to his throat. "What?!" The ten year old jerked up, the heavy weight was not thrown back but stayed with him like a heavy blanket, like that time he tried on Bruce's cowl and the cape's weight alone dragged him to the floor. But this wasn't dress up in the cave, he was in some sort of lab, in a cage. He scrambled backwards until his back slammed into some bars, electing a wounded cry from him as pain shot down his back.

"Agh! Wh-what they'd do?!" He asked frantically, eyes bursting open and wide. Another panicked shout came from the acrobat, not understanding what he was seeing. "What's wrong with you?! You're- the colors-!" Dick's legs came up trying to push himself away from the weird bright form of his friend.

"Dick what's wrong?!" Wally said in alarm.

Dick breathed heavily, too many things were going on. His head hurt so much, it was right behind his eyes, it might as well BE his eyes. He focused on staring at his speedster friend in the cage opposite to his. Wally looked sad, but not uninterested, but that's not what Dick was worried about. His emerald green eyes had PINK in them, or at least he thought it was pink, he didn't understand. Everything seemed sharper, brighter, and it was messing with Dick's head.

Dick felt like retching. The world was swimming with too many bright colors, and wrong colors. Colors that shouldn't even be there, colors he didn't even have NAMES for. The pain was getting to be too much.

The boy leaned to the side, dipping his head down as he held himself up with one arm. He was feeling hot and cold, clammy and sick. His stomach clenched and his jaw started to tingle. The ten year old groaned in annoyance as suddenly his dinner made a reappearance on the floor.

"Dick? Dick are you okay?" Wally's voice barely penetrated the fog drifting over Dick's head.

He breathed shakily, focusing on keeping down whatever remained in his stomach. The boy kept his eyes closed, trying to understand what was going on. He swallowed loudly, lips smacking, but the scent and taste of acid was slow to come. In fact it was barely there at all.

A shiver ran through his body, reminding the boy he had other feelings to deal with like whatever was on his back. "W-What's going on...?" He groaned quietly, trying not to move despite his shivering. "Wh-What happened to me?"

He couldn't taste his own vomit. He spoke from experience when he said it was the worst taste ever, but right now, when he really should be tasting it, he couldn't. He had never wanted to taste his stomach acids more in his entire life.

The silence was terrifying, was he alone? Was Wally just a figment of his spiraling imagination?

"Wally PLEASE!" He cried, just barely feeling the tears start to roll down his cheeks and nose.