imustbealoner requested this one which is so angsty and i l o v e it so much so thank you for requesting it!

EDIT: TW MINOR CHARACTER DEATH

It was a secret that nobody ever knew about. Dick felt no need to let anyone know. He was a good person, he wasn't like the others. He was a hero after all. One that thought for those who couldn't. One that always held himself back before he really did some damage. So there was no need to say anything about what he was supposed to be. That was until the day Slade kidnapped Damian.

Damian had been walking home from school. He was supposed to go to the nearest Zetatube and go over to Metropolis to meet Jon. He'd done the journey one hundred times over without fault. There hadn't been any inklings that Slade was planning to abduct the boy so he had no reason to be on guard. They suspected that's why Slade got him so easily. He turned a corner to a Zetatube which was down a darkened back alley. There was no one down there, or so he thought. As he shoved his school blazer into his bag and began to fish out his domino mask, a sharp sting in his neck caught his attention. He didn't think much of it since he was near a bin and attributed the pain to a nat or something similar. His hand went up to slap the bug but found a needle in its place. He ripped it out, turning to see who'd done this to him. Unfortunately, his world got too blurry to find the culprit and he soon slipt into darkness. His limp body was caught on camera for just a second which led to Bruce and Dick finding out about his kidnapping after Jon worriedly called them asking for Damian.

Now, Dick was a calm man in general. He was thought to be this bubbly man who only lost his temper in extreme circumstances. Nobody would've thought that he would do what he did. Not even Dick thought he could do what he would. It wasn't something he thought he was capable of doing. He always thought something would always hold him back from doing it. Clearly, that wasn't the case.

Batman traced where Slade was and he, accompanied by Nightwing, set out to get their family member back. Had he known what would happen, he wouldn't have brought his first ward. They found that Damian was being held captive on a small island not far from Gotham. A quick ride in the Batjet had them there just as night began to fall. Batman parked the jet in the woods of the island that surrounds the only building. It had previously been made to be a maximum-security prison, like Alcatraz, but the funding just wasn't there so it was never put into operation. The building consisted of four floors. They suspected that Damian would be held on the top floor since that was the only floor that had fully finished cells. "I'll get Damian, you stall Slade," Batman ordered, getting a nod from Nightwing. He was flashed a grin, one that he loved very much before they scaled the side of the building. Going through the front entrance was asking for trouble, plus there were so many stairs that neither cared very much for. On top of the roof, there was a door that would lead them to the fourth floor. Once they grabbed Damian, Batman would have the jet come to the roof and they'd escape. Quick and easy. Or that's how it should've been.

Apart from the regular amount of henchmen who greeted them once they got on the roof, they got in without too many problems. They ran down the steps to the top floor and began looking into each cell. "I see I have some unwanted guests," Slade announced. Nightwing whipped around to see him, tapping Batman on the shoulder to say to keep looking for his brother. The older nodded and ran off. "A one on one? Doesn't that remind you of our glory days?" Slade said, getting into a fighting stance. 

"Oh the time when you made me your apprentice by blackmailing me? Gotta love that nostalgia," Nightwing replied sarcastically, joining him in his stance. They shared a moment of silence before Slade chuckled darkly. 

"They say you're a Talon," he commented passingly. Nightwing winced at the comment, granting the villain to take advantage of his momentary weakness. He rushed the hero and forced him to the ground, pinning him to the floor. He leaned down to his ear with a smile. "Now, let's see if I can turn that on." Nightwing struggled against his grasp and tried to block out the sentence that came from his mouth but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he still heard it. His eyes snapped open and, beneath his domino mask, his bright blue eyes turned a golden yellow. Suddenly, he had the strength to push Slade off of him but it came with a burning need. He had a mission. Kill Slade. Normally there would be a voice in his head that told him not to do such a thing. That reminded him that Batman didn't condone killing someone no matter what they did. But that voice was silent. Either that or it was drowned out by the demanding voice that said to kill the man in front of him. Without the self-control needed, he listened.

Batman found Damian and called over to Nightwing to see him on the ground with Slade on top of him. As he ran to help, he saw that Slade had said something in his ear. He couldn't hear what but it was clear he said something. He was grinning from ear to ear. What did he know? Then Nightwing pushed him off with newfound strength and began beating him up. There was no hesitancy to the punches. They were all full throttle in areas that could result in serious damage. Nightwing never fought like that. Slade tried to fight back, seemingly shocked that what he'd said had this effect. This only grew Batman and Damian's curiosity. "Nightwing, be careful!" Batman shouted, seeing that Slade had only just dodged a fatal blow. There was no response. No snarky comment. Something was wrong. He continued to run over just as Nightwing flipped over the assailant's shoulders and forced him to the floor. He handcuffed Slade, which did something to ease the pair's worries about the hero but that relief was short-lived. Nightwing put his foot on Slade's neck. Immediately, Damian knew what he was about to do and jumped in. He tried to push his older brother off of the villain but was thrown back with ease. "Grayson, what the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted, shocked. His brother had never been so cold with him. Damian jumped up off the floor and snatched away Nightwing's mask, thinking there was some sort of mind control causing this. When he did, he found golden eyes staring back at him with little recognition. It was like they didn't know who he was but Nightwing knew who he was. He had to know. They'd been together for years now. They were family. They were friends. How could he forget him? Batman saw his ward's eyes. He knew those eyes. They weren't Dick's. "Those are Talon eyes," he stated. Knowing this, he shot his taser to stop his ward from doing the unthinkable but Nightwing simply dodged them without a second thought. Damian tried fighting him but was once again thrown back, this time knocking into Batman at the same time.

They frantically tried to get back up but they were too late. They watched in horror as Nightwing replaced his foot on Slade's neck and stomped down with full force. A sickening snap went through the abandoned building. Nightwing's expression was completely emotionless. He looked like he didn't care. Dick would care. He would be terrified of what he'd done if he was there. But he wasn't. A Talon was in his place. They stared at him, not knowing whether he would stop at just killing Slade or he'd go on to try to kill them. "Grayson?" Damian croaked. He never thought he'd be terrified of Dick. He was the most unthreatening presence he had in his life. Yet here he was, in a cold sweat, fearing the gaze of the older. "I-I didn't know he was a Talon. I should've known," Batman muttered. His eyes hadn't moved from his ward. He couldn't get them to. Nightwing's ears perked at the sound of his name and he turned to them with a blank expression. "Further orders from the Court of Owls?" he asked, his tone flat. 

"What did you do?" Damian replied, still shocked.

"I followed orders. Kill Slade. Any orders?" They shook their heads. How were they supposed to respond to that? He shrugged and walked over Slade's body to the rooftop. He called over the Batjet and flew off.

Nobody thought Nightwing could do what he did. Arguments broke out on what to do about it. Should they try and find him or was he already lost? If they did find him, should they hand him over since he murdered Slade? Would he even be the Dick they all knew and loved? The only two things they knew for certain that day was Slade was dead and that the Court of Owls had better up their security because they did something you should never do. Take Batman's son.