Dick had almost forgotten how much it could hurt.....
"Get out of my house, are you deaf or what?" growled a woman with black hair and blue streaks.
"Mrs. Lloyd, you can't act like that with your nephew!" cried the family's lawyer angrily.
"He's not my nephew! It's a useless little quirkless that my sister and brother-in-law picked up in Japan! I would never consider this thing a member of my family!" replied Cassandra Lloyd with vehement hatred.
"Aren't you ashamed to make such comments? He is legally your sister's son, his quirkless status has nothing to do with it!" the lawyer scolded sternly.
Dick sat in the dining room, listening absent-mindedly to the conversation between his parents' lawyer and the woman he naively called "Aunt Cassie" a few months ago.
His empty eyes were riveted on his hands, he felt like a dagger had stuck in his heart and he could hear this voice in his head.
That voice that had been giving him horrible headaches for days.....
He wanted to bang his head with all these forces to silence her...
Sitting next to him, the hero blue beetle, whose real name is Jaime Reyes, was glaring at Cassandra Lloyd's two children.
A boy and a girl, law school students... Who darted at Dick, a look filled with hatred and disgust....
It had been a long time since he had felt such looks on him...
"Do you have a problem?" growled Jaime Reyes dryly. His voice was filled with an anger that was hard to ignore, and the two left the dining room, not without whispering, "Quirkless monster, why didn't he die with them?"
Dick had heard this sentence.....
He smelled the venom it contained...
"maybe.... Maybe they're right." Dick began in a broken voice.
"What are you talking about?" asked Jaime Reyes, surprised.
"my mother Inko midoriya... My parents John and Mary and my dear sister Amanda... They are all dead but I am still here... I saw, as if someone wanted to see me carry the weight of their dead... at that time... I should have died too..." he said in a hollow voice.
"Dick... Don't say such things!" cried Jaime, grabbing his shoulders in anger and sadness.
"It's not your fucking fault! Stop it!" he cried in a broken voice.
He hugged Dick.
"I too lost my parents, it was two years ago... I had just got my hero's license... My parents and those of my classmates had come to celebrate at the justice academy but a villain called black manta came to destroy everything... My parents died that day and I couldn't do anything while I was a fucking professional hero," he cried out with great pain.
"I was depressed... I wanted to give up my license but I didn't, I had to stop blaming myself... It wasn't good for me"
He parted from dick and ruffled his hair with brotherly tenderness.
"Now stop blaming yourself or saying this about death... Don't listen to those anti-quirkless assholes either, there's nothing more hateful than these people who hate others because they're different..." he said with barely concealed anger.
Dick nodded with a tearful smile even though his eyes remained devoid of any light.
He still didn't feel well.... His guilt was eating away at him too much and his hatred was only growing...
Reyes' words had been useless....
"thank you Mr. Reyes..." Dick said sincerely.
"Call me Jaime, the "mister " makes me look old when I'm very young! "Jaime cried with a comical smile.
Dick didn't laugh and Jaime sighed as he looked at him sadly.
A heavy silence took place, Jaime looked at the clock and saw that it was already noon...
"Aren't you hungry? We will be good for our food..." he said softly.
Dick answered only with an absent-minded nod.
The lawyer then entered the dining room as well, angrily adjusting his tie. Cassandra arrived too, arms crossed, her hateful look at Dick.....
"Get out of my house and I don't want to see again.... this thing," she said with such disdain that Jaime shuddered.
"He's your nephew, damn it!" cried Jaime as he stood up.
"Reyes, it's useless... " said the lawyer as he walked over to Dick, holding out his hand.
Dick took her weakly, not wanting to face the woman's gaze, it was not her aunt... She was a woman who hated quirkless....
That was her true face.....
*************×************×*********
Dick was in his room, the body lying in his bed.... He remembered the story that his mother loved to tell him... That of a vigilante who always helped those who needed help the most... With a smile.
Mary told him that he had no power but that thanks to his ingenuity, willpower and kindness, he had become the most beloved vigilante in the world...
Dick burst into tears, curling up on his bed.... He felt so bad....
It was with great difficulty that he got up and went to his mirror.... He will mirror himself, his eyes swollen and empty, his complexion pale....
He had never looked at himself so much in the mirror.....
And suddenly.....
"Ahhh!" cried Dick when he saw his reflection come out of the mirror, brutally grabbing his neck with both hands.
The two fell to the ground and the reflection hit his face with unheard-of violence.
"Why aren't you dead?! Why do you breathe when they are dead! You don't deserve to live! You're quirkless!" Izuku cried as he tried to strangle him.
Dick pushed him violently back towards the mirror, breaking him in the process.
"You think I don't know!" cried Dick, rushing to his double, throwing him to his closet.
Izuku stood up and glared at Dick.
"I hate you so much, you bring death, we should stay away from Melissa," Izuku cried with a grim grin.
"Shut up....." Dick cried hatefully.
"Do you really think you're becoming the hero you wanted to be? A hero who brings death! Accept it, Dick! The seeds of evil are within you and it kills all the people you love!" cried Izuku with a demented smile.
"SHUT UP !!!"
Dick seized his lamp and threw it at the wall.
His double was no longer there...
*****************×******
A few minutes earlier....
"Dick is going to live with his grandparents on his father's side.... They're the only ones who really consider him a member of the family," said the Graysons' lawyer, Matthew Reynolds, gravely.
David, Melissa and Jaime nodded their heads with sad expressions.
"they live on a big farm in Nebraska, Dick will be able to refocus, away from the tumult of the heroic city. I think this atmosphere will do him good"
"You're right Mr. Reynolds and we can go and see him from time to time..." David shield said, pressing his daughter's shoulder gently.
Melissa simply nodded, grieving for her best friend.
Suddenly, they heard screams, the crash of broken glass and falling objects.
"Dick!!," they cried as they walked towards the dark-haired boy's room.
"SHUT UP !!!"
Before their eyes, the boy threw his lamp at the wall...
His room was in a catastrophic state, as if a fight had taken place there...
And in the midst of this mess, Dick was standing, covered in wounds, his blank stare riveted on the pieces of mirror scattered around him...
He was breathing heavily, like a wild animal....
"Dick! What happened? Why did you do this to yourself?!" cried Melissa, sobbing as the three men stared at him in horror and anxiety.
"Oh my God..." Jaime said, looking at Dick with great sorrow.
The air in the room was suffocating, anxiety-provoking... Dick collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain and sobbing.
Melissa rushed to him...
Master Reynolds adjusted his glasses with gravity.
"He must undergo psychological follow-up before taking him to his grandparents, his mental state is very worrying..." he said in an extremely serious tone.
"Dick..." David began, looking down in great distress.
***************×*********×************×*******
One month later...
The plane landed gently at Omaha Airport in Nebraska.
When Dick got off the plane, he immediately felt the difference... The urban and heroic setting had disappeared in favor of the wild and infinite beauty of the plains and fields...
Dick breathed in the invigorating air, he felt the brutal break, all that he had left behind...
It wasn't pleasant... It was disturbing for him....
The psychological follow-up had worked, at least on the surface... He didn't feel like he was getting better, but he refused to sink, he had promised Melissa before leaving, he would rebuild himself and regain his joy of life.....
He felt a pressure on his shoulder and turned to Master Reynolds, who smiled softly at him.
The two went to the car that would take them to the Graysons' farm.
********×******************×***********
The car had stopped in front of a huge farm....
Dick had alighted from the carriage, looking with wandering eyes, sweaty hands.
A large wooden house was there, magnificent although austere at first glance.
Dick and Master Reynolds went to the door, the adult gave the boy little worried glances at times.
"Dick..."
"It's okay Mr. Reynolds..." said the dark-haired boy with a smile that was meant to be reassuring.
Mr. Reynolds stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded before knocking on the door.
The door soon opened, relieving John's parents, Wallace and Charlotte Grayson.
The two elderly people seemed exhausted from the tears they had shed, but their expressions softened when they saw the dark-haired boy.
"Dick..." Charlotte said tenderly, crouching down to hug Dick.
Dick hadn't felt such warmth since Mary and Inko. He shed tears as he hugged her in his turn.
Wallace and Reynolds smiled at each other, and the old man tenderly ruffled his grandson's hair.
"Welcome home, Dick," Wallace smiled softly.
Dick smiled warmly, though it was less than before.....
Maybe this was the new path to recovery?
****************×****×*******×****************
Melissa was sitting in the park where she and Dick liked to spend time together.....
The stay in New York had been extended because of an important case and it weighed heavily on Melissa.
She felt bad in this huge city where this tragedy had taken place.... She missed Dick so much!
She had felt his pain, his obsessive guilt , his hatred.... It was terrifying and deeply tragic....
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't feel krypto licking her hand.
She stroked his soft white fur. Krypto looked at her with an expression that could be described as worry in a dog.
"You're sad too, aren't you, Krypto?" asked Melissa sadly.
The dog barked a little sadly.
"I miss Dick so much, I want to see him too much..." Melissa said with a pained smile.
...
"You love him very much, don't you?" asked a female voice, soft but deeply cold behind Melissa.
Krypto barked violently, his instincts screaming at him to keep his mistress away from this woman.
Lady Shiva ignored the dog and her cold and emotionless gaze remained fixed on Melissa.
Melissa stared at the Chinese lady with some apprehension .
"You're my father's friend, aren't you? We are the same, carriers of the N gene," Melissa says with an innocent but sad smile.
Lady Shiva raised an eyebrow, then her cold seriousness changed into an expression of cynical amusement.
"A friend of your father? Is that what he told you?"
Lady Shiva gave a little laugh but it was nothing frank.
Melissa looked at her in amazement, not understanding what was funny about what she had said.
"you also carry the N gene... Interesting, we're going to become very good friends since we're the same," smiles Shiva as she strokes her head.
Her smile was not sweet and friendly, but Melissa was not a body language expert like Dick, so she just smiled innocently.
"It's true! I'd like to be your friend, Wu-san!" smiled Melissa candidly as she took her hand.
"Dick would have been super happy to be your friend too, he's an improved quirkless like us, unfortunately he's at his grandparents' house" says the blonde-haired girl with a sad look.
"Really?" said Shiva detachedly.
She sat next to Melissa. Krypto growled, not taking his eyes off her.
"Where do his grandparents live?"
Melissa gave the location of the farm, which accentuated Shiva's cold smile.
"Melissa!!" cried an anxious voice.
David Shield had come to retrieve his daughter, he was then extremely surprised and frightened to see her with the most dangerous mercenary in the world.
He ran to them and retrieved Melissa in his arms, pulling her away from the dangerous woman.
"Hello David," wu-san smiled softly.
"Melissa, go back to the apartment and take Krypto with you," the scientist said with extreme seriousness.
He dropped off his daughter who retrieved the krypto leash.
"I hope we'll see each other again, Mrs. Wu-san!" smiles Melissa kindly.
"Me too, my darling, you remind me a lot of your mother, you are as beautiful as her" said Shiva with the most repulsive sweetness.
David glared at her, Shiva reveling in this attention.
Melissa seemed to be overjoyed, her innocence contrasting with the horror of the situation.
"Is it true? Thank you very much! Can you tell me more about her? Dad doesn't tell me much except the fact that she loved me very much and that....."
"Melissa, please come home!" cried David more forcefully.
Melissa jumped and nodded, she was about to walk away when shiva's call made her turn around.
"I was a very good friend of your mother's, you know? I'd love to tell you about her and how amazing she was, wouldn't I, David?" said Shiva with a smirk as he looked David in the eye.
David clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"Thank you very much!" cried Melissa happily as she walked away from them, Krypto behind her.
A tense silence took place after the little girl left.
"Wow, shield.... If your gaze could kill, I would have died a million times over" laughed Shiva as she approached him.
"What did you want from Melissa?!" David growled hatefully.
"Your slutty wife's daughter? No, it's her friend who interests me..." Shiva smiled softly.
"Dick Grayson?" David wondered, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Lady Shiva nodded with a serene but cold smile like a sharp blade.
"He has interested me since I saw him at the circus, rare are the human beings capable of feeling my thirst for blood even when I hide it."
" This boy is special, besides, he's an improved quirkless like your kid, he's probably broken after the brutal death of his family, he's a rough diamond that I can't wait to shape" says Shiva with a smile of monstrous coldness.
"You... You...." David said, stepping back, the air was unbreathable, so oppressive that David felt like he would faint.
Shiva moved even closer to him, their faces were only a few centimeters apart.
"I have to admit.... The years haven't changed you David, you're still as handsome as ever..." she said with a smirk.
David blushed in spite of himself at this proximity, he didn't have time to assimilate these words before the woman kissed him....
There was nothing beautiful, sweet and romantic... It wasn't a kiss, it was a relentless viper bite...
She nibbled lightly on David's upper lip before pulling away. David was panting, he wanted to vomit...
"Goodbye David," the woman with the long black hair coldly greeted as she walked away.
She left David alone, a prey to strange, unpleasant sensations..... But despite all this...
Did he like the kiss?
*********************×*********×************
A week later,
Dick had settled in with his grandparents..... He loved them very much, they were really good people.
He had started to help his grandfather and grandmother, which helped him thought of something other than death.
He had only been here for a week and yet the feeling of unease he felt was now giving way to a feeling of peace...
But also emptiness...
Currently, he was digging an isolated plot of land, wearing a simple checked shirt and blue overalls.
He showed no signs of fatigue, doing this action for hours without stopping once... His movements were mechanical, his eyes always empty.
Suddenly, he threw down the spade.... And sat down on the ground,
"I have to get stronger... I want to... I want to become the hero I want to be... I have this gene, don't I? I have to help people... I will make sure that no one has to go through what I have experienced, I will never let Evil control me," he thought, clenching his frayed fists.
He then felt a presence, or rather two... The first was familiar, sweet and endearing.... The second....
"Dick? You're here! It's a friend of your mother's who is coming to visit you" Charlotte smiled greatly as she approached her grandson with this woman.
Dick's heart almost stopped, his body was screaming at him to flee but he stood up, staggering.
The woman gave him an amused smile.
Dick felt like he was in an abyss. Who was this extremely dangerous woman? What was she doing here?
"I'm glad to see you Dick..." Lady Shiva smiled as she approached him.
Dick's body instinctively recoiled but the woman ended up taking him in her arms.
He had the painful sensation that a boa was wrapping itself around him.
His breath was cut off, he wanted to faint but his brain prevented him.
"Mommy came to pick you up..." she whispered to him with a repulsive sweetness.
The most dangerous mercenary in the world had just found Dick Grayson... For better but especially for worse....
To Be continued...