Siren's Song

Siren's Song
Chapter 4


Green Arrow and Nightwing arrived at Wayne Manor in record time, Nightwing for once offering thanks to Oliver for being the one to teach Connor how to drive instead of cursing the elder Arrow as he usually did. The trip still ranked as one of the most terrifying experiences of his life, but at least not having to watch the road left his mind free to worry about Tim. Batman hadn't told him any details about the situation and in his hurry to get home, he hadn't thought to ask.

Was he hurt? Was he dead? Did he just do something really stupid that got him in trouble, something that required a big brother's involvement? Had he made a discovery regarding the Siren’s whereabouts and needed back-up?

Nightwing quickly dismissed that last possibility or Batman would have referred to Robin instead of Tim, but it did nothing to ease his concern.

Even though he wasn't Tim's brother by blood, he treated Tim as if they were related. Genetics didn't always make a family, and in the case of the Bat clan, it was probably better that they weren't related--especially considering the relationship he shared with Bruce.

But he wasn't about to go there again. Despite having worked out his issues on his feelings towards Bruce a long time ago, thinking too hard about it did tend to give him the willies. It was best just to let it go.

No, where the Bat clan was concerned, being from different backgrounds, with different upbringings and different family scarring, brought them closer together in that it gave them different strengths, as well as different weaknesses. The members of the Bat clan complemented each other, with Alfred completing them all as he smoothed out any remaining rough spots and offered words of wisdom to otherwise stubborn ears.

And if anything had happened to Tim, Nightwing knew that there would be a hole ripped into the fabric of their lives, one Bruce might never recover from. As for his own reaction, he wasn’t sure how he would feel about losing the only brother he'd ever known. That kind of devastation wasn’t just something he could imagine. He would only know when it happened.

But he hadn't lost Tim, not yet, and he would make damn well sure he never did.

The car came to a screeching halt in front of Wayne Manor, and both crime fighters jumped out of the vehicle and ran inside. Alfred met them in the foyer, his eyes weary, his face seeming to have aged twenty years in just a day.

"Alfred. . ."

"He's all right, sir, as far as we know. He's been kidnapped, but we don’t believe him to be in any immediate danger."

The relief coursed through him and Nightwing felt his legs grow weak. The older man took him into his arms in a soothing embrace.

"It's going to be okay, Master Dick. You'll get him back, I know it. I'm just so sorry. . . I wish I could have. . ."

"Alfred?" At hearing the guilt in his voice, Nightwing drew back enough to look into the anxious gray eyes. "What's going on?"

The older man sighed, taking a step backwards and adjusting his suit. "Batman is in the Cave reviewing the security tapes. He'll brief you when you get down there."

Though he wanted to question him further, he couldn’t risk wasting any more time. Nightwing gave Alfred's hand a comforting squeeze, then gestured for Connor to follow him to the hidden passageway in the grandfather clock. Before opening the door, he paused, glancing back at his costumed companion.

"You know if you say a word about this to anyone, the Bat will have your balls."

"And though I know you feel obligated to tell me that, you know you can trust me, and that I already know." At the quizzical expression on Nightwing's face, Connor frowned, repeating his words to himself, then added, "About the balls."

"Oh, yeah, we're definitely ready to handle any crisis," Nightwing muttered as he keyed in the code on the panel. “Evil beware, or we'll confound you with our circumlocution."

"Well, if nothing else," Connor shrugged, "it will keep them off-balance long enough for us to attack."

Nightwing just sighed and shook his head. "You're a strange man, Connor Hawke."

"Considering the source, I'll take that as a compliment."

“If it makes you happy.”

“What would make me happy is if the two of you would hurry up and get down here so that we can begin our search.”

Connor’s face reddened with shame, but Nightwing’s remained impassive as they raced down the stairs to where Batman was waiting.

“He’s been taken by the Siren,” Batman said, pressing a few keys on the keyboard as he brought up the surveillance videos of the house. “Approximately ninety minutes ago, she came in with six accomplices and used her voice to subvert Alfred and Tim into helping her steal the Wayne family jewels.”

Nightwing watched, horrified, as two of his family members walked through the mansion like zombies, opening up vaults and removing the sparkling gems. Their faces were expressionless, their eyes seemingly dead, while the beautiful woman practically danced with delight around them, occasionally pulling out a particularly stunning sapphire ring or a dazzling diamond necklace. Seeing Tim and Alfred so lifeless with their gloating captor watching over all was one of the most painful things Nightwing ever witnessed, until they came to the end of the robbery.

His fingers dug into the back of Batman’s chair as the Siren reached up to run her hand through Tim’s hair, then drew him down for a kiss. Entwining an arm through his, she led the unresisting young man out of the house, her minions following behind. Alfred was left to stand staring blankly after them, alone once more in the mansion.

“Do we have any leads?” Nightwing asked, his voice sounding harsh to his ears.

“Tim has a tracking device in the watch he’s wearing, so we have an idea of where they’re heading. It looks like this was the Siren’s last job--she's leaving Gotham.”

“If I may interrupt for a moment, I have question,” Connor said, and both men looked up at him. “Where’s Will?”

Two pairs of eyes blinked, and Connor sighed.

“He was supposed to pick up Tim, remember? His truck’s still outside, we haven’t seen him on any of the cameras, so where is he?”

Nightwing immediately felt a wave of guilt that he hadn’t once considered the location of his supposed boyfriend and glanced down at the Bat.

“Did you see him anywhere on the surveillance tapes?”

“No,” he answered, quickly tapping in commands on the keyboard, “but I only searched back as far as the Siren’s first appearance.”

The screen jumped quickly back in time to Tim’s arrival at the Siren’s side, then followed his path through the house to the armory where they watched with disbelief as Tim beat Will into unconsciousness.

“Where is this?” Connor asked in a strangled voice, his entire body shaking.

“The armory,” Nightwing said as all three men made a dash for the stairs that led to the Manor proper. “East wing, third floor, turn right, fourth door on the left.”

When they reached street level, Batman went in search of Alfred in case they needed his medical skills while Green Arrow and Nightwing continued on up to the third floor.

“I don’t suppose you could have possibly made this house any larger?” Connor growled as he swung around the railing on the second floor and headed up the final flight of stairs.

“We were thinking of adding on a couple extra floors and a fourth wing, but we thought that might just get confusing.”

“How many of these rooms do you actually use?”

“Four or five.”

“Tear down the rest of the fucking house,” he snarled as his foot hit the landing of the third floor.

Nightwing’s eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline as he followed his friend in a flat run down the hall. Either his ears were going bad, or Connor had just used the word ‘fucking’. He really must be in love. Nothing else would convince the former monk to swear.

He reached the armory two steps behind Connor, arriving in time to see his friend kneel down beside his lover. Green Arrow gently rolled Will onto his back, his fingers tracing along a pale cheek.

“He’s breathing,” Connor said softly. “It’s shallow, but it’s there.”

Nightwing watched as Connor took Will’s hands between his own, leaning down low next to his ear. The scene was heart-wrenching--the fear in his friend’s eyes so familiar, he was momentarily blinded by his own terror, a terror that had nothing to do with the two on the floor.

“Will,” Connor whispered softly. “Will, if you can hear me, I need for you to wake up. It’s all right, it’s safe, I’ve got you now, but you have to open your eyes and look at me.”

Batman and Alfred arrived, Alfred immediately moving to the injured man’s side. The Bat stood quietly behind Nightwing as Alfred began assessing Will’s condition, Nightwing’s blue eyes rising to meet blue. He was actually a little surprised to find Batman watching him. He was even more surprised to see his own terror echoed in the somber gaze.

Reaching behind him, Nightwing took a gauntleted in his own, twining their fingers together and holding tight. He leaned back a little, just enough so that his shoulder was touching Batman’s chest, and the Bat leaned into him, offering him support.

Even with his injured lover on the floor and his friend in distress, Nightwing couldn’t help feeling a leap of joy in his heart. He was needed. Batman--Bruce--wanted to be at his side. Maybe the pain-ridden man was actually learning to accept them, learning that even if something like this happened to one of them, the only way to get through it was to be together, not apart. Maybe they could finally find a way to make this work.

At that moment, a moan escaped Will’s lips. His eyes fluttered open, and the resulting grin on Connor’s face held enough warmth to power Gotham for a year. Reacting on impulse, Green Arrow leaned down and kissed him.

Will’s eyes widened and he immediately tried to squirm out from under the romantic onslaught.

“Stay still,” Alfred said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You have a concussion and I believe a rib or two might be cracked.”

“What. . . I don’t . . . Who are all of you?” he stammered looking at the costumed men surrounding him, and then recognition dawned. “Nightwing? Batman? What the hell is going on here? And why aren’t you saving me from being molested by this Renaissance festival escapee?”

“We thought you knew him,” Batman shrugged, the suggestion of a smile on his lips.

“Why would you think—”

“Well, you are holding hands,” Nightwing said.

Will glanced down to find he was clutching the hands holding onto his. He tried to free himself, but Connor refused to let go.

“Will, look at me.”

Troubled green eyes rose to meet Green Arrow’s gaze. “How do you know my name?”

“You know me, and I know you,” he smiled, raising Will’s hands to his lips. “We may not have known each other long, but if you could see into my heart, you see how much I hope we’ll know each other for the rest of our lives.”

Will studied the face of the man leaning over him, slowly recognizing the familiar warmth of the hands on his, realizing that the green eyes were the same that had been haunting his thoughts for two days. “Connor?”

He nodded.

“You. . . you’re a superhero?”

“I wouldn’t call myself that, but essentially, yes.”

Will frowned. “Which one?”

“Green Arrow, from Star City,” Connor smiled. “Well, the second Green Arrow. The first is my father.”

Will stared at him for a moment, quickly trying to register everything that had been told him. After a few minutes, he gave up, concluding that his head hurt too much for him to really care if the man he was quite possibly meant to be with liked running around in a Robin Hood costume.

He just nodded. “Cool.”

“Is it just me,” Nightwing whispered in Batman’s ear, “or was that somewhat anticlimactic?”

“Well, he does have a concussion,” the Bat answered wryly.

“Connor?”

“Yes, Will?”

“You. . . you kissed me.”

Connor lowered his eyes, suddenly embarrassed by his action. “I did. I apologize. I shouldn’t have taken advantage—”

Before he could continue with his needless apology, Will wrapped a hand around Connor’s neck and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. Connor gasped with surprise, pulling away enough to see that Will meant it, then threw himself into the kiss with absolute abandon.

“I think,” Alfred said, glancing up at the two men, “that he’s going to make a full recovery.”

“I’ll say,” Nightwing nodded, knowing he should probably feel angry, or at least a little bit betrayed, but with Batman’s strength at his side and the warmth of the breath on his neck, he couldn’t find it in him to feel anything but happy for the couple. “Perhaps we should leave them alone so we can begin our search.”

Will gasped and pushed Connor away, though he kept him carefully within reach. “Tim! I can’t believe I forgot about Tim! We were here, in this room, when someone started singing and. . . and then he changed. It was like all personality had just drained out of him. I tried to stop him, but. . . it was impossible. He’s stronger than he looks, and fast, too. There was nothing I could do. Oh god, Dick’s going to kill me.” He glanced at Connor, then groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his head fall to the floor. “Dick is really going to kill me.”

Connor looked up at Nightwing, arching a questioning eyebrow, and Nightwing shrugged. “It’s your decision. I trust him, but you should think about how deep you want to let him in, about what could happen if he knows too much.”

“You should also consider what could happen if you don’t let him in deep enough,” Batman said, his voice a low thunder throughout the room, and Nightwing gave him a sharp look.

“What do you mean?”

Batman met his gaze and held it, an entire conversation passing between them without a word spoken, one that the younger man must have found to his liking. A little of the tension eased from his shoulders and his lips softened.

“He’s right,” he said, looking to Connor. “But finding the balance between the two will be up to you.”

Will opened his eyes again, staring at the costumed men who were speaking around him as if he’d suddenly turned invisible. “Connor, what are they talking about?”

Connor looked down at his newfound love and decided he couldn’t be anything less than honest with Will, no matter what happened. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Dick killing you. In fact, I think you’ll find he’s quite understanding. About everything.”

Frowning, Will looked from Connor to Batman to Nightwing, then looked at Connor again, then looked at Nightwing. “. . . Dick. . .”

“I’m sorry,” he said, kneeling down next to his former lover and removing his mask. “I wanted to tell you, but. . .”

“No, you didn’t,” Will smiled, shaking his head. “We had fun, and we were good together, but I think we both knew it wouldn’t last. You didn’t love me.”

“You’re right,” Dick said with a sad smile. “I wanted to love you. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of love than you, but I just couldn’t. There was—”

“Someone else.”

Dick nodded, then gave Will a calculating look. “Did you. . . ?”

“Yes. But I could still tell there was something missing. You were always so sad. I wanted to protect you, to do anything to make you happy.”

“And you did,” he smiled, leaning down to kiss Will’s forehead. “You really did, but you deserve to be happy also, and I think Connor will do that for you.”

“I will try,” Connor said, holding Will’s hand to his heart, and Will smiled at him.

“So will I.”

“Now that we have this little triangle sorted out,” Batman began, his tone brittle with impatience, “do you think we could go get Tim back?”

Dick replaced his mask as he and Connor rose to their feet.

“I’ll look after Mr. Wyatt,” Alfred said when Connor hesitated. “You go fetch Master Tim.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Nightwing said and the three heroes ran from the room.

When they were gone, Alfred looked down at his patient, who gave him a tentative smile. “Can we leave for the hospital now?”

“I think that will be a good idea,” Alfred said, rising to his feet. “Don’t move. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

“I don’t think I could move if I tried,” Will said and closed his eyes while Alfred ran to the nearest phone.



Knowing that Tim was wearing his watch had been the only thing to keep Batman from lashing out at the younger men for holding them up. Now, however, he was starting to worry. Tim’s watch hadn’t moved in twenty minutes and he was anxious to find his partner before anything happened to him.

Nightwing flew the Batplane with Green Arrow while Batman drove solo in the Batmobile, each one’s anxiety feeding their speed. Both vehicles were locked onto Tim’s signal and the roar of their engines disturbed the peaceful night’s air as they raced towards their goal.

“Where are we going?” Green Arrow asked, peering over Nightwing’s shoulder.

“It looks like we’re heading towards the ocean.”

“The ocean?”

Nightwing looked down at the landscape below them. “There seems to be a line of cliffs below us, so I’m going to go ahead and land while I still can. Batman should be catching up to us soon.”

“Any sign of Tim or the Siren?”

“None yet, but his signal still hasn’t moved.” Nightwing didn’t have to say what the lack of movement implied and Connor placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“We’ll find him.”

“I know,” he said tersely, guiding the plane through the sky, then felt ashamed that he’d snapped at his friend. “Thank you.”

Nightwing landed the plane on a dirt road and the two ran through the trees towards where they hoped Tim would be, breaking through the tree line at the same time as Batman.

“Have you found him?” Nightwing called, and the Bat shook his head.

“He shouldn’t be far.”

They ran along the edge of the cliff searching for signs of Tim or the Siren. Rounding a curve in the land, Batman came to a sudden stop, nearly causing Nightwing and Green Arrow to run into him.

A lone figure stood on the edge of the cliff with the tips of his feet resting on air. Nightwing was afraid to breathe, afraid that the slightest brush of air would be enough to push him over the edge.

“Tim!” Batman shouted, but the young man didn’t acknowledge him. “Tim, move away from the cliff!”

“He’s not going anywhere.”

The three men whirled around as an iridescent figure clad in the palest blue stepped through the trees and began walking towards them.

“Siren,” Batman growled, eyes narrowed, and she gave him the sweetest smile.

“Yes, that is what they call me. I rather like it. You have to admit, it does suit me.” And if the melodious voice wasn’t enough to earn her the name, the traffic-stopping figure definitely deserved that honor. It was the gleam in her eyes, however, that made her appear particularly dangerous. It was the glittering light of someone who wasn’t quite sane.

Batman began to advance on her, but she held up her hand.

“Don’t! One word from me, and he will throw himself into the ocean. You’ve seen the rocks below. You know he won’t survive.”

“What do you want with him?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” she purred, stepping towards the trio while keeping at least ten feet between them. “I know you consider me to be little more than a petty thief, and that’s been fine, up until now. You see, I’ve decided to branch out, but in order to do that, I need someone with skills I don’t happen to possess. Watching your young friend over there hopscotch across alarms and into safes made me realize he is just the person I need.

“Only,” she frowned, “he isn’t simply a person, he’s all of you. Well, maybe not Sherwood’s finest back there,” she amended, waving a hand towards Green Arrow, “but you two. . . the three of you are all part of each other.”

“I don’t know what it is you think you know—”

“Darling Bat,” the Siren smiled, shifting her shoulders in a way that would have caused most men’s eyes to bug out and cause them to become incapable of thought, “you should understand that when I have him like this, your partner is extremely receptive to my wishes. All I had to do was ask, and he was more than willing to share with me his entire life story. By the way, Mr. Wayne, you had a lovely collection of jewelry that I am more than thrilled to have added to mine.”

“Enjoy it while you can. I’ll be retrieving it shortly.”

“Of course you will,” she said with a condescending smile. “But that brings us back to the original subject. I cannot possibly have you trailing after me while I’m trying to get my work done, so here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to loan me your little partner over there for a year, or until I get what I want.” She shrugged. “Whatever comes first. After that, I promise he will return to you without a single hair harmed on his pretty little head. And who knows? Perhaps he’ll have learned something along the way.” Her lips curled into a seductive smile as she glanced back at Tim. “In fact, I can guarantee it.”

Batman sent her a glare that would have had any other villain running for cover. “No deal.”

She shrugged. “Then into the ocean he’ll go.”

“NO!” Nightwing shouted, moving towards Tim but was stopped by a single look from the Siren. “You can’t do this to him! He’s just a kid!”

“And I admit, someone older and with a little more experience would be preferable for a partner, but I’m afraid all of you are lacking the one thing I need to replace him.”

“And what is that?” Nightwing demanded.

“Desire.”

Nightwing and Green Arrow looked confused, but the Bat just nodded.

“We don’t want you, and therefore, you have no power over us.”

The Siren rewarded him with a brilliant smile. “You really are as smart as people say you are! I was beginning to wonder, considering your fashion choices. But you’re right. Tim over there, he desires me. You three? I’m afraid I’m just not your type.” She eyed the well-muscled bodies up and down, her lower lip protruding into an adorable pout. “Pity.”

“We can’t let you have him.”

“You’d rather see him dead?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then I don’t see how you have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

Batman and Nightwing exchanged looks, nodded, and broke into a run, Batman heading towards the Siren and Nightwing towards their youngest partner. The Siren lifted her head and sang a few notes as she began to run. All three men shouted in protest as Tim stepped over the edge at the same time as a dozen men rushed from the trees towards the heroes. Batman and Green Arrow stopped to begin fending off the minions but Nightwing kept on running.

“TIM!” Nightwing shouted and dove over the cliff after his brother.

[Completed April 9, 2004]