Hal knows the strongest thing in the universe is (willpower) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2013-01-12 23:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | door: dc comics, ra's al ghul |
Who: Ra's al Ghul, 'Nightwing' and NPC Johnny
What: Patient Zero selection and infection
Where: Gotham
When: During Joker's explosions
Warnings/Rating: C for creepy and I for Ra's infecting an NPC child with his virus.
Little Johnny Masterson was a second grader at Gotham Elementary. His parents, John and Mary, were the picture of upper middle class in Gotham: they had another child (a daughter, Margaret, aged 4), no pets, moderate debt, and both parents worked. Mary worked part time providing childcare for three other little boys (Matt, 6; Joshua, 5; Ronnie, 2) for other women. John was the far more interesting one, spending a great deal of time outside of the city on business. They lived in an older two story home that needed work, but still managed to provide and function for their family. There was some debt, but not excessively so.
All of this Ra's knew because he had meticulously sorted through children and parents until he found the mix that he wanted. John Masterson, the elder, was leaving on Sunday to go abroad on business (a layover in London Heathrow, then onto Berlin). John the younger was a fan of the Detective's, with little black bats drawn all over his notebooks for school.
And, as the Joker was busy blowing things up, 'Nightwing' was throwing rocks at little Johnny's window. Ra's didn't care about the locations of the explosions, but knew that wherever it was, the Detective and his flock would be there. That was all he needed.
From the car, he watched as the window opened, and little Johnny popped his head out to speak to 'Nightwing.' The comm in his ear relayed the whole conversation, from Johnny's initial confusion about who Nightwing was, to the excitement about a search for a new Robin that he'd been handpicked for.
Children. So adorable. Ra's was glad he hadn't raised any of his own. His daughters had come to him as adults, not as messy-haired sticky-fisted children, like the one currently getting into the backseat of his car.
"Now you have to close your eyes," 'Nightwing' was saying. "You can't know the location of the Batcave yet."
"Do I have to?" Little Johnny Masterson whined.
"Yes, absolutely. But once you're Robin, you get to know where it is. Remember what I said -- Batman is going to depend on you, so you can't tell anyone."
"I won't tell anyone," Johnny said dutifully. "I promise."
"Good boy." 'Nightwing' even went so far as to ruffle the boys hair. "Now I have to give you a little pinch. It's a tracking device, so that Batman can find you whenever he needs to."
"Is it going to hurt?"
"No, just a little pinch. Promise."
Ra's handed a black case back to 'Nightwing'. Inside was a single syringe, full of clear fluid -- the virus. His virus along with a small amount of sedative to knock Johnny out. Had everyone in the car not already been innoculated against what was in that clear fluid, he would have passed out masks as well, but they were not needed this time.
"Ready? Deep breath."
He watched in the vanity mirror as it was removed and carefully injected into the boy's neck. "Ow," he said, but he didn't cry out like Ra's expected him to. Very good.
"Now just close your eyes," said his operative dressed as 'Nightwing'.
Fifteen minutes later, they stopped in front of the house again. The unconscious boy was removed from the back seat and carefully placed back in his bedroom with no one the wiser.