"Achilles weeps he cradles me, and will not eat, nor speak a word without my name"

The song of Achillies

"I need to talk to him. Alone," Rachel told the group.

"I don't think that's a good idea," was Dick's immediate response.

"Why? 'Cause I can't take care of myself?" Rachel's mimicked.

"That's not the point," Dick defended himself.

"I need to find out who he is. Why he's chasing me," Rachel begged.

"I don't trust him," Dick denied

"What's not to trust? The man's tied up," Persephone commented.

"One word from Rachel and I'll walk in and put my foot through his face," Kory added.

"I'll happily help," Persephone shrugged.

"Dick, please," Rachel pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

"Five minutes," Dick conceded.

"Thank you," Rachel knew that was the best she was going to get.

They watched as Rachel walked towards the bathroom. Dick walked over to Persephone and wrapped his arms around her waist. When Persephone hugged him back be buried his noes into her shoulder.

They stood like that for a while, Persephone just rubbing Dicks back to make him feel better. Persephone suddenly heard a pattering of feet, so she opened her arm for Rachel to join the hug. Persephone hadn't even looked up, so she didn't realise that Rachel's hands were cover in blood.

"He killed himself," Rachel sobbed, "there was blood everywhere, but I brought him back from the dead."

Persephone took a few seconds to process what Rachel was saying. When she had worked it out, she let go of Dick and pulled Rachel in for a full-body hug.

"What's wrong, little carnation," Persephone murmured, "I didn't quite hear all of what you said the first time."

"The man, he slit his throat," Rachel whimpered, "I rushed forwards and tried to staunch the bleeding. When I took my hands away, the cut started to heal. he told me, 'You will heal the world,' so I came to get you."

"That's okay," Persephone whispered as she motioned for Dick, who had been nervously standing by to go talk to them and while she distracted Rachel, "how about we clean your hands."

Persephone gently pulled Rachel in the kitchen's direction so that she could clean Rachles hands of the blood. While Persephone was helping Racheal clean, she hummed gently under her breath as a way to distract Rachel.

When Rachel's hands were clean of blood and Persephone had pulled Rachel to sit on the sofa. While that waited for Dick and Kory, Persephone offered to make drinks for the teens.

Persephone passed the steamy mugs to Gar and Rachel when Dick walked back into the room with Kory behind him.

Persephone walked over to where Dick had sat on the sofa and sat down next to him. Persephone offered him a drink of her hot chocolate, but he gently shook his head.

Dick took a deep breath before he started talking, "he says your birth mother is still alive."

"What?" Rachel breathed out.

"He claims they've been holding her prisoner." Dick explained, "he may be lying."

"He says your mother's name is Angela Azarath," Kory told them as she walked around to sit next to Dick. "They're holding her at some asylum. Apparently, he and his people are dead set on keeping you two apart."

"Why?" Persephone asked. She wanted to know why they were so determined.

"Some more blabber about Rachel's father and his divine mission." Kory explained, "I don't know. It sounds like your mother isn't a fan."

"My mom's alive." Rachel whispered, "I could meet my mom. We have to go. Now." Rachel finished as she stood up.

"Even if he is telling the truth, this could be a trap." Dick told Rachel calmly, "At best, we would be marching into an enemy stronghold. You've seen what these people can do. No one's going anywhere until we take some time for recon."

"What if they move her?" Rachel asked desperately, "They know we have him."

"I'm not risking all of our lives on his word." Dcik told Rachel firmly, "I'm sorry."

"Tell him he's wrong," Rachel instructed Persephone. Rachel knew that if anybody could change Dicks mind, it was his wife.

"I'm so sorry little carnation," Perspehon apologised to Rachel. "I agree with Dick. It's too dangerous. It could all be an elaborate trap."

"What about you Kory," Rachel tried desperately.

"I wish I could." Kory started, "You know how I hate to agree with him, but..."

"All you ever talk about is finding out who you are." Rachel snapped, "You think we should go. Right, Gar?" Rachel asked but got no reply, "Gar?"

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Gar whispered.

Rachel sniffed as she nodded her head. Rachel looked at them all again before storming off. Gar called Rachels name before following after her.

Persephone stood up from where she had been sat and walked over to next to Dick. When Persephone sat down, she pulled Dick in for a hug.

"What now?" Persephone asked Dick.

✯🌻✯

Persephone sat in a desk chair beside Dick as the two looked at the monitors in front of them. Kory was pacing behind them as they worked out how feasible it was to try to break into the facility.

"Public records show that the facility where Rachel's mom is being held is closed and abandoned," Persephone told them as she studied the screen. From her view, the building was defiantly not abandoned.

"Doesn't look like either one to me," Kory added.

"Nope," Dick agreed. "Fourteen monitored exits. All hooked up to CCTV and IR sensors. Thermal scans showing upwards of ten security staff patrolling on the inside."

"No heat signatures on the outer buildings, but another dozen are patrolling the grounds," Persephone added as she gestured at the screen.

"Okay. So, option one, we walk up and knock on the door." Kory told them as she started pacing. Persephone had nicked the keyboard from Dick and was current frantically tipping away. "Option two, I blow down the door. Or option three..."

"Tunnels." Persephone interrupted as she hit a key in the keyboard. It changed the view on the map so they could see the tunnel's going to and from the building. "Connecting the main asylum to the decommissioned outbuildings. We use them to get past the ground patrols."

"Once inside, we'd still be pretty heavily outnumbered." Dick agreed as he studied the map, "But we've faced worse."

✯🌻✯

Dick, Kory and Persephone got out of the car as they peered at the facility that had pulled up at.

"What are the chances our two geniuses haven't gotten caught yet?" Kory asked rhetorically.

"Do you want an honest answer to that question?" Persephone asked.

"Next security sweep is in ten minutes. Let's go." Dick told them. Persephone knew that Dick was so angry at the teens.

The three of them set off walking down the tunnels systems. Both Dick and Persephone would occasionally chip in with directions of where to go.

What they hadn't been expecting as they walked down a corridor was Gar, suddenly appearing at the end strapped to a wheelchair.

"Gar!" Dick and Persephone yelled, scared for the young boy they had grown attached to.

"Don't worry." A feminine voice told them from behind them, which Persephone turned to look at. "He's just taking a little nap."

Persephone heard the sound of a gun being cocked and spun around to see who it was pointing at

"Dick," Kory warned as she and Persephone shared a look at the gun.

"We've got the girl, too." The scientists bragged, "I don't want to kill either of them, but if you make a move, I will give the order."

Kory put her hands out to fry the scientist. Dick grabbed her hand before she could provide.

"Kory, wait." Dick instructed, " Gas lines, you'll burn us all up."

Persephone and Dick shared a look where she asked him if he wanted her to do anything about the problem. She didn't want to as she didn't want to take the risk of Gar having his brains blown out.

The scientist looked smug as she indicted with her head for the guards to go and apprehend the three of them. Persephone felt as Dick put himself in front of her protectively. His attempt was futile, though, as they were rapidly outnumbered, and he was shoved away from her. Persephone went to try to go after him, but she felt a slight prick in her next as she was sedate.

"Can't have you doing anything stupid," the guard mocked as Persephone felt her eyesight leave her.

✯🌻✯

Persephone came to conciseness strapped to a chair in a padded room.

"Why the hell does everybody feel the need to make me unconscious? I'm starting to get sick of it." Persephone yelled at them, "and where is my husband, you sick psychos. What have you done to my husband."

"Your husband is fine, Mis. Grayson." The woman's voice told her from the speaker

"Where is he then," Persephone shouted as she strains against the restraints, "I get that your dramatic, especially with the whole wheelchair thing but really!"

"Nothing has happened to anybody, Mis. Grayson, now we're going to give you something to help you relax."

Just as the women had finished speaking, a door across from Persephone opened up, and two doctors walked out of it. Persephone thrashed around in her chair, trying to get away from the massive syringe that one of them had in his hand. Sadly Persephone failed as he stuck the needle in her neck and pushed the plunger down. A strange yellow liquid made its way into Persephone's bloodstream.

Persephone felt as the world tipped and swayed. Persephone's head swam as she tried to keep a grip of what was going on around her. When the swaying cleared, a doctor brought Dick to the room that she was in. Persephone could see that he was blinded and gagged as he made a muggled sound.

"Dick!" Persephone yelled as she watched them shove Dick to his knees in front of her, a gun to his head.

What Persephone was not ready for her mums to come in in the same state.

"Mumy, mum!" Persephone shouted as she saw her parents pushed down next to Dick. Persephone thrashed around as hard as she could as she tried to get to them. Persephone could feel the restraints chafing her skin, but she didn't care. "What are you doing with my family!" Persephone screamed as she watched her family fight against the grunts restraining them.

The doctor who had coughed them earlier walked into the room. A single gun in her hand, she motioned at two gours who came into the room and warily undid her restraints. The women passed the weapon to Persephone, who immediately pointed the gunt at her head.

"I would advise that Mis. Grayson." The women wanted, "you have to pick one member of your family to die so that the rest can survive. If you kill anybody else, the guards will kill all of your family."

"Any member of my family," Mis. Grayson asked quietly as she looked at the gun to see the single bullet.

"Yes, pick one," the scientist ordered her.

Persephone put the gun to her head, "I chose me then, I'm a member of my family, and I would gladly give up my life for them. So let my family go."

When Persephone saw the look on the scientists face, a look assured her that if she pulled the trigger, her family would be fine. So without a second hesitation, Persephone pulled the trigger at her temple.

✯🌻✯

Dick wasn't expecting to see his wife strapped to a chair when he opened the door. Dick rushed to Persephone's side as he cradled her head in his hands. Dick could feel that Persephone's face was wet, and he worried about what she had seen.

"Come on, Persephone, love," Dick whispers to her, and he kissed her, "you have to wake up."

Dick saw as Persephone's eyes snapped open.

"You can't be dead as well," Persephone whispered as she saw Dick, "She said you would be okay."

Dick quickly undid her restraints and picked Persephone up as she started to sob. He gestured at the other's to leave as he carried the sobbing woman.

"Who promised what, love?" Dick questioned as he carried Persephone.

"The women brought you and my mums in and said I had to kill one of my family so the rest could live," Persephone sobbed into his shoulder, "so I killed myself as I'm a part of my family."

"It wasn't true," Dick assured her, "You mums are still in Gotham." Dick reassure her, "How about when we get back, you give them a call."

"Yes, please," Persphone wept, "are you okay though."

"I'm fine now that I'm back with you," Dick assured Persephone as he nuzzled her.

"Your so cheesy," Persephone laughed gently through her tears.

"There they are," A gourd shouted from the end of the hall.

"Can you stand on your own?" Dick whispered to Persephone

"I think so," Persephone whispered back as Dick slowly put her back on her feet. Persephone wobbled gently but rested herself on the wall.

"I got this," Dick told the others as he moved past them to stand protectively between them and the guard.

Persephone watched as Dick grabbed a metal pole from the side of the wall before leaping onto action. When Dick got tased, Persephone immediately went to try to help him. Kory held her back. Persephone was relieved when she heard the sound of Dicks screaming leave the air. When Persephone was sure that Dick was okay, Persephone stopped fighting Kory to get to him and left him alone. She knew that she would be more of a hindrance than a help with the state she was in. Persephone watched as Dick killed all the gours with ease. When he had finished and the last guard hit the floor, Dick walked back to them and picked up Persephone. When she protested, she could walk herself. Dick just sent her a look saying that he didn't care.

"Get out of here," Dick order them from where he was standing with Persephone in his arms.

Just as Dick was about the follow, Kory Persephone whispered at him to wait, "Listen," Persephone instructed Dick and Kory.

"You got enough?" Dick asked Kory as he had pucked up what Persephone was talking about. "All we need is a spark."

"We're doing this?" Kory asked as she looked at Dick and Persephone.

Dick locked down and the red eyes of Persephone and thought about what they must have done to her. "It all has to end," Dick told Kory. No one could hurt his wife and get away with it.

"All right, then." Kory whiled as Dick jogged off with his wife in his arms.

Persephone fought to stay away as the motion of Dick jogging rocked her off to sleep. She should be able to sleep after all that, but it had tired her out enough that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Persephone must have drifted off to sleep as she woke up when she felt Dick put her down in the seat of his minivan.

"What's going on?" Persephone asked quietly.

"I'm burning my suit," Dick told her. "It's not who I am, and I need to get rid of it, so I stop going back to it."

"Stu is going to kill you if you do that. You know that, don't you." Persephone warned him, "do you want me to come to or is this something that you have to do alone?"

"Something that I have to do alone," Dick told Persephone, "I need to do this alone. Plus, we don't want you in Stu's bad books," Dick joked.

Persephonesmield soft at Dick to tell him that she understood what he needed to do and she was there if he needed her.

Persephone watched as Dick walked away before she snuggled down in her seat and went to sleep.