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Thomas Wayne Jr. never believed in fate. It wasn't fate that rid his insufferable parents and useless little brother. It wasn't fate that made him one of the top members of Crime Syndicate, and the dictator of Gotham.
And he especially knew better than the press that it wasn't fate that brought young Richard Grayson to his life. Thomas had seen the boy, wanted him, and pulled (or rather, cut) the right strings. It wasn't fate that kept Richard to his side all these years. Thomas had taken care to shoot down annoying vultures threatening to corrupt his pretty little bird; a vulture named Barbara Gordon for instance.
It wasn't even fate that took Richard away from him; it was his fault. His sentimentality that got Richard finding the truth about his parents' death, and his stupidity that got the boy running away from him right into the Jokester's morbid gift boxes.
However, try as he might, Thomas couldn't shake the voice at the back of his head that it was fate that he found Richard again. Though here, the boy channeled all his passion helping people, doing good deeds. Here, Richard Grayson was a hero known as Nightwing.
Here, those blue eyes were looking up at him in distrust instead of adoration. Here, the boy would snarl instead of smiling at him. Here, the boy wouldn't touch him; though it was partly because of the cuffs holding his hands behind the chair.
But Thomas missed Richard so much, he'd take what he can get.
"What are you--!"
At the very least, his sensitivities were the same. He reacted the same way when his buttons were pushed. His moan was as tantalizing as he remembered. Closing his eyes, Thomas could very well imagine that this Nightwing was his beloved Talon; whole, alive, and passionate again.
"S-Stop it! You--AH!"
At the very least, he sang as beautifully as his lost pretty bird, Thomas mused as a smirk wound its way behind the mask.
A gift from fate or not, he wasn't going to repeat his mistake. He would have his precious Richard again, whatever it takes. And this time, he wasn't going to let him go.
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