Six months after the North Pole...
He couldn't remember not running. It felt like that's all he'd ever done, though in the back of his mind a tiny voice said there had once been other things. The memories were all blank, however. Hard as he tried, the picture frames remained empty, so eventually he just focused on the running.
At some point, he wasn't sure when, there was another figure running beside him. Maybe she'd always been there, and he just hadn't noticed. She was wearing a costume like his, bright red and yellow material that flexed with every movement. A long, thin braid whipped out behind her, as opposed to his own short-cut hair that was barely ruffled. They matched each other, step for step, breath for breath, always running. The crackling energies around them resonated with each footfall.
And then, something else was there, something new. A darkness that definitely didn't belong, trying to consume the energy that the pair ran through, ran on, ran with. This wasn't something they could allow - the energy had a purpose, had others it was needed for. These two would not let it be eaten.
She flashed him a tired grin, which he managed to return, as they ran off to combat the dark entity.
-DS-
"Ready?" Bruce asked, slipping on his cowl. Tim nodded, placing the domino mask upon his face and moving towards the zeta tube at the back of the Batcave. There was a meeting called on the Watchtower to pool all information about the movements of the remnants of Vandal Savage and the Light, and every Leaguer and Team member would be in attendance.
Batman and Robin stepped up to the teleporter, pausing just long enough to enter the correct password. Recognized, Bat*fsshk*bin B*krshk*-
"What the-" Robin started to say, before a burst of orange light, which was certainly not the zeta beam, washed over him and Batman.
When the teen next opened his eyes, the bottom of his stomach dropped away in worry.
They weren't in the Cave.
They weren't at the Watchtower.
For as far as he could see, there was only an expanse of hazy grey mist with occasional bursts of orange static. The ground beneath his feet seemed solid, but made up of denser gatherings of the same material. Turning to ask Batman if he knew where they were, Robin got another shock.
His mentor was gone as well.