YEAR FIVE - CLARK KENT DAY
Clark Kent Day. Or how Jason puts it, 'Super-Prick Day.' This new 'holiday' was created the year Superman took over. Everyone is forced to celebrate it. As if it's God's birthday or something. I've never took part of it. And never will. As long as he is in charge, I will never follow the law. If that makes me a terrorist, so be it. I'm already called one anyways for being on the 'wrong' side.
My life has changed since Superman revealed Batman's true identity. All of our lives have changed. I haven't been back to school since that day. Me and the others, we're the most wanted on Superman's list. Because of our allegiance to Batman, our loyalty to Batman. All of us never betrayed Bruce. Other heroes' sidekicks or team members have, but we are the only ones who haven't.
It's because we're more than a team, we are a family. We're the Bat-family. Even Catwoman has joined us. I feel like that pisses Superman off. His 'family' couldn't do that with him. Superboy, sided against him and ended up in the Phantom Zone. Supergirl, she was originally with her cousin, but after he killed her boyfriend for reasons 'unknown,' she decided to join the Insurgency. Unfortunately, she was put in a coma about a month ago. Even Superman's own parents, the Kents, fear him.
We're on top of the most wanted list because of that very reason. And Bruce, Bruce is the most wanted out of anybody on this planet. Superman is obsessed with finding him. But Bruce is smart, he's clever, we've been underground ever since his identity was revealed. Do I miss seeing the skies? The sun? Breathing outside air? Of course, but I remember what's out there. I remember who's out there. I'll never go back up there as a civilian until this war is over.
We've lost Alfred a couple months ago. Killed on his own birthday. Days before that, apparently, Superman came to him demanding to know Bruce's whereabouts, and Alfred didn't budge. And of course that got Superman pissed. And then Victor Zsasz, who was in Superman's version of Guantanamo Bay, magically is free and comes and kills Alfred. We all definitely have a feeling on who ordered Zszaz to kill Alfred. 'Super-Prick.'
Alfred was Bruce's second father. He saw him grow up. Bruce was devastated. But you know what? He kept his sanity. He didn't go out and kill Zsaz, like a certain person did five years ago. To me, that shows me how great of a man Bruce is. That's why I follow him into battle, that's why I trust him with my life. He'll never just throw his morals out the door.
And here we are, in the fifth year of a war, which hopefully ends soon. Bruce wants us to do something special on this special 'holiday.' Light up the sky. Celebrate Lord Superman. Celebrate his 'accomplishments.' Am I scared? Definitely. But, when you live in a totalitarian world like this, you have to do things you've thought you would never do in your life.
"Dick," Tim says from Dick's 'bedroom' door. It shouldn't even be considered a bedroom. It's basically a closet, filled with weapons and gadgets. But, this is what Dick has been calling home for the past four years. Dick stares at Tim for a moment, decked out in his Red Robin gear.
I'm so proud of you and Damian. You two were so young when this war started. Look at you guys now, not showing fear, hesitation, or even failure. I'm proud to call you two my brothers.
Dick nods. Red Robin lets him be to get in costume. Two minutes later, Nightwing comes out ready for the mission. Him and Red Robin walk in silence to the control room. Batman, Red Hood, and Robin are already there.
"All here, Bruce," Red Robin says. The four young men all line up in a row in front of Bruce.
"You four are going into the heart of Metropolis, where Superman is going to be. The objective is not to kill or hurt innocent people, it's to make a point. This holiday will not be tolerated by certain people. His actions, his laws, his reign will not be tolerated. It's to show that we're still here, and we're not giving up. It's to show that there is still hope, and it's not the 'S' on his chest."
"I can't believe it's come to guerrilla warfare," Red Robin quietly states. "This wasn't us."
"Times have changed, Tim," Red Hood says. "Even this wasn't my forte. But in wars, in order to succeed, you have to do certain things you've never done before."
"Todd is right, Drake," Robin butts in. "Everyone is doing things they thought they would have never done before, but they're doing it. Either us or him, things are getting done."
"What about you, Dick?" Batman asks Nightwing, noticing his silence. Which is unusual for him. Nightwing stares at Batman for a moment before answering.
"War is a truly fascinating thing. Five years ago did I think I would be living underground and being called a terrorist? Hell no. I thought I would be done with school and moving up in the world. But it's changed. Because of him. The man who I once considered an uncle. He changed everyone's lives. He made this happen. And when I see him, up there, in Metropolis, on this day every year smiling as if it's the greatest day of his life, I wanna show him that he's the only one smiling. If I'm considered a terrorist because I'm not with him, so be it. But I'll be damned if I follow his laws. This war is his fault, and he's going to know it is really, really soon."
Batman and the others look at Nightwing's stoic face for a moment. But the caped crusader eventually smirks and nods. "So," he turns to look at the other three, "are you still taking part in this mission?"
The three quickly nod.
"Good. Nightwing, Robin, I want you two to take your cycles. Red Hood, Red Robin, you'll be accompanying them on their cycles. Once you arrive in Metropolis, take your places, set the bombs, wait until Superman is on stage giving his speech, and start the mission. Your cycles will be planted with bombs as well, Nightwing, Robin, you put them on once you arrive. Make your appearance clear to Superman. And Nightwing, knows what to do once it's over. Right, Nightwing?"
"Yes, Batman. Smoke bomb. Ninja vanish."
"Right. I'll be here watching you four. If you need any help, if it comes down to that, I'll be there quickly."
"We could handle this big guy, don't sweat," Red Hood replies.
Batman nods. He quickly grabs two bags and gives them to Red Hood and Red Robin. "Head out. Show Metropolis how the Bats celebrate this 'wonderful' day."
The four young men head to the hangar. Nightwing and Red Hood, side-by-side in the front, and Red Robin and Robin, side-by-side in the back.
"Super-Prick is going to love this!" Red Hood says.
"It'll be a surprise that's for sure," Nightwing responds.
"Dick, how are you feeling about this?" Red Robin asks. "I mean, with Clark's beliefs now. You two were really close before all this. You even got your name because of him."
Nightwing is quiet for a couple of moments before answering Red Robin's question. "I'm hurt, Tim. Hurt. Ever since he killed Joker. That wasn't what he stood for, never. I've been knowing Clark since I was nine. Even before that, I idolized him. Superman pajamas, a Superman toothbrush, even a Superman nightlight. He was my hero growing up. He helped me become my own hero. Like I've told you guys before, he was basically like an uncle to me. 'Uncle' Clark. But now? He's been stripped of that title. I don't know that man who wears that costume anymore. He's changed. He's not Clark anymore, he's not even a citizen of this world like he continuously says. He's Kal-El. He's an alien. He's no one to me."
The other three are silent for a minute, and they finally make their way to the hangar.
"Dick, I'm sorry, man," Red Hood breaks the silence. "I've never had a relationship with Superman like you did. None of us had that bond you two had. But we still considered him an ally, because of Bruce. We are all affected by this. You're not alone. This hurts all of us."
"I know, Jason," Nightwing says while walking towards his bike, Red Hood, still by his side. "Even if he is somehow redeemed, things will never be the same."
"Right," Red Robin responds, sitting behind Robin on the latter's bike. Nightwing nods and hops on his bike.
"Let's get this Super-Prick already," Red Hood says while hoping on Nightwing's bike. Nightwing could help but smile at that.
Super-Prick, best nickname ever for him. Hands down.
The bikes come to life and they race out of the hangar and go above ground towards Metropolis.
About 30 minutes later, trying as sneaky as they can, the four made it to Metropolis' plaza square. Robin parks his bike at one side of the plaza near an alley, while Nightwing does the same on the other side.
"He's not here yet, we've still got ten minutes," Red Hood tells Nightwing, watching him plant the bomb under his bike.
Nightwing nods, gets up, and pulls out his communicator and holds it to his lips. "You guys in position?"
"Robin's just finished putting the bomb on. So, yeah, we're ready to get this show on the road," Red Robin responds.
"We've gotta plant the bombs as far away from civilians as possible. Place a few at the top of the tallest buildings around here. Place some anywhere you can. Just not near civilians," Nightwing orders.
"Affirmative. Where do we meet oncewe've made our mark?"
Nightwing looks around the corner of an alley and looks for a good spot in the plaza. "In the center of the plaza, a couple of feet from the podium."
"Good pick, Grayson," Red Hood says.
"Gotcha. Red Robin out."
Nightwing puts his communicator away and looks at Red Hood. "Ready?"
"Ready." Red Hood pats the bag.
"Let's do this." The four make it up the buildings, planting bombs up high first, they make their way down and then plant them as low to the ground and as far away from civilians as possible. All this took a matter of ten minutes. Nightwing and Red Hood make it back to their original spot.
"We've gotta wait until he's out the sky. He'll see us if we're up there," Nightwing tells Red Hood and the communicator too.
SWOOSH!
In the blink of an eye, Superman appears descending to the stage. The crowd goes crazy, cheers, and applause. The soldier presence has increased.
As soon as Nightwing sees Superman's feet touch the ground, he orders everyone to their new locations. On the roofs. A minute later, they have a good view of everything.
"Dick, look, his parents aren't here." Red Hood points at two empty seats on the stage behind Superman.
"Of course not. Keep quiet, you know what he's capable of."
Red Hood quickly nods. A number of city officials talk for a couple of minutes, thanking Superman for what he's not only done to rebuilding Metropolis, but for what he's also done with the world. They tell him how much of an honor it is to have him here today. After about ten minutes of talking, Superman shakes the city officials' hands and takes the podium.
"Citizens of Metropolis, and citizens all over the world, I have made this planet a safer place for everybody. No wars, no crimes, no resistance. As you know, I've lost a lot five years ago, those losses made me want to make this world a better place. And with that, it's made me a better man. We've all changed these past five years, we are all in a more safer world. And ther-"
Nightwing listened to the speech intently while he had his communicator close to his mouth. Same damn speech as usual. 'Safer world, order, blah blah blah'. Having heard enough, he looked at Red Hood who's thumb was hovering over the button controlling the bombs. He then looked back at Superman who was still continuing his speech. He pulled the communicator as close as he could and whispered, "Now!"
"I'm proud to be your lea-"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOM!
Fireballs started appearing from all over the plaza. People started running and screaming. Soldiers started looking for the cause of the explosion. Superman turned to see if the city officials were okay.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Superman turned back around, this time with anger across his face.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Smoke filled the air. Rubble from buildings came pouring down into the plaza. Nightwing made sure there were no casualties, and thankfully, there wasn't.
One more round...
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
There... Nightwing, with the communicator, still close to his mouth, said, "Time to make our grand entrance!" He put the communicator away and nodded at Red Hood. They jumped off the building, across the way, Robin and Red Robin did the same.
Superman, angry as ever, was still looking for the culprit of these attacks. As he was, he noticed shadows moving in silence. And a moment later, standing a few feet in front of him were four of the most wanted people on this planet.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin stared at Superman, glaring at him. As Superman glanced over each and every one of them, and finally noticing Nightwing, his features softened.
"Dick... How could you do this to me?"
"You knew it would eventually come down to this." Nightwing glared at Superman. "You always knew where my allegiance stood, 'Uncle' Clark. I stand with my family."
"I am your family," replied Superman with gritted teeth.
"I thought you were. But I was wrong. My entire life was all wrong. And I regret calling you family. I regret having you as my idol. You're nothing to me. All you are is a tyrant, a killer, a dictator."
Superman's features changed back to anger in an instant. "I thought you would eventually come to your senses, Dick. All of you. I thought you would know that this was the way. But, clearly he's brainwashed you."
"He hasn't brainwashed anybody," replied Red Robin. "Batman is still who he was since the very beginning of this, you're the one that's 'brainwashed.'"
Superman turned to glare at Red Robin and Robin. "Boys shouldn't be in a men's war. They shouldn't be involved in grown-up talk."
"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, Kal-El," Robin glared back at Superman. "My father taught me how to be man. He taught me to be a hero. To be a protector of the world."
"I AM A PROTECTOR! I'VE BROUGHT PEACE, JUSTICE, AND ORDER TO THIS PLANET! HE'S BRAINWASHED YOU INTO THINKING OTHERWISE!"
"If you think this is justice, I'm so sorry," Nightwing said.
"You and your family have been in my way too many times, it's time to end this, here and now."
"That's what you think," Red Robin said.
"I didn't want it to end this way, Dick, but you're interfering with my order. And anyone who interferes must be dealt with," said Superman.
"I didn't want it to end this way, either, Superman. But you've left us no choice." Nightwing slowly took out a smoke bomb, continuing to glare at Superman.
As Superman was about to use his laser vision on the four, Nightwing dropped the smoke bomb on the ground. The smoke was full of lead.
"See ya' later Super-Prick!" Red Hood's voice came from the smoke.
A second later, Superman stood where the voice came from. They vanished, gone, like that bats that they are. Superman was furious that Batman would now resort to guerrilla warfare. It was time to deal with him and his allies once and for all, this was the final straw. And before you know, Superman took off into the air.
