Disclaimer: DC owns all characters in this fan fiction except Karen Song. This fan fiction is not meant in any way to hurt, insult or humiliate anyone and if I did so unintentionally, I apologize.
Real Courage
It was the first few months since young nine-year-old Dick Grayson became Robin, and due to the fact that he was still a kid, he was bound to be impressed by Batman's every move.
They were home from a night of crime busting, and though tired, Dick was still marveling at some martial arts move Batman made.
"That was so cool, Batman! You just jumped right into the line of the guns and disarmed every one of those thugs! One move! And they were too shocked to move!" Dick exclaimed. "It was a total K.O.!"
"K.O.?" Batman echoed, totally stupefied.
"Knock out," the youngster explained. You were so brave, Bruce. I could only stand there and watch."
Batman pulled off his mask and knelt down on a knee to talk to his ward, worried about his interpretation of what courage was. "Dick, the way I took on those thugs with guns was courage, but it was not real courage."
Dick tilted his head slightly. "Then what is?"
Bruce opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again, unsure of how to explain it to the boy. Finally, he hit upon a solution.
"Dick, I have a friend who's in hospital. She called me two days ago and told me she only has ten days left to live. I've visited her for the past two days and will also be going tomorrow. You can come along if you want to. I'm sure she can answer your question much better than I can."
Dick jumped at the chance of having his question answered. "Sure."
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The following morning, Bruce drove them to the hospital and led Dick to a private ward he requested for his friend two days ago.
"Hey Karen, how are you doing today?" He presented he with a bouquet of roses, offering her a bright smile.
"Very good, Bruce. So lots of time to visit me huh?"
Bruce laughed. "Yes. I brought you a friend today. I, uh, just adopted him. Dick? Come in. Meet Karen Song. Karen, this is Dick Grayson."
Dick entered timidly, and saw a woman of about forty, lying in bed, wearing a standard hospital gown and a woolen cap pulled down over her ears. "Good morning ma'am."
"Call me Karen, Dick. So how's Bruce? Treat you well?"
"Hey! I don't ill-treat my kids, Karen," Bruce protested with mock anger that sent her laughing.
Dick smiled shyly. "He's the greatest, Karen. I love him."
Bruce blushed a little at the boy's obvious love for him, then leaned down to Karen and whispered in her ear. He walked out.
Karen looked at Dick and patted the side of the bed. "Come here, kid."
Dick sat down, looking at her with curiosity.
"Bruce told me you asked him what real courage was. It was after you saw him in battle right?"
Dick nodded. "But he told me you'd probably answer it much better than he could."
"Well, to start off, real courage can be divided into a few unclassified types. The most important is to conquer yourself, that is: your ego, your fears, your negative points. It takes big courage to admit you have a certain fear or flaw, and even bigger courage to overcome or change it.
For example, you may hate a subject and keep failing during your examinations. But one year, you admit to yourself and to your peers that you are weak in that subject, but you want to pass. They help you, and with your own efforts, you pass, maybe not by much, but you did. That success was what happened when you overcome your fear."
Dick grinned. "I've tried that."
"Next, it can be considered real courage when you know you will fail before you start doing something but still does it and sees it through. Have you read the book To Kill A Mockingbird?"
"Uh-huh. But I didn't understand it much."
"Remember Mrs. Dubose? She had a sickness and relied on morphine for many years to relieve the pain she was in. Somehow or other, she knew she was going to die. But instead of choosing to die peacefully, but still taking the drug, she resolved to quit it and leave this world beholden to nothing.
She didn't want to die knowing she didn't try to quit something that she had become addicted to. Although it brought her much suffering, she did it."
"Yes, that is courage." Dick was beginning to enjoy talking to Karen. "Anything else?"
Karen pondered for a moment. "Yes, there's also Atticus Finch. He was the White lawyer defending Tom Robinson, a Black accused of raping a White girl. He knew as soon as he took on this case that there would be serious conflicts between him and his fellow White men in Maycomb, but still he chose to defend Tom.
Why? Atticus listens to his conscience, and doesn't abide by what others think of him. That made him a target for many people who wanted to hurt him, but still he stood firm. The real courage was listening to his conscience and defending what he knows is right instead of taking the easy way out by standing with the Whites.
He also knew that he would lose the case right from the start because the jury consisted of Whites of Maycomb who were prejudiced. But what did he do? He went on with the trial with solid evidence that Tom did not rape Mayella Ewell. Tom was still convicted, but at least Atticus rattled the White's conscience."
"Yeah, I think I'm starting to get the gist," Dick said.
"That's about all that I can think up for the moment. But I bet it's more than what Bruce will ever tell you."
Dick stood up and gave Karen a peck on her cheek. "Thanks Karen. Because of you, I've learnt something very important. Take good care of yourself. See you."
He left.
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That same night, Dick went through with Bruce what Karen had said.
"She has taught you a lot, Dick, more than I can ever teach you." Bruce smiled down at his surrogate son. "So ready to take on the Scarecrow tonight?"
Dick smiled back. "Absolutely, Bruce!"
THE END