Note: I do not own any DC characters or the Simon and Garfunkel Song.
Bruce pulled up into the Batcave. He was welcomed by the dark with a cold breeze and the fluttering of bats. Today was a bad patrol day, him getting hurt after stopping a small gang war. He had a lot on his mind lately, resulting in poor fighting. At least, in his standards.
Hello Darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
He was having lots of nightmares lately. Well - not exactly lately since he has always had nightmares, but more vivid and harder to forget. His parent's murder, Diana's murder, Alfred's death, Tim's manic laugh, Jason's angry cry, Dick's frustrated shout… all blurred together in the unclear lines of dream and reality.
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
Alfred had left for a prolonged vacation because his sister was dying and also of his exasperation at Bruce's reluctance to be more open. Tim had left for high school as a way to take a break being Robin. Dick had left for Blüdhaven to be Nightwing, and seldom visited. Nowadays, Bruce slept less and less as a way to escape his haunted dreams.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
Bruce suddenly sat up. He hadn't realized he fell asleep at the Batcomputer. He felt something sharp on his arm. It was a piece of equipment… he must have threw it during his dream. His dream… he couldn't get the bright gleam of the bullets that destroyed his life.
When my eyes were stabbed by
The flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
But lately, some new scary additions have been made. He found himself covered in blood, not his parents, but his sons, his love, Alfred's, Barbara's, random Gotham citizens… it changed constantly. He strode to the computer and lost himself in his reports. His clock beeped. Wednesday Morning, 3:00 AM. Sighing, he strode up the stairs and crashed on his bed, forgetting to change out of his track pants and shoes. He could barely stay awake, and finally succumbed to the calling of the dream world. He dreamed of Gotham burning up with the thousands of Gotham citizens screaming in fear, but Bruce couldn't do anything. He tried to do something, anything, to stop the abominable vision, but he wasn't strong enough.
(Wednesday Morning 3:00 AM Sound familiar? Album by Simon and Garfunkel - includes the Sound of Silence)