The subterranean lights flickered as a few large rocks fell from the ceiling, leaving the tunnel too dusty and hazy to navigate safely. Still, Bart covered his face with an old bandana as he dodged the falling stones and avoided the creaking support beams. If asphyxiation didn't get him, it would be being crushed by the weight of the earth being held above if the beams broke.
He passed by a few of his fellow resistance members, all who were coughing and hacking from the dirt cloud surrounding them. He didn't take notice of them, as he was too focused on his goal to reach the hanger. He heard that a squad had been sent on a reconnaissance mission earlier in the night, but it had gone horribly wrong, and less than half of the team had made it back to headquarters. He wanted to know if anyone he knew had made it back.
Bart's inherited speed was a blessing in many occasions, and getting ahead of crowds was one of such blessings. Survivors of the mission were going to be in the hangar, which was down on the other end of the underground complex. He zoomed past the med bay, the dining hall, and monitor room without a second thought.
As one soldier was opening the door to the hanger, Bart zipped past him, "Think fast!"
The speedster ran by too fast, as his speed had created a large gust of wind that blew the soldier back a foot or two.
Within one moment, Bart came back to the soldier. He checked on the man, patting him on the back, "Sorry." Before the man could get a word out, Bart disappeared in a blur, leaving the resistance fighter standing in the doorway like a chump.
The beaten up old helicraft that had gone out with the ill-fated recon team sat right under the hanger's secret entrance. From what Bart saw, the poor piece of machinery was lucky that it didn't fall to pieces after it landed. Its whole body was indented and riddled with holes. Anywhere there wasn't a hole, there was a scorched spot.
"Probably from a plasma-gun", Bart concluded.
One of the craft's doors did fall off then, colliding with the ground like a mighty tree after being cut down. Bart didn't get a good look inside, as medics rushed pushed him out of their way. Each jumping into the wrecked ship's broken down interior to administer aid.
From the corner of his eye, Bart noticed another soldier tucked behind one of the hanger's support beams. Rose Wilson, the white-haired, one-eyed, one hop, skip, and a jump away from being a straight-jacked psychopath desperately trying to hide in the beam's shadow so she wouldn't be seen. Her one remaining blue eye staring intently at the scene that Bart was also witnessing.
Though the woman was nearing her sixties and Bart was only thirteen, he felt a connection with the old woman. Of course, whenever he told her this, she called him weird and told him to go bother someone else. He suspected that she liked him a little bit. Or at least tolerated him.
Before she could blink, Bart raced over to her, taking a spot right next to her up against the wall. Looking out at the commotion far away from them.
Rose tilted her head towards Bart, but her focus was still solely on the helicraft and the crowd that had formed around it, blocking her view, "Heard your aunt was with them."
Bart quickly glanced at Rose, "She okay?"
She shrugged at his question, "Only heard Wonderbread on the comms. And she was static-y at best, barely understood a word she said."
Rose's pet name for one of the Resistant founders was not appreciated by anybody, especially the woman who was given that nickname. Wonder Woman.
A few medics passed by Bart and Rose, helping two conscious survivors from the helicraft into the medical bay. The survivors could have passed for mummies, as they were covered head to toe in gauze and medical dressing. From the few wounds that weren't covered up, Bart recognized the unmistakable cauterized marks that came from Reach soldier's plasma-guns.
"Get out of the way! Move!" cried out someone in the same tunnel that the medics were using to ushering their patients to the med bay. This caused both Bart and Rose to turn towards the sudden voice.
A group of people that were hanging out near the hangar entrance parted the Red Sea when Batman marched into the hanger, determination etched into his masked face.
It had been rumored that the original Batman had perished in the first attacks by Reach forces over forty years ago and that several people took up the mantle, all perishing. Bart didn't know which one this Batman was, he had heard so many stories about the caped crusader that he had lost count.
The only man that Bart ever really knew as Batman stormed past Bart without as much as a sideways glance. He was close in age to Rose, give or take a few years. Any hint of his age was hidden underneath his mask and the black kevlar bodysuit he wore. Most of the pieces were mismatched, some old, some new. The only reason people still called him Batman, was that in the dead center of his uniform, was a crude white bat symbol. That, and instead of wearing a cap like everyone else, he donned a cowl with pointed ears on top. It covered most of his face and neck, but Bart couldn't help but stare at the ripped up seams around the cowl's base. It must have been attached to something else long ago. A jacket or a cape maybe.
Bart found himself walking, probably for the first time in his life, slowly behind Batman as he strode to the trashed helicraft.
One of the last medics jumped out of the plane, his back facing the crowd as he was holding onto the handles of a makeshift gurney. He muttered something to someone left inside the ship but was stopped when Batman placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"What happened?" he asked.
The medic turned away from Batman, Bart could imagine that the poor sap didn't want to give the Batman bad news. Luckily though, another medic, one who actually looked like a doctor popped out of the ship alongside a woman who Bart immediately knew as his aunt, Dawn. Scraped up, but not the worst he had ever seen her.
The doctor murmured something into the caped man's ear, or where the doctor guess his ear would be. The man shifted away from the doctor, the lenses of his mask as wide as Bart had ever seen them.
Waving at the medics to follow him, the doctor disappeared into the tunnel, not noticing that he wasn't be followed.
Bart watched as the last two medics swept past him, gently carrying away some woman on the gurney. As she passed by, Bart was fixated on all of the small black burns littering her body. Most of her outfit had stayed intact, just blackened up with dirt and soot. One of the only pieces that still maintained it's original color, was the gleaming silver "W" on the top of her once red bodice.
"Cassie," Bart whispered to himself.
Batman got in the way of the medical team, ushering them to halt their procession. He walked around them so that he could look directly down upon his friend, who was just coming out of her rest.
Cassie's eyes slowly began to recognize the man standing before her. One of her hands rose up from her side, shaking like a leaf before being taken in by Batman's own gloved hands. He knelt down to her, as she started to mouth something to him.
"I tried..." her voice hoarse with grief.
In an unusual display of affection, he gently placed his other hand against her forehead, wiping her blonde bangs out of her eyes.
"You're safe now," his voice matching hers in volume.
The badly injured woman shook her head, "They're coming."
The two were interrupted, as the doctor placed his hand upon the world's greatest detective. That allowed the medics to go back down the tunnel to receive care.
Batman walked into the center of the hangar, surrounded by those willing to give him their lives, "Our location has been discovered, The Reach will no doubt be here any minute. Collect any necessary items and begin the evacuation process."
The whole hanger erupted into chaos as Batman strode back down the hall with the doctor. Every man and woman scattered to all corners of the hanger, trying to find any vehicle to use for escape. Everyone knew when Reach soldiers arrived, whoever was left in the compound would not survive.
Nodding a goodbye to Rose, who was now grabbing a few weapons and looking for a getaway car, Bart turned around and ran down towards the medical wing. He ran a little too quickly through the hallway though, as he had caught up to the gurney team within a matter of moments. This didn't phase Bart however, and within less than a minute, he arrived at his destination.
With how long it took the team to get back to the med bay, the rest of the survivors were able to get their wounds looked at, get medicine or other treatment for them, and even get bandaged up and sent along their way. Without counting the recon team's missing members, Bart figured that Cassie must have taken the majority of the injuries.
This didn't surprise Bart, as Cassie had been an invaluable asset to the resistance, and to Batman. Since the destruction of Themyscira, she had been the last of the Amazons and the last link to the Olympian Pantheon. To everyone's knowledge, she once was in a relationship with the masked leader of the resistance, but the relationship soured. In Bart's eyes though, the apocalypse brought upon the world by the Reach must have rekindled it, or brought the two to a mutual understanding. She was a tough old bird, just like Rose. Unlike Rose though, Cassie had near invulnerability and super strength.
If she had been without those gifts tonight, she would have been another one of the missing recon agents.
The medics finally brought Cassie into the medical wing, a small crisp bed waiting for the medic's fears got the best of them, as the moment Cassie's gurney was inside the room, those who were supposed to help the woman fled. Eager to escape.
"Bart! Get out of here," Bart's aunt Dawn yelled, yanking him out of the room and into the hallway.
As they came back to the hallway, she spun him around till his back was up against the adjacent wall, "What were you doing in there, Spud?"
Bart stammered over himself, "I, I-I don't know...I just wanted to see what was going on with-"
His aunt placing her hand over his mouth immediately silenced him. He caught on as to why she did this when he spotted Batman and the doctor standing down the hall from the young boy and his family member. Bart watched, forgetting that he was hindered of speaking.
The older man standing far away was statue-like, as he remained unmoving as the doctor was speaking softly to him. Though his words were unheard, his grand hand movements made Bart ever more curious as to what was being said.
Dawn must have felt the same, as she moved slowly alongside her nephew trying to get within hearing distance of the secretive conversation.
"Severe lacerations on her torso, along with several wounds we've identified as blast wounds. The blasts were cauterized after leaving her body, but-" the doctor's voice disappeared, leaving him to have to clear his throat and sigh, "We have no report on the internal damage. I guarantee there's internal bleeding and there's very little that can be done about that. We can't...I don't think we can-"
Batman's unmoving body matched the stony stare that he was giving to the doctor.
The doctor barely spoke higher than a whisper, forcing Bart to have to try and read his lips. Luckily for him, all that was said was, "I'm sorry."
Batman did lower his head, if only by a few inches but enough for a difference. He looked back up the doctor, nodding to him as a wordless thank you for the work that he had done. The doctor shuffled away soon after, leaving the bat to stand alone.
Bart and Dawn waited for their leader to come back to them, too worried to walk up to him themselves. Although he apparently was a lot less frightening than the previous two Batmans, the air still hung with mystery and fear concerning the quiet man.
Someone must have flipped a switch inside his head as he kicked up some dirt with his boot right then immediately turned around and stomped towards Bart and his aunt.
He eyed them both as they were staring up at his towering 6-foot stature, "Is there something you two need? You've been waiting for me for so long you must need something?"
Dawn and Bart exchanged looks, neither one of them having any clue as to what they should say to get them off the hook. Dawn started coming up with an excuse, letting the words come to her as she was speaking, "I wanted to check on...my nephew. Here. After the mission, he wanted me to get checked out here- with the doctors. Make sure I'm okay."
Batman looked at the two of them, uninterested in their explanation.
"You look fine. You're free to go Dawn. Bart, come with me," he stated in his typical monotone voice. Before Bart could question him, the masked man walked into the med bay. The speedster took this as a "get in here before I make you get in here" moment.
The young boy came into the room, only to come upon Batman lifting up the injured Amazon off of the poorly constructed gurney. He laid her out on the bed, showing as much care as one would have with a snowflake. As soon as the man pulled the clean white blanket over the woman in an attempt to make her comfortable, small red spots reeking of something metallic or coppery appeared on the sheets.
Bart stood by in the corner, waiting for whatever Batman wanted with him. As nervous as he was to leave with his aunt, he wanted to know what was needed of him by the caped crusader.
That did not prepare him though as the older man stripped off the bat-like cowl he was wearing, letting Bart for the first time ever, look upon the back of Batman's head. Rich black hair teaming with small gray and white hair. Bart was dying to run around the other side of Cassie's hospital bed to get a real look at the frightening man. He was fast enough to do it, but he knew that the old man would hate him if he did.
Seemingly reading the boy's mind, the unmasked man turned and looked directly into Bart's green eyes. Bart stood dumbfounded, but not enough so that he couldn't analyze ever centimeter of the man's face.
Blue eyes, pretty much baby blue. A strong but narrow jawline. Several wrinkles all over his face, giving him the appearance of someone much older than his actual years. Bart knew that if this man wore another outfit, he would never have known that he was the Batman.
Cassie brought one of her bruised hands to brush up against his cheek, "Tim…"
The gentle caress and words spoken to him forced him to look down at his closest friend. He didn't catch Bart's eyes almost bulge from his head. Tim didn't care though, not as Cassie was laying down mortally wounded.
Tim didn't move an inch as Cassie's weak hand stayed glued to his scratchy war-torn face. Absentmindedly, her thumb brushed back and forth on his grizzled cheeks. He closed his eyes, taking comfort in it.
"What are we going to do?" she whimpered.
"You're going to lay here until you feel better. Then, I'm going to carry you out of here. We'll go back to Gotham.'
"What Gotham? It's not safe there, Tim."
Not ever person could see the worry that came back to his face, but Cassie wasn't like every person, "We'll find a way. We always do. We'll go back and make things right. Just you and me."
This intimate moment between the two left Bart feeling as though he was committing a serious invasion of the two's privacy. Even if they weren't a couple, it was easy to see that the older heroes did love each other. Bart shifted around in his spot, afraid to draw any attention to himself.
Her voice softened as she spoke again, "There should be more people I should have to say goodbye to." A few more tears slid down her bruised rosy cheeks. "But there isn't."
Tim stroked her hand, "They're all gone."
A silence quietly drifted into the room, tearing an even bigger rift between the doomed lovers. Determined not to let this spoil what they had left, Cassie shook her head in revolt and from under her blankets, pulled out something concealed inside her weakened fist.
Tim was stunned beyond belief, "You found the blueprints?"
"We have to make this right," Cassie cried. "It's our last chance."
Bart's eyes rested on her as she nonchalantly placed what looked like a flash drive into Tim's awaiting hands.
She spoke again with a shallow breath, "I know we're short on chronal experts, but you'll have to make do…"
Tim stared down onto the blonde's face, a spark of life returning to his eyes, "You're all I have left, Cass. We'll do it together."
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at the man who had stood by her for so many years. She couldn't honestly answer when she had seen so much hope in his face. It warmed her heart knowing that her sacrifice would not be in vain.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.
"Hey, will you marry me?" Cassie asked.
Tim looked down at her, his eyes wide as saucers, "You're seriously asking me this now?"
"Well, you never did," Cassie spoke desperately trying to keep herself from chuckling. A few spots of blood spurted from her lips, causing her to gag, "Even here at last moment, you can't do it-"
"It's not the last moment," he replied. Tim's lack of composure oozed through his words as he wiped away her blood. His eyes resting on the flash drive inside his hand, "If we get this done, this future won't happen. None of this will matter."
"It matters to me."
Tim leaned over her, watching her face to see if there was any chance she would change her mind.
"Tim, please."
"I'll be back in a minute," he hurriedly spoke. He took two or three long paces before he quickly changed his mind. He pulled himself back over to Cassie and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Don't go anywhere."
Tim grabbed onto Bart as he dashed out of the room, "Bart, I need you to do me two favors. Find Tony Angelo, he'll be helping people evacuate. And find two rings or something that can be a ring."
Bart blankly stared at his leader, only to snap back into reality and nod profusely, "You got it chief."
The descendant of The Flash lived up to his ancestor's name as he slipped in and out of every room inside the complex looking for Mr. Angelo.
The cafeteria, "Tony?"
Nothing.
The communication room, still with a few people sending out messages to other operatives telling them to keep away, "Tony?"
Nothing again.
Inside every single room in the dormitory, "Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony in here? Tony Angelo? Tony?"
Still nothing.
He zoomed past two women running down one of the tunnels, "You guys seen Tony?"
"Tony Angelo?" One of them asked.
Bart slammed on the brakes, skidding a bit before he ran right back to the women, stopping right in front of them, "Yes, is he still here?"
The girl nodded, "He's in the hangar, getting us a spot on one of the vans."
Bart took the lead and ran with it, leaving the two girls behind. He went directly to the hangar, where one of the last remaining utility vans was being revved up. An older gentleman, much older than Bart and even Tim, jumped out of the van ready to throw a few black book bags full of supplies into the vehicle. Bart took no time in waiting and rushed right up to the man.
"Tony Angelo?" Bart asked, scaring the living daylights out of the man.
Grabbing onto his chest, the man backed up acting extremely bewildered, "Good God, you could have killed me."
"Batman needs you."
Tony huffed in annoyance, "I need to get out of here, I'm too old to die in this hole."
Bart needed to convince the geezer, "Batman needs to officiate his wedding."
The thought made Tony chuckle, as he threw another bag into the van, "Who's the lucky lady?"
"She's dying."
Tony paused for a moment, then slowly grabbed the last of the bags, "It's Cassie. Isn't it?"
Bart nodded, "Yes."
The old man drew out a heavy sigh before slamming the van's door closed, "Don't leave without me!"
As Bart was about to race back to the hospital wing, a thin wrinkly hand latched onto his shoulder, "Hold on speed demon. Need to find my bible before we-"
Bart vanished before the man could finish his sentence, then appeared right in front of Tony's eyes, a worn out black bible extended outwards.
"Go," Tony muttered.
"With how long it will take you to get down to the ward," Bart quipped. "Thought I'd cut out the middleman."
Tony sneered at the boy before snatching the little book away from him, "Back in my day, the youth respected their elders."
The young speedster rolled his eyes, "Sure they did, don't take too long gramps, we don't have the time!"
Bart had to give the old man credit though, he was a lot faster than he thought he'd be. Although, to Bart, everyone was always a tad too slow for him. It still took the duo a whole five minutes to get back to the medical bay. This frightened the boy as he didn't know whether or not his mission had been for nothing.
Standing outside of the ward was Tim, pacing eagerly in front of the doorway. The cowl that had been masking his identity for so long was nowhere to be seen. He must have asked what the point was in still wearing it. His eyes almost popping out of his skull as the boy he had sent out was running back to him alongside the man who his impromptu fiancé begged to see.
Though out of breath, Tony rushed to Tim's side, "Good to see you son, is she inside?"
"Yeah, she's getting tired we need to hurry," Tim replied as he started pulling the older gentleman into the room.
The blonde was sound asleep on her bed, her head tilted downwards resting on her shoulders. The red spots that plagued the sleeping woman's bed had now grown exponentially in the few minutes Bart was gone. Tim felt bad about waking her, but it was for the greater good. He gently intertwined the fingers of his hand in between Cassie's once warm, but now subtly cold fingers.
"Cass," he whispered to her. To no reply.
Tony and Bart glanced at one another. Tim didn't see it, "Cass?"
Nothing. A tinge of fear rippled throughout his body, causing him to squeeze her hand with a near-deadly grip. No response. "Cassie?" his voice shook.
A slight hum slipped from Cassie's closed lips, letting the voice that interrupted her sleep that she was awake now.
"Open your eyes, Cass. I've got a surprise for you."
Her eyes shifted to the unknown man standing far away from her. He didn't look out of the ordinary, as he was dressed similarly to everyone else in the resistance. Once she caught a glimpse of the bible in his hand, along with two poorly crafted silver rings, it registered with her that Tim was going to grant her final request.
"I have to apologize for my appearance. My fiancé didn't...think to warn me when you'd get here."
"You knew he was coming, Cass," Tim replied in a defensive, but blasé tone.
"Yes, but you could have let me have five minutes to clean up. I must look like a wreck."
"Don't act so humble, you look fine."
Cassie scoffed, "To think, I want to marry you."
Watching the couple bicker, brought a smile to Tony's face. Even though the rest of his face was dripping in melancholy, "You look terrific, Cassandra."
She smiled a bit as she desperately tried to get herself into a sitting position. Only, she was growing so weak she could barely lift her neck. Tim saw how much she was struggling to sit up that he immediately moving around her pillows and her to get her into a comfortable sitting position.
Tim looked to Bart, "I know this is all a bit sudden, but would you be the witness?"
"I don't know," Bart spoke, his acting a bit over the top, "This is all...so sudden. I don't have anything to wear."
Cassie giggled, which turned into a rough hacking noise. Tony cleared his throat as his hands brushed open the tiny Bible, turning every page till he got to the section that was needed. His head bobbed as he looked from the open book in his hand to the couple standing before him, "We've gathered together to join this man and this woman in the holy state of matrimony. Now, since we're facing an imminent threat of planet-conquering space bugs, I suggest we keep this ceremony short. No objections?"
Everyone shook their heads, no.
"Good, I will have to ask whoever has the rings to bring them forward."
Bart's eyes comically widened as Tim turned towards him, "Bart where are the-"
The boy disappeared from Tim's sight, returning within a blink of an eye with two crudely bent silver rings lying in his hand.
"Sorry, forgot about them," he whispered as he dropped the two rings into Tim's hand. "I would have been back him sooner, but I couldn't find any rings. I grabbed some scrap metal-"
"It's fine," Tim cut in. He turned back towards Cassie and Tony, motioning for the old man to continue with the service.
Tony continued as Tim slide the improvised wedding ring onto Cassie's weak hand, "Do you, Timothy Drake, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife. In sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
"I do."
Cassie was able to hold onto the other ring, but it was clear that she was getting weaker as her fingers trembled when sliding it onto Tim's ring finger.
The desire to help the woman had to be buried within Tony. She would give him hell if he were to treat her like a wounded animal. Cassie looked up to her lifelong friend, smiling as he took over the duty of putting the ring on. Tony knew that as strong as Cassie had always been, Tim was the source that gave to strength. To carry on in the hell they were living in. Firmly, Tony asked, "Do you, Cassandra Sandsmark, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
She looked to Tim, "I do."
A few people ran past the room's entrance, desperately trying to get to the hanger. While they cried and yelled for their friends to come with them, Bart couldn't stop looking at Tim and Cassie, who were in turn to wrapped up in each other's eyes to notice the pandemonium outside.
"Then, I pronounce you husband and wife."
Tim swiftly leaned over Cassie, placing a gentle kiss on her pale lips. The gesture was soft, but quickly losing it's meaning as the blonde was barely awake. Her eyes fluttering between open and closed.
"I love you," her voice audible to only Tim. He rested his forehead against her own, as if second nature.
A brief noise broke above their heads, like a gunshot or something of the kind. Tiny clouds pluming around the ceiling. Bart's eyes scrunched as the room became silent again.
Tim clamped his hands against his wife's as another noise permeated throughout the complex. This time, the sound was as loud and frightening as thunder. The lights in the room flickered, casting the wedding party into darkness for a few moments. The proximity alarms rose to life, wailing to the point that its terrible cry made it impossible to think. Bart looked to him and Cassie. She was clinging tightly onto her husband's hand, afraid to let it go.
She whispered full of fear, 'They're here."
Tony stuffed his bible away into the inside of his jacket as he stepped in front of Tim, "I'd stay, but I've got a van waiting for me...I'd ask you two to join me."
He extended his hand out to Tim, which the man immediately took hold of, "We'll figure a way out."
The old man let loose a light chuckle, "I'm sure we'll see each other again."
None of the humor that Tony took in the situation rubbed off on Tim. Tony sighed, as though he were tired of the world, "Another life, then."
Tim stood in silence as Tony took his leave and escaped into the tunnels. A few loud blasts echoed above, followed by the flickering of the room's lights. Bart decided that just as it was Tony's time to leave, it was his as well.
Before he could leave, Tim quickly intervened, "Bart, if you follow us, we can get you out of the complex."
"What about my aunt?"
"She can come too, but we have to get out of here now," Tim spoke before leaning over Cassie. "Cass, we have to get you up," he spoke in a hushed tone against his wife's ear. His arm swept up under her backside to try and lift her off of the bed. She immediately rolled her head in every direction.
"Stop...it hurts," she cried out. Bart could not think of a time when he ever saw the Amazon admit she was in pain.
Tim had no time to put up with her whining, "I'm not going to fight you on this. We're getting out of here."
"No," she whimpered while trying to wriggle out of her husband's hold on her. He was forced to lay her back down onto the bed so she wouldn't cause any more damage to herself.
Bart had to interject, "Batman...sir, we have to go."
Paying the boy no mind, Tim stared down Cassie. Not out of anger, but of worry, "Why are you doing this?"
The color in Cassie's face was all but gone, "I won't..make it. I just...I just want to sleep. You have to go-get out...of here. They need you."
Shock formed onto his face. Lying there dying was his best friend, willing to sacrifice herself just like every single one of their friends did before, "But, I need you."
"Batman?"
Tears ran down Cassie's pale cheeks, "Tim…"
With his back turned to Bart, reading his facial expression was impossible. He simply stood in silence, his head bowed. "Bart," he finally answered. "In my office on the wall, behind a map of the landscape, there's a secret escape hatch. It needs a code to be opened; 91939. Find your aunt and leave."
"Sir?"
"Before you go, you'll need to take this," he stated in his strong, monotone voice once again. He placed a small object into Bart's hand, pulling the boy's fingers over it so he would not look at it. Only, as soon as Tim let him go, Bart's eyes caught onto what was in his hand; Cassie's flash drive.
"Sir, I can't-"
"Take it to your aunt, she'll know what to do with it. The escape hatch, in my office. 91939."
Memorizing the number, Bart looked out to the hallway to see where his aunt had gone. A sound, something of a bomb-like nature roared above Bart's head. It brought with it a great tremor that nearly knocked the speedster off of his feet. He recovered almost instantly, ready to run out and find the last remnant of his family.
Taking one last look at the couple, Bart found himself unable to look at them for long. As he could feel his eyes watering.
Cassie gave him a dignified farewell, "Goodbye, Bart."
"Goodbye...Cassie."
The blonde smiled at the boy, and silently watched as he sped off into the hallway.
Just outside of the medical ward was the major junction of the complex's tunnel system. Bart couldn't go into a full run as the intersection was teeming with the remaining resistance members. With the proximity alarms roaring overhead, it made the chaos within the tunnel almost unbearable.
Two hands suddenly pulled Bart off to the side and away from the crowd. He was thrown against the rocky interior of the tunnel, forcing him to be face to face with the woman who did that to him. His wonderful aunt, Dawn.
"You almost gave me a heart attack, kid!" she screamed.
Before Bart could say anything, he was pulled into a rib-crushing hug from her. His arms instinctively wrapped around her, trying to find comfort in her embrace.
She only stopped the hug so that she could grab onto her nephew's hand, "Come on, we've got to get a move on. Most of the ships and vans are gone, but we can make a run for it."
Bart responded, "Batman told me about an escape hatch in-"
A bright flash of light engulfed the narrow tunnel, blinding the boy and his aunt. As he had to cover his face from the brightness that was being emitted, several explosions erupted alongside the flash. Bart was forcibly knocked to the ground, as a giant puff of dirt rushed towards him, and getting into his eyes.
He slowly rose up after a few moments, only to see that where there had once been a passageway, was now blocked up to the ceiling in earth and rock.
A few soldiers came up from behind Bart and Dawn, helping the two up to their feet before running to the wall.
One woman, someone Bart did not recognize ran up to Dawn, and began pulling her arm towards the cave-in, "Support beam fell! We have to help!"
Dawn looked on in horror, as the voices of the trapped people called out. Each one crying and begging for anyone to save them. Dawn took one last look at Bart, "I'm gonna go help. The exits are going to all be backed up, so you're gonna have to-Bart listen to me!"
More dirt poured from the ceiling, this time though, screaming and loud blasting noises reverberated around the underground complex. Bart could have sworn he faintly heard someone cry out, "Return fire!"
Dawn yelled to her nephew, "You have to find your own way out of here! You have to get out of here, Now! I'll look for you when I get out!"
"Aunt Dawn, no!"
She instantly became a blur, leaving Bart standing alone, motionless as others pushed past him, scrambling to get out of the subterranean trap.
Bart instantly decided to run back in the direction of the medical ward, as it was on his way to Batman's office. Once he got back to the intersection of the tunnels, he looked into the doorway of the medical ward. Sheer curiosity, he told himself.
He noticed that Tim was still standing close to his wife's bed, which now held her lifeless body. One of his hands still clasped with hers, his thumb stroking the back of her hand as if he were soothing her into a gentle sleep.
Bart swallowed his fear, knowing that Batman would find his own way out. He looked towards the direction where he had to go and ran.
Just as promised, Bart found the escape hatch, which could have easily been mistaken as a safe. He punched in the code and shimmied up the chute till he saw daylight.
Outside, it didn't feel like they were under attack. There was the typical gray sky, the ground covered in hanging fog that would have smothered anyone who wasn't use to it. Bart stumbled around the grounds, looking for anyone else, but there was no one.
He had no idea where to go. Staying where he was at though was not a viable option. Even if his aunt was coming, he wasn't safe out in the open. He had to run. He had to get away. Anywhere. Somewhere where the Reach hadn't been. There had to be someplace out there. He just didn't know where that place was.
He didn't get thirty feet before he heard some strange, pulsating sound. As just as the noise hit him, he felt the ground underneath him ripple and vibrate, before breaking apart altogether. His feet lost their place, making him come face to face with the ground, tripping over himself and landing very uncomfortably at the bottom of a ditch
Fuzzy couldn't begin to describe how his head was feeling. He opened his eyes, only to see the scant treeline around him spinning and swirling.
He did hear footsteps behind him though, which made him look up upon an oddly shaped man, covered in some blue armor, and with what could be described as enormous spikes rising from his back.
Bart realized that this was no man, as the Reach warrior chuckled to himself, "What have we here?"
Author's note: I don't know where this came from. I've been listening to a lot of Anne Murray recently, and I think she's screwing with my emotions. I was curious to write about the bleak Reach-apocalypse future along with how it affected some of the team.
Leave a comment if you want, I always appreciate it. I will be getting back to the second part of the Wonderbird Chron soon, I promise.
EKG