People Like Us
Song by Kelly Clarkson
People like us, we've gotta stick together
Keep your head, nothing lasts forever
Here's to the damned, to the lost and forgotten
It's hard to get high when you're living on the bottom
The funeral had just finished and everyone from the team and league were there. Barbara was staying at the manor that evening to help Alfred with everything, mostly handling Dick's and occasionally Bruce's emotions when they ran hot. It was lunch and now Barbara's responsibility to find the extremely broody bat. Knowing exactly where he would be, she turned the grandfather's hour and minute hands to the correct time.
As she walked down the dark staircase Barbara heard things being thrown with a dangerous force and pained yelling. She ran down the rest of the stairs calling out the billionaire's name. He didn't respond to her at all and continued on with his rage of throwing and angrily yelling curses at himself and the clown prince.
It wasn't until she started to curse at him with her voice booming over his, did he stop his rage and put the rock that he was going to throw at the Robin costume display down.
"What did you just say to me?" Bruce asked in disbelief with his head turned over his shoulder to look at the young teenager.
"I said 'put the fucking rock down, Bruce'," Barbara quoted quieter, but still sternly. Bruce wasn't used to being talked to like that and he obviously didn't take much of a liking towards it. "You're going to destroy a part of his memory if you destroy half of who he was."
Contemplating Bruce looked from Barbara to the glass case to the rock for a few moments before letting the rock drop from his hand and land harshly on the ground. Bruce cleared his throat straightened out his dress shirt and tightened his tie.
"You said lunch was ready?" Bruce asked as Barbara mutely nodded. "Well, let's go eat." Bruce started to walk off towards the staircase before Barbara blocked him.
"Barbara, what are you doing?" Bruce asked glaring as she kept blocking his maneuvers to get passed.
"I'm not going to let this slide Bruce," Barbara answered crossing her arms. If looks could kill, Bruce just killed the entire east coast, but Barbara brushed it off as nothing.
"Sit," she commanded pointing the flipped over chairs by the monitors. Bruce just killed North America and Barbara was working on the rest of the northern hemisphere. With a sigh Bruce finally complied knowing that the teenager could be a stubborn one and would starve both of them until he sat down in one of the chairs. He turned over a chair at sat waiting for her to finish the doing the same. They sat facing each other for a long, awkward silence.
"Bruce," Barbara started. "Everybody loses it. Hell yesterday Dick punched the wall so many times his hands were bleeding and he broke down right in front of everyone. Training with the team a few days ago I nearly choked Wally to death. We both wanted to throw it all away, but we didn't, for Jason."
"I don't have time for this," Bruce said as he started to get up.
"Sit your ass back down Bruce," Barbara deathly called out at him. He hated being ordered around, but sat back down because he knew from experience to not mess with an angry and emotional woman, especially a stubborn one.
Barbara took a deep breath, calming herself, before starting her lecture again.
"People like us, we choose this life and it is in our blood. You can't change that no matter how hard you try. But when the going gets tough we are always there for each other no matter how hard it is for someone to seek out help and support. All of this that's going on right now isn't going to last forever, the pain will but not the intensity of it. Bruce, don't fall into this dark pit of rage because once you're at the bottom it will be so much harder to redeem yourself," Barbara looked at him care and concern in her eyes making him shift in his chair from rarely seeing that in people's gazes.
"Good people like all of us are hard to come by in this hellish world. We don't fit in on this corrupt planet, but when have an unimaginable amount of hell thrown at us we face it head on. Don't fall for it and into the pit of rage and self pity. Face it head on Bruce. Don't avoid losing it from time to time, keep your head held high and face it and keep moving forward." With that Barbara stood up and started to walk to the stairs leaving a thoughtful and astonished Bruce in her wake.
At the foot of the stairs Barbara turned smiling at her mentor saying, "Come on up and eat now before your food gets cold or Dick eats it." Bruce followed the teen up the stairs and to the kitchen for lunch.
Exactly two years later, Tim Drake was the new Robin. Bruce watched from the office chair with the monitors behind him, Dick, Barbara and Tim all interacting like siblings. The two boys headed off to take a shower and Barbara started to follow until Bruce called her back.
The young woman in front of him, no longer a teenager, looked at him with a question in her eyes.
"Thank you," Bruce said to her. The red head's eyes and face lit up in realization and gratitude as she gave a nod before stalking off to the showers with a soft smile gracing her lips, much like Bruce's behind her.
Oh woah oh, oh woah oh
We are all misfits living in a world on fire
Oh woah oh, oh woah oh
Sing it for the people like us, the people like us
Oh woah oh, oh woah oh
You've just gotta turn it up load when the flames get higher
Oh woah oh, oh woah oh
Sing it for the people like us, the people like us