Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own original ideas and my soul. And even that is debatable.
Notes: My current obsession is
Justice League. Well, okay, more than "obsession." But I
digress XD. There is a severe lack of Batman/Flash fiction out
there and I feel that it's my job to help raise awareness of that
wonderful couple! Yes. So all of you wonderful readers of
mine who are sitting here hesitantly, give it a chance and leave lovely
reviews because you love me :D (even though I know 90 percent of you
are pissed off at the lack of me finishing my other stories)
Notes Take Two: SPOILERS FOR "DIVIDED WE FALL" and the beginning of the first chapter may not make real sense without having seen it.
(Also, the prologue is the suxxor, so feel free to skip it and get to the main part of the fic. It sucks a lot less, I promise XD)
Chained To You
Prologue
/I feel the magic all around you
It's bringing me to my knees
Like a wannabe
I've got to be chained to you/ - Chained To You; Savage Garde
The Flash wasn't normally a difficult man to figure out. He was a young kid who still believed in the inner good of all mankind, yet he was jaded just enough to realize that a person's 'inner good' could be buried so deeply that only a lifetime in prison could bring it out.
But he still believed it was there.
He was someone who felt uncomfortable during tense moments and liked to bring up witty observations or make jokes in order to ease the atmosphere. He didn't mind being the target of unappreciative glares as long as some of the tension drained out of the room.
He was a man with a greatly unexpected wisdom - wisdom so simple, it bordered on profound. There had been countless times when Superman or Wonder Woman had become hot headed and with a simple sentence from Flash relaying a message from Grammy Flash, the situation would always end up seeming so much less earth shattering than it had been two minutes before.
The Flash wasn't normally a difficult man to figure out.
Especially to Batman.
Batman wasn't exactly sure when he had begun to watch Flash, or when he had first found himself paying more attention to the 'Flash Cam' on the surveillance screens than to the Radiator Room or Cargo Bay, but he had a strong feeling that it'd all started around the time when they'd had their face off with the Justice Lords. The alternate Batman had been so normal when compared to the other alternates. So like himself. And so caring when it had come to Flash. To the young speedster, it might have just come off as guilt for being unable to stop the alternate Flash's death, or a man missing his lost friend; however, Batman knew differently.
He knew this alternate Batman because he knew himself. He knew how he acted and reacted to the death of friends and colleagues. He also knew how he dealt with the death of those who were more to him. And from the looks of it all, the Flash had been more.
So much more.
And so the quiet watching had begun. Watching and waiting and trying to catch what exactly the alternate Batman had seen in his alternate Flash.
The first week or so, nothing out of the ordinary had been revealed. Things he had already known were merely reiterated. Things like The Flash's favorite color (red), how he enjoyed his soup (lukewarm), and that he had a habit of vibrating his right leg whenever he was nervous.
The following months served as simply a way to discover the even more intriguing traits of Flash (such as the fact that he liked to dance to mainstream pop in his room, while on the outside he prided himself as an underground punk music aficionado). Nothing Batman ever saw, however, was anything he found more than amusing. Yet, he didn't stop watching.
And then entered Cadmus. Cadmus with their plot to destroy the League and its reputation. Cadmus with its revelation that the Justice Lords weren't merely an alternate dimension, but a look into the future. Cadmus with its partnership with Lex Luthor.
And then everything changed. And Batman finally began to see what his alternate saw in Flash.
If only just a little.
Through the worst of the situation, The League had almost become unrecognizable in its chaos. It had slowly been torn apart by doubt, fear and betrayal, and the core members seemed to be in the center of it all. Shayera still hadn't finished adjusting to her return, leaving her to hold back everything she would have put forth before. J'onn had his own issues dealing with the president and the public persona of the League. Wonder Woman and Lantern had private missions to take care of and were barely there to lend a hand as it was. Batman, himself, refused to get involved, instead lying low as a threatening shadow for Cadmus. Superman was becoming a loose canon.
And then there was Flash. Their self-appointed conscience.
No one had thought he'd been serious when he'd made those offhand comments as he grinned across the conference table. Now Batman was beginning to believe that it just might have been the truth.
Throughout it all, Flash stood with a straight back and a fierce loyalty that Batman could only dream of ever having. He refused to waver in the face of doubt and tried wholeheartedly to help the people who had turned against him.
When Green Arrow had announced his resignation from The League due to the lack of faith he'd had in what they were, Flash had flown from his seat to catch the older man by the terminal doors. He'd stood there in silence for a long moment, uncharacteristically quiet, before placing a firm hand on Arrow's shoulder.
"But we're the good guys."
If anyone else had tried to stop him, Green Arrow would have merely shrugged the hand off and snapped, "Yeah, well, we're sure not acting like it," in a bitter reply. But then The Flash had just been so earnest and so heartfelt and so damn sure just like he always was when it came to their integrity that, five minutes later, Arrow had found himself back in his temporary quarters unpacking his things.
It was no secret now that the League was entering a time where they would either come out stronger or destroy themselves along the way. The skeptic in Batman had him believing in the latter. He hoped to whatever gods existed that he was wrong.
But Flash seemed to be taking everything in stride. He hadn't given in to the fear the rest of the team held, hadn't strayed from his normal humanitarian ways – he hadn't even raised an eyebrow when, in the heat of the moment, Superman had muttered in anger, "God, I could just kill Lex Luthor."
Yet, there was something off about him. Something that the others just didn't see or wrote of to the intensity of their current circumstances.
The first time Batman realized something was seriously wrong had been when there'd been an awkward silence that had stretched on far longer than it should have. Especially with Flash in the room.
The Flash wasn't normally a difficult man to figure out.
But this situation was far from normal.
Chained To You
Chapter One
He didn't scare easily. In a world where death was a city's most common illness, it took much more than a breaking lifeline to strike fear into him; whether it be his own or the line of one of his colleague's.
Yet, at that instant, Batman could easily say that the only time he had ever felt more fear in his life had been when his parents had been shot.
But this wasn't his parents. This was Flash.
And someone was still going to get shot.
Get up! he ordered himself, struggling to crawl into some sort of sitting position where he could access his weapons. Falling back down, he took in a deep breath to ignore the pain shooting through him and craned his neck. One look across the battlefield at his fallen comrades told him all he knew.
There was no one left to save Flash.
Flash was going to die.
He brought his gaze back to the captured hero and felt his breath catch when Luthor stepped closer, cocking the gun within his hands.
"No…" Flash said softly, vibrating his arms just enough to send the cybernetic soldiers holding him into sparks. Luthor backed off and let his gun dissipate, a smirk forming on his lips.
Batman had never felt so relieved.
"Are you going to fight me, boy?" Lex wondered haughtily. Flash took a step back and stared at him.
Now's not the time to be an idiot…Get out of here. More than anything Batman wished he had J'onn's telepathic powers so he could make his thoughts known, but as it was, all he could do was watch and wait.
The soft sound of feet too fast for the ground hit his ears, and he looked up in relief at the sight of Lex Luthor alone. He grunted. Now, if he could only get up….
The footsteps were back. And faster.
Head jerking up, Batman stared with wide eyes as Flash hit Luthor hard enough for a piece of the armor to rip off. He blinked and suddenly Flash was attacking again.
And again.
And again. Each time getting faster until there was a mere crackle of energy flying through the air.
And then the crackle was on top of Luthor and all that could be heard was Luthor's screams.
"Flash…" Batman coughed, finally gathering enough strength to stand. Random sparks of energy danced around the scene, spitting out any piece of debris small enough to be lifted up and thrown. Side stepping a can that soared towards him, Batman felt a sickening sense of dread as the air around him was suddenly sucked away and the cries were replaced by silence.
It was almost as time had stopped.
And then came the explosion.
Seconds had transformed into hours and Batman's fingers had nearly grasped one of his bat-a-rangs when the smoke finally began to clear. Helpless, wearing nothing but a deeply horrified expression, Lex Luthor lay brokenly at Flash's feet.
Flash stared at his own two hands as if this was the first time he was really seeing them, before turning an anxious face towards his comrades, stumbling as he stepped out of the crater that had been formed.
"I feel kind of…" Batman sucked in a breath at the hollow quality of Flash's voice, feeling a violent twist in his stomach as the vision of Flash began to flicker. "..funny…"
And then he was gone.
"Flash!" Batman heard someone scream. Diana. Or maybe Shayera. It didn't matter.
He felt sick.
And that bastard Lex was laughing.
"What do you know? I did kill him."
Clenching his fists in anger, Batman stepped forward to finish the job Flash had started, pausing only when he noticed the dangerous tensing of Superman's frame. The sudden fear on Luthor's face was enough to tell Batman that justice would be served.
"I was mistaken earlier…I think this is the part where you kill me," Lex managed to spit out before he was suddenly dangling several feet off the ground, neck frighteningly close to collapsing beneath the pressure of Superman's grip.
At that moment, Batman wanted nothing more than to see Lex Luthor burn for what he'd done. Wanted that superficial thing called revenge that he'd spent his entire life fighting.
As Diana came running up beside him, he shot out his arm, preventing her from interfering with what was Superman's fight. Later, he would claim that it had been a matter of trust in his friend – the knowledge that Superman would never hurt a fly.
Now, though…now, it was the little voice inside his head that hoped to the Gods that he'd get a light show to mourn Flash's death.
And that scared him more than he was willing to admit.
"Superman! Everyone! Flash is still alive! I'm in telepathic contact with him…"
Batman whipped around at J'onn's words.
"His spirit is weak…and growing weaker. But he's still here."
Flash was still alive.
A determined expression crossed Shayera's face as she stood straight, holding her hand out in front as she felt the surrounding air for any lapses in its continuum. Batman's breath caught as he watched, every one of her steps seeming like a mile.
She had moved a mere foot or so before her fingertips grazed the edges of the anomaly, light bursting forth from what seemed like nowhere.
"FLASH!" she cried, thrusting her arm into the glow. Flash's voice returned as an echo, eerily describing the peace he'd found.
Batman suddenly felt like he was watching a movie. The slow button had been pressed, the volume had been lowered, and the plot was all askew. As he witnessed the scene before him, his teammates lining up to pull Flash from his death, the detachment grew stronger, allowing him room to think coherently for the first time since the battle had begun.
John had been the first to assist Shayera in the struggle, gripping on to her free hand as if the world would fall apart if he were to let go.
Theirs just might.
Next had been J'onn, whom Flash had always affectionately referred to as his "old man" whenever he thought J'onn wasn't within hearing distance.
Batman didn't need the Martian's telepathy to know the joy it had brought J'onn to be a father again.
Superman, the one who cared for Flash enough to murder the President, followed.
The final piece of the puzzle was Diana. Though she was last, Batman knew that in her heart, Flash had replaced the sisters she'd left behind, acting as her confident and friend when the rest of the team couldn't be bothered with the trivial issues of the modern world that always seemed like mountains to an Amazon.
And then there was himself. Batman.
Where was he?
He wanted to be first. He wanted to come before John and Shayera. He wanted to be the first thing Flash laid eyes on when he was saved. He wanted Flash to want him to come first.
But now was not the time to be so selfish.
Grabbing hold of Diana's wrist, Batman pulled with all of his might.
OoOoOoOoOoO
It had all started with a simple phrase. One simple sentence he'd uttered so many times in the past that the words had become meaningless.
Except this time, when they weren't.
"I'll go with you."
Pleasantly surprised had been the only way to describe the odd expression that crossed Flash's face at the announcement. He'd raised an eyebrow as his patented half-grin snapped into place, and before Batman could even register the words that had come out of his mouth, he found himself strapped into the pilot's seat of the javelin.
Coordinates had been given, missions had been explained, and very suddenly he and Flash were flying in an oddly comfortable silence to some strange planet in the next galaxy.
"How 'bout some tunes?" Apparently, though, the silence wasn't comfortable enough for Flash.
"No," Batman replied almost instantly, quickly typing in the code that prevented the Javelin's CD player from being activated by anyone aside from the pilot. He'd had it installed in the event that an incriminating sound clip had been recorded and needed to be heard while on a mission. Unfortunately, Flash had taken advantage of it when he wasn't around.
And sometimes when he was.
"Aww, c'mon, Bats. You're no fun. John only pretends to hate my music…" There was a pout in his voice and Batman had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"We're on a mission, not a joyride," he hissed, knowing full well that the tone of his voice implied that the conversation was over.
"But what if we die during this mission, huh? Then won't you regret that you didn't rock out to painfully loud guitars, obnoxious drum beats and barely discernable lyrics?"
"If we die during this mission, I don't think I'll be alive to care," Batman returned flatly, glancing at a deflating Flash from out of the corner of his eye. He reveled in the quiet as the javelin's engine once again became the single source of sound. Now, if only—
"When you die, is your last thought really of the person most important to you?"
Batman was startled by the question.
"What?"
"You know…I always hear that when you die, your last thought is of the person you care about most in the world…" Flash sounded oddly calm, yet his body exuded the slightest uncertainty that only a great detective could pick up.
"I don't know. I haven't died. And if I had, I don't think I'd be able to tell you."
"Oh…" The younger hero was silent for a moment. "I almost died."
"I know, I was there."
"My last thought was of someone."
"Was it?" Batman tried as hard as he could to sound disinterested.
"Yeah."
And just when Batman had decided that he didn't much mind the sound of Flash's voice, the younger hero merely shrugged and turned his attention towards the frosty window.
OoOoOoOoO
"So what exactly are we doing here again?" Flash drawled over the Javelin's radio, keeping a raised eyebrow on the peaceful jungle surrounding them.
"Just a routine check-up to make sure all is well with Collandar," John's voice replied gruffly. "It's a customary follow-up procedure for all worlds that we've helped established a democracy on. We just--"
"Want to make sure we didn't accidentally start off the apocalypse?"
"Something like that." John paused and spoke to someone out of Flash's hearing range. When he came back he sounded slightly irritated. "Put Batman on."
Rolling his eyes, Flash sat up and gave the man next to him a side-glance. He leaned back down and spoke into the speaker.
"Alright, I'll let the grown-ups talk," he replied dryly as he stood and walked to the exit of the Javelin.
Batman sat still for a long moment, deciding that there was something very wrong with the scene that had just played out in front of him.
"Batman?" Snapping out of his thoughts, Batman grabbed the handheld radio and pressed the button that removed the stereo from speakerphone.
"I'm here."
"Good...Listen," John said nervously, "Is Wally anywhere nearby?"
Batman shifted in his seat. If John was using Flash's real name then he had a feeling the Lantern wasn't about to say anything lighthearted.
"No, he isn't…why?"
There was a silence on the other end of the line that Batman decided he didn't like at all. Two seconds later, John was back.
"Have you noticed that something strange has been going on with him lately?"
Frowning, Batman glanced out the windshield of the Javelin, watching as Flash picked a flower from some exotic plant.
"Strange, how?"
"Well…" John sighed, voice sounding awkward, "You know…not himself. Moody….And less annoying."
All at once a large insect shot out of one of the neighboring flowers and sent Wally up in the air with a surprised yelp. The creature floated above the plants curiously, before landing on a cautious Wally's shoulder. Batman could almost feel Wally's immediate attraction and knew that he'd soon be having a discussion with the younger hero about how there was no room for 'pets' on the Watchtower.
Even if it was a giant bug.
"I might have noticed the moodiness, at least," he replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. John chuckled.
"Well, I talked to Superman about it, and we agreed it seemed to have started after…you know." The hesitant manner didn't escape Batman and he wondered why, if Flash could talk about his near death experience so casually, no one else seemed to be able to. Nevertheless, he nodded, though he knew he couldn't be seen.
"Yeah," he offered vocally.
"And so, we decided, if anything, maybe the boy just needs a vacation to allow himself some time to recuperate."
"And so this mission…" A feeling of dread was beginning to grow in the pit of Batman's stomach.
"The Collandarians couldn't be more at peace with their new democracy – J'onn's already taken care of it."
The dread quickly turned to agitation.
"I don't have time for vacations, John," he hissed into the speaker. He could almost see the former marine roll his eyes.
"I know you don't. We were going to suggest that Shayera go with him, but you suddenly volunteered, and what could we say? We weren't about to blow our cover."
"Well, now what?"
"Now you just keep an eye on the kid to make sure he doesn't accidentally fall off a cliff or something."
"And what do I tell him about the Collandarians?"
"They're up to speed. They know we're coming to 'check up' on them again."
"And if he does somehow manage to get himself into trouble anyway?"
"Then Clark's got two laser beams already pointed at your ass."
"I'll remember that," Batman muttered, sliding his finger over the 'End Transmission' button. "Batman out."
"His name is Barry." A lifetime of training was the only thing keeping Batman from jumping out of his seat at the voice that was very suddenly in his ear.
"What?" he snapped, turning around to face Flash. The younger man was cradling his newfound pet in his arms, looking almost like a mother with her baby.
"I said his name his Barry. After Uncle Barry."
"How do you know it's a he?" Every logical cell in his being told Batman that humoring The Flash was nothing but a waste of everyone's time. Unfortunately, however, until this mission was over, Batman had an abundance of time to spare.
"How do you know he's not?" Flash shot back stubbornly. Batman resisted the urge to roll his eyes for not the first time that day.
"Don't get too attached. It's not coming back with us."
"I know. I wouldn't do that…he's got a boyfriend here."
Batman fell back with a start, choking on the air caught in his throat.
"What?"
"I said he has a boyfriend," Flash repeated, apparently not seeing anything wrong with the words coming out of his mouth. Batman swallowed.
"Oh."
"Is there a problem with that? Because, you know, just because a bug is gay, it doesn't mean that it's worth any less and it can't, you know, run as good. And if other bugs have a problem with that than they can kiss its red encased ass."
Blinking, Batman fought hard not to mention that the insect's ass was, in fact, green.
OoOoOoOoO
"Thish ish sho good," Flash managed through his mouthful of caramelized sea apples, a Colladarian specialty. Contrary to the name, Batman thought the fruits actually appeared to be more from the citrus family, with their thick skin and meaty insides. Perhaps they were a close cousin--
"Shtop overanalyzing my food."
"Hn?"
Swallowing, Flash stood and brought the bark he'd been given to use as a plate to a small shelf located by the bed. "You were staring at it like you always stare at things when you don't know what to make of them." Placing the bark on the shelf, he watched in childish amazement as the plate dematerialized and disappeared.
"Why can't we have that at the wash tower? It'd save on some major dishwashing time."
"You don't even do the--" Batman froze.
Wait.
What?
"You know my looks?"
Rolling his eyes, Flash sat on the corner of the bed he'd chosen for himself, jerking off his mask.
"Well that one because you don't use it a lot because you're too damn smart for your, hell, anybody's own good." Wally yawned and stretched, throwing himself back into the mattress. "Whenever you see something new you either stare at it long and hard when you're unsure of something, or, the more popular one, your eyes kinda just move up and down it until you've figured it out down to its last DNA strand."
"Hn," Batman answered noncommittally, looking anywhere but at the redhead.
"I'll tell you what, the Collandarians sure know how to treat a guest," Wally mumbled under his breath, eyes scanning the Guest of Honor suite they had been set up with at what had formally been the royal palace. He turned over on his side and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, Bats. You ever gonna remove that mask?"
"No."
Wally shrugged, unfazed, and shifted so that he was on his back.
"Night, B."
"Hn." Batman kept his eyes on the wall until he recognized the even breaths of sleep coming from his colleague. Gathering up every knowledgeable skill he'd ever acquired, Batman slowly made his way to Wally's side, watching the steady rise and fall of the younger hero's chest, wondering how the hell he could be so deeply affected by someone so…Wally.
Shit.
TBC
