ASDFGHJKL-You people are magical. I'm serious, are you sure you aren't wizards?
SIXTEEN reviews in less than 12 hours! Uh… HOLY SHIZZZZZZZ man! Holy Review Batman! Holy Atomic Mushroom, Batman! Holy Sherlock Holmes, BATMAN-
Uh… yeah. Kay then, I've officially lost my mind. And I'm stuck in the sixties! :D
Disclaimer: I own a Batman hat. :3 That's about it. :(
…
He's drowning.
In more ways then one.
He wants air so freaking bad, not all this filthy water that's probably teeming with germs. He. Just. Wants. Air.
So when his head is finally pulled out of that God-awful bucket (Though it's really like a tub, but who cares.) of water, he sucks in oxygen like it's the last time he'll ever breathe, which is probably true, since Robin's being held captive by the InJustice League, and every single super villain he knows is there, along with the rest of the world since his execution is going to be aired live.
So, not asterous. And cliche, but there's also a rushing in Robin's head: He's failed. It was a trap, he should've listened to his teammates, because the odds were against him from the start. Now they're just smacking him in the face. He was caught. He was wrong.
Part of him wants to die. Part of him wants to scream and shout profanities. Part of him is still the scared little child he's always been, brought to the surface, the Light.
He can feel Cheshire and Sensei's eyes on him, before his hair is grabbed by Bane and he's forced back into the bucket, with Luthor and Al Ghul also watching on the sidelines. Typical. Filthy rich geezers, not wanting to 'dirty their hands'.
Robin's mask protects his eyes like goggles in the bucket of water as he watches the bubbles of his life leave him. Gone. Just like that. Just like his parents. Disappearing and reappearing a moment later, on the other side of the river. Dead.
Now he's the one dying.
He's only human. If Aqualad was here, the Atlantean would have freed him in no time, and the day would've been saved.
Except no one is here except him and the tied up Justice League, who's watching the villains torture Robin right in front of them. If it wasn't for Black Canary's sound proof container that would ricochet her sonic scream right back at her, Robin had no doubt in his mind that the woman would've already broken free and kicked some butt.
Actually, any of the Leaguers would have done the same, since Robin's known all of them since he was about 8. They're all crazy protective of him, but none of them could even come close to Batman.
'Daddy-Bats mode' villains and heroes alike called a situation in when Batman was amazingly ticked. Usually because Robin or any other people Bruce knew and -secretly, he is the Batman- cared about was a whole lotta hurt came about. Some people said the screams of pain that came from the villains could be heard in Canada. Canada.
Well, he is the Goddamn Batman, but Robin digresses.
At that moment, said Boy Wonder suddenly finds no air left in his lungs. Just water.
Only water.
'Oh, no.'
In response, he begins to thrash around in his panic, trying to break free, to get away, because now his lung's are on fire which makes no sense because he's drowning but now nothing's make sense because his mind if so foggy like someone stuffed cotton in it and he's so sleepy and he can't think straight and IT. HURTS!*
He goes limp.
Bubbles.
...
Up on the surface, on dry land, Batman is panicking too. He tries to hide it, but his his only son, the light to his dark, is drowning right in front of him and soon instead of a son he'll have a corpse and he'll be all alone again with another body to bury right in the Wayne plot and also next to the boy's first parents-Calm. Down.The rational part of Batman's mind screams these two words at him, and at once he becomes business. He's got to get out, and immediately he goes to his waist before scowling. Right, he'd been disarmed when he'd first been captured. But his cowl.
Batman knows it sounds stupid, but the ears on his cowl aren't just for decoration.
.
"Tata?"
Bruce looked up to see his newly adopted eight-year-old son and partner, Dick, standing in the shadows of the Bat cave nearby. "Yes, micul meu pasăe?"
"What are th' little things on your head whn' you're Batman?" Mentally sighing at Dick's slight lisp when using English, even after all these months of practicing, Bruce knelt down to his son level's and met the little boy's big blue eyes.
"They're like… my ears." At Dick's incredulous look, Bruce quickly explained. "You know how a regular bat has ears? Well, these are my ears." While explaining, Bruce pulled off his cowl -he was in his Batman suit- and pointed to said ears.
Dick's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Do you use them fer anythin' else?"
"What?"
"Can you, um… pick locks with them?"
"No. They're just for decoration." Immediately after saying this, Bruce felt stupid. Batman doesn't use decorations. That's stupid. Everything has to be necessary on his person. Everything matters. "You know, Dick, that gives me an idea. Wanna help?"
Immediately, Dick gave him a big grin, his blue eyes sparkling, before grabbing his adopted father by the hand and leading the older man through the cave, chattering excitedly.
.
The memory hurt Bruce's chest a little, since his meu pasăe had grown up over the years, but he stopped the emotions from coming through and set to work on his several pairs of handcuffs on his hands and feet. ('Wow, a dozen handcuffs on my arms? I'm flattered.')
At that point, a scream sounds and Bruce snapped his head up to see his son's body go absolutely limp.
NO!
The world had ended. That's all Batman can think, because now every single thing he's ever cared about is GONE, just like that. He's never ever going to have a chance at happiness because no matter what, it gets TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM and now he knows that life hates him. His demons have caught up to him. They're over-powering him and dragging him down through the shadows, the shadows that were once a safe haven, an escape for him.
Now that's gone, too. The Shadows have become his personal grave, the tunnel where there will NEVER be any light at the end.
He's drowning, just like Robin was.
...
BOOM!
All heads swivel to see a hole in the ceiling, with several familiar young faces surrounding it outside, looking absolutely furious.
"NOW!" Kaldur screams, and they all leap through the hole, ploughing and knocking down villain's along the way.
Absolute hell breaks loose.
In all the confusion, Bane had dropped the half-dead Boy Wonder in shock, before immediately being sucker-punched by Super Man and Boy.
Batman felt his cuffs come off by M'Gann's telepathic control, but his only thought is 'Dick' as he rushes towards his son's body, dancing and dodging around villains and heroes being thrown around.
Apparently, not only Kid Flash, Aqualad, Artemis, Superboy and Miss Martian came. Batman saw out of the corner of his eye Red Arrow standing back to back with Green Arrow and Artemis shooting enemies with the speed he was originally named for. Harley Quinn flew past him, followed quickly by Supergirl and Wondergirl. Empress, a new hero, somersaulted by in her uniform, chased by some of T.O. Morrow's creations.
Almost… there…
Pushing aside Clark and Conner -both men hmphed at the rudeness- Bruce grabbed Dick and pulled the still boy into his arms. "Micul pasăe?"
For one long, terrifying moment, Dick didn't respond. Bruce felt his resolve crumbling, his hands starting to shake. His son was dead. Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh-
Then, a weak cough, barely heard above the dying battle surrounding the two of them, but it cuts through Bruce's head and thoughts like a knife.
His son was alive.
Bruce also heard Dick's next few words, as did a good chunk of the superhero population who had formed a ragged circle around them. "Dad? Did we win?"
Bruce managed a slight smile. "Da."
…
HAHAHAHHA CRAPPY ENDING YOU ARE ALL NOW GROANING MWAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA :D
Kay. Some (all) of you guys wanted another chapter, so I wrote one. And mainly so I can imagine a younger Dick in foot pajamas… :3
* Um, yeah. Okay, so when I was about 8 or so I nearly drowned. Bleh, I can still remember throwing up seaweed DX Anyway, that kind of traumatized me so I've never really forgotten how it felt to nearly die. Also, it DID feel like my lungs were on fire? How the heck does that even work? But yeah. I hate swimming now -_-'
REVIEW. (please :3)
~OHA