AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just though I would let my reader know, I don't write "fight" scenes too well, even if this is only a training scene.
Chapter 9
Down in the Batcave, beneath Wayne Manor, a man and child face off against each other on a sparring mat.
"How hard do you want this to be?" asks Bruce, staring at the boy standing across from him.
"You've never asked me that before," replies Dick, raising a brow.
"After what happened last night, I don't want to push you farther than you can go, which may not be as far as I normally would push you," answers the older man.
"No special treatment, Bruce," says Dick, shaking his head. "Special treatment won't help me get over what…happened."
Nodding his head, Bruce raises his hands into a ready stance. Matching him, Dick takes a few deep breaths to center himself.
Deciding to make the first move, Dick slides across the mat toward the older man with a heart jab. Blocking the boy easily, Bruce spins the boy away from him and kicks out toward the right knee of Dick. Feeling his knee give out as the blow lands, the boy rolls away from the older man. Spinning back around, Dick again finds himself facing Bruce.
"You're being too easy, Bruce."
Nodding his head, Bruce decided to take it up a notch. Rushing toward the boy, Bruce fakes to the right. Dodging to the left, to avoid the attack, Dick realizes too late that Bruce was only faking a right-sided attack. Raising his arms to block the boy, Dick finds himself knock onto his butt from the force.
Doing a kick up, Dick gets himself back onto his feet. Breathing deeply, Dick watches the older man. Deciding to do a feint of his own, Dick prepares to attack Bruce again. Making it look like he plans to do another heart strike, Dick focuses on turning the blow into a diaphragm strike, so as to knock the air out of Bruce's lungs.
Realizing what the boy intends, Bruce allows Dick to come in close and just before the boy lands the blow to his stomach, Bruce grabs the boy's hand and spins him around. Finding the pressure point on the hand, the older man cranks the arm backwards.
"NO!" shouts the boy, as he feels his arm being pressed into his back.
Struggling against the older man, Dick forgets all about his training as he tries to get out of the lock. Tears stream down the boy's face, as Dick kicks backward to get the older man off of him.
Realizing that something is wrong, Bruce releases Dick and steps away from him. Falling down onto the mat, Dick cries and pounds his fists into the mat. Kneeling down next to the child, Bruce places a gentle hand on the boy's back. Saying nothing, Bruce waits as the boy begins to calm down.
"I'm sorry," whispers Dick to his mentor, scrubbing his face with his hands. "It's just…he grabbed me like that…when he pushed me down on the bed."
Nodding his head, Bruce understands why Dick reacted the way he did.
"It will take time, Dick," says the older man, placing an open palm in Dick's face.
Taking the hand, Dick pulls himself to his feet. Staring down at the mat, and the wetness his tears has made, Dick feels ashamed of himself.
"I should have fought harder," says Dick, raises his eyes to Bruce. "Maybe then, I could have stopped him."
"It's not your fault, Dick," states Bruce, firmly. "I want you to get that out of your head right now."
Nodding his head, but not really believing, Dick glances away from the older man before turning his eyes back to Bruce.
"If you don't mind, Bruce, I'd rather not continue," says Dick quietly, before turning and walking off the mat.
"As I said, Dick, it will take time," says Bruce softly as he watches the boy grabs a towel and heads for the stairs to take him back upstairs to the manor.
As soon as the boy disappears, Bruce turns his attention toward the Batcomputer.
"It's time to find out who did this," states Bruce, as his voice becomes deep and hard. "Whoever he is, he'll pay. Batman will make certain of that."