It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, finals were terrible, but I got through them. Now, to the next chapter! Awaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman and I probably never will.
"Alright people, do your final checks, and then go get ready for Showtime!" Jack ordered everyone. Bruce, Dick, and Damian all were sitting on some of the bleachers out of the way while everyone did various checks of their equipment.
"I've gotta go get some stuff from the trailer. Be right back," Zane said.
"Tick-tock Zane. Don't be late," Zelina said.
"Yeah, yeah," he said and then walked out of the tent. The lights all came on, and the first thing that came down from the rafters was two long silk rope.
"Care to do the honors, 'your majesty?'" Rita asked her sister-in-law.
"Oh no! This is your specialty. Never touch or mess with an artist's equipment," Zelina said. "That, and the trapeze bar is mine!"
"As you wish," Rita said and took her place in the center ring where the ropes were. She pulled on it, and then as soon as she grabbed onto it, the straps were raised, and Rita was pulled up high. As soon as they stopped, Rita tied the silk around her ankle and let go. Then very gracefully, did a complete split with her ankle still tied. After a few seconds, Rita wrapped the silk around her entire body and then did a front flip as soon as she somehow un-tied the silk to her ankle. Then she did some adjustment to the straps around her body, and before anyone could move, she let go of the ropes completely and just hung there as the ropes brought her down.
"Rita, hold onto the straps so we can double-check that they can move around the whole tent," Jack ordered.
"Sure," she said. Rita then took both straps onto her hands and then moved to the right side of the ring as far as the straps would allow her. She tied the straps into a knot around her wrist, and suddenly, the ropes pulled her up again. This time, however, they were moving in a circular motion all around the tent. Rita then flipped herself upside-down and moved her legs behind her head. Then the ropes started to slow down and move towards the ground again. With that, Rita moved back to her starting position and started to 'pedal' her legs to land back on the ground. When she landed, both Dick and Bruce started to clap.
"Very impressive, Rita," Bruce said.
"Thanks. If you like that, then you'll love to see the entire routine," Rita said, undoing the straps from her wrists. "Alright, it holds my weight, so it should be good. Zelina? Shall we triple-check the trapeze?"
"Absolutely sister, but you're the catcher since my dear brother has other not-as-important stuff to check."
"Fine. Matias! Bruno! We need you!" Rita called. The two other performers ran over to the pair. The safety net was set up at the bottom as required for all checks. All four climbed up to the platform and took their positions with Zelina and Bruno holding the bar, Rita on the swing across from them, and Matias standing above her. Rita started swinging higher and higher until she sat down and hung upside-down. That's when Zelina jumped off the platform and started swinging back and forth. Suddenly, Zelina swung up and did four summersaults before holding her arms out and was caught by Rita.
All of a sudden, Dick's world stopped moving. The voices of the performers and Bruce talking to him became silent, his breathing was speeding up, and he felt a big lump in his throat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen; The Flying Graysons!"
Dick watched as his father hung upside-down with his arms out ready to catch his wife as she did a quadruple summersault. After she was caught, a young boy grabbed the bar ready to jump off himself. Suddenly a loud 'snap' was heard, and his parents fell to the ground with their terrified faces staring up at their son trying to reach for him.
"DICK! WE LOVE YOU!" They called, and then an awful 'splat' and 'crunch' was heard as their bodies hit the pavement.
"NOOOOOOO!" the young six-year-old called.
Then the scene rewound itself, and Dick was forced to watch his parents fall over and over again.
"…aren't they Dick?" a muffled voice called out that sounded like they were talking underwater.
"I can't be here," Dick mumbled.
"What did you say?" Bruce asked.
"I….I can't be here. It won't stop!" Dick said as he started to panic. He shot up out of his seat, and his eyes bounced all over the tent looking for a way out.
"What won't, son?" Jack asked and tried to put a hand on Dick's shoulder, but it was pushed off much to the circus master's shock.
"Stop touching me!" Dick screamed and then found his exit. Then Dick ran out of the tent.
"Dick, wait! Come back, son!" Bruce called, but Dick was already gone. He didn't know where, but the boy just ran as fast as his legs would go.
'Ooooo! Did you hear that? He called you his son again. Imagine what he thinks of you now? The son of Batman running away as soon as it gets scary,' said the voice.
'But Pop called me 'son' too,' Dick reminded it.
'Pop's called you that since you were an infant. But Bruce is your realfather.'
'No, he's not! I mean he technically is, but he's only my second dad. My real dad is John Grayson!' Dick insisted.
'He was your real dad. Like it or not but when you allowed Bruce Wayne to adopt you officially, John Grayson wasn't your father anymore. Wayne is. And you'll have to live with the consequences of being the son of Bruce Wayne for the rest of your life. Imagine how John would feel if he found out he's been replaced,' the voice taunted.
"NO!" Dick shouted at the top of his lungs. Dick then looked up and saw a line of trailers. One, in particular, had the little crawlspace where one could access under the trailer itself where some of the pipes and wiring were. The boy crawled in and instantly started crying into his knees. He could hear people calling for him in the distance but ignored their calls to answer them.
"Hey, who's under there?" another voice called out that sounded closer. All Dick saw was a pair of nice black pants. The figure knelt, and he could see Zane kneeling before him, now wearing a purple shirt with his sleeves rolled up halfway and a black vest.
"Dick? What are you doing here? Weren't you with-"
"Don't touch me!" Dick hissed.
"I wasn't going to. Are you alright? What's wrong?" Zane asked.
"I can't go back in there! I can't!" Dick cried.
"Back where? The tent? What happened?"
"ZANE!" someone screamed. Zane looked back and saw his wife running towards him. "Have you seen…?!"
"Hold on, hold on," he said, holding one hand out to stop her from coming any closer. Rita knelt as well to get a closer look from where she was and gasped at what she saw. "It's okay, kid. I don't know what's going on, but we're here for you no matter what it is." Dick looked up and stared at the man.
"I…I saw it happen again. I don't know what happened or why but….I saw them fall, again and again. It wouldn't stop! I can't see it happen! Not again!" Dick sobbed into his knees once again.
"Shhhhh, okay, Dick. What can we do? Do you want us to go get Mr. Wayne?" Rita asked.
'Yes! Let them go get Bruce to see how weak you are.'
"Uh-uh! He…he can't see me like this!" Dick screamed.
"Okay, okay. How about this? Why don't you at least come and sit in our trailer for a few minutes to catch your breath? I can get you a glass of water or whatever you need. When you're ready to talk or go back to Mr. Wayne, then we will," Zane offered. Dick lifted his head, and then looked deep into the man's eyes. "Hey, I know you don't really know us that well, but us circus folk have to stick together right? I'm sure you know how most of the public thinks we're all just gypsies going from town-to-town stealing everybody's money when they're not looking. You may have some people like that, but that's not what we stand for. You remember what Jack nails in our heads as soon as we get signed on?" Dick hiccupped before giving his answer.
"T-the audience must be entertained at all times. No exceptions."
"Right," Zane said. "That's why we're known as the greatest show on earth and why Haly's got high expectations." Dick nodded, and then let out a shaky breath.
"So what do you say, Dick?" Rita asked.
"Okay," Dick mumbled after a moment. Afterward, he shimmied out of his little crawl space out towards Zane.
"Come on kiddo," Zane said, putting an arm around Dick's shoulders, but it was immediately pushed off.
"Sorry! My fault! Come with us," Zane said, holding up his hands. Dick next started following Rita to one of the small trailers.
"Small, but cozy. Have a seat, Dick," Zane said, and Rita motioned towards the little bar area. Dick sat at the bar seat and gripped his head as he took some deep breaths as he did with Alfred. The trailer only had a small kitchen with a bench and table that could be pushed down, and a living room area with a TV and two mattresses.
"Dick, do you mind if I call Jack just to let him know that we have you? He doesn't have to come here, but just so the whole circus doesn't go crazy looking for you right before Showtime," Rita asked. That's when Dick's eyes went wide.
'Now you've messed up opening night too?! You really areuseless.'
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean…!"
"It's alright Dick. Our acts start about mid-show, so we've got some time. And even if we did have to miss our cue…"
"The show must go on," Dick said.
"You got it! Let Zelina hog the spotlight with her Contortionist Act," Rita said.
"Even though she'll never let us hear the end of it?" Zane asked.
"Hush," Rita hissed, and then picked on her phone and walked outside, closing the door behind her.
"So kiddo. Would you like anything to drink or a snack? We've mostly got water, but I've got bananas, apples, baby carrots…"
"I guess I'll have an apple," Dick said.
"Sure," Zane said. Then he held out his left palm and then started waving his right arm around like a witch casting a spell. He connected his palms, and when he shot his right hand up in the air, and apple magically appeared in his left hand.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" Dick asked, sitting up straight.
"Do what?" Zane asked as Dick took the apple.
"That! How did you make the apple appear?" Dick asked again. He then looked at the table and saw a basket of fruit sitting on the counter, but was nowhere near where Zane had been standing. "Wait a minute," Dick said and started looking under the table for a secret compartment or anything where Zane was standing. "Did you somehow hide that apple under your sleeves?" he asked, but Zane's sleeves were mostly rolled up to his mid-arm. Dick touched both of Zane's arms, but couldn't find anything in them.
"Nothing there. There's nothing in my pockets either," Zane said, turning out his pockets.
"But how did you do that?" Dick asked.
"Sorry kid, but I'm duty-bound to never share my secrets," Zane said, raising his hand.
"You're a magician too?" Dick asked.
"Sure am. Even if I don't have a magnificent name to go with it; I'm just Zane the magician. All of us in the Shooting Stars all have another gimmick that we do besides trapeze. I'm a magician, Zelina's a contortionist, and Rita does an act with those silk ropes you saw us checking, and sometimes Zelina teams up with her. The others like we said earlier are from the clown act and the ball of death." Zane said. That's when Rita came back inside.
"Jack knows and is doing the best he can to keep Mr. Wayne from storming over here himself. I think I heard your brother yelling in the background when I was talking to him though," Rita said.
"Damian always yells. Mostly at me though," Dick said.
"Yeah, I know all about that. The worst part is that I'm the older brother who is always getting yelled at by my baby sister. Half the time, I can't even remember what exactly we were arguing about," Zane said chuckling.
"I do," Dick said.
"Wrong. Again….."
"Wrong…wrong….WRONG!"
"You're such a disgrace to the Wayne name!"
"I'm not saying I don't remember every fight, but you still have those certain moments where you both are getting along and being there for each other when you need it the most," Zane said. Dick just shrugged his shoulders.
"You starting to feel a little better?" Zane asked, and Dick just tilted his head from side-to-side.
"Do you think you're calm down enough to meet back up with everyone or do you wanna hang out for a few more minutes?" Rita asked.
"I guess so," Dick said.
"Okay. Well if you ever feel overwhelmed again while you're here, our door's always open. Just try to knock if you can so we know you're here," Zane said.
"Okay," Dick said.
"Come on," Rita said, and everyone got up and walked out of the trailer.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
"You kinda scared us for a minute there Dickie," Jack said when they all met up.
"Where the hell were you?! Do you have any idea how worried father was when you ran off?!" Damian yelled.
"Easy on him, Damian. He was a little shaken up when we found him," Rita said.
"He's not the only one. As soon as you ran out, Jack went crazy. He called us all down right away, and we were all scrambling everywhere lookin' for you. Do me a favor hon, and never do that again," Zelina said. Dick didn't answer.
"You did give all of us a scare Dick," Bruce said. Suddenly, Bruce's phone vibrated in his pocket.
"So why did you run out of the tent Dick?" Jack asked. Bruce meanwhile paid no attention as he read the message from Alfred.
Alfred: Apologies for interrupting sir, but there was a break-in near the circus grounds. I've scanned through the cameras nearby and found Ms. Al Ghul and what looked like Heretic.
Bruce: Thanks, Alfred. We're on our way.
Alfred: Sir, I've already sent Master Luke on ahead to look into it. Perhaps you should wait to hear his report before you rush out on Master Dick. Remember the reason you called Mr. Haly in the first place.
Bruce: You shouldn't have done that Alfred. This is a family matter. As soon as Damian and I find Talia and Jack works his magic with Dick, he'll go back to his old self. Luke isn't needed.
"Sorry Jack, but something has come up that Damian and I have to look into. Dick can stay here with you as long as it's okay. We'll try to make it for Showtime, but if we miss it, then I'll have Alfred come pick him up afterward," Bruce said.
"Finally," Damian mumbled.
"Oh…..alright Bruce," Jack said.
"See you later Dick. Have fun," Bruce said. Then, he and Damian left him behind.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
After Bruce and Damian changed into their uniforms, they arrived at the coordinates where Talia and Heretic were last seen with Luke waiting for them dressed as Batwing. Batman just gave him a hard glare.
"Don't even say it Bats, cause I'm not going back to the hospital. Why won't you let me join you? I've been going through his laptop and from what I've seen, dad's been involved in this almost from the beginning. I can do it. It's not like I haven't been trained at stopping…" he said.
"I'm not letting you become a crime fighter because of your lack of training, it's because of Lucius," Batman said.
"Huh?"
"Working on my tech and being behind the scenes is one thing, but going out on the field is different. I've sometimes regretted letting your father be involved in this, to begin with, but he knows the risks and I'm grateful for his loyalty. But how could I face him again if I allowed something to happen to you because of my mission? You know what Gotham's criminals are capable of," Batman said.
"Yet you allow your kids to go out there on the field with you with those same 'criminals'," Batwing pointed out.
"I've been trained in combat since before I could walk. A few years of service in the military is nothing compared to what we do," Robin said.
"Well, good for you kid. But…"
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE CRETIN!" a yell down the alley called. All three heroes looked down at the alleyway and saw a preteen running down it holding a bag in his hand being chased by a dozen or so big thugs all wearing nice suits.
"You've gotta be kidding," Robin said.
"Guess it's time to do what we do best," Batwing said, and then switched into his flight mode.
"Dammit Luke," Batman said, and then ran after him and the attackers.
Meanwhile, the young kid carried the bag and came to the edge where the river was. Just then, the group of men in their suits came running out. The kid then glazed at the river.
"Come on ragazzino. Just hand us the bag, and we'll be on our way. I'm a very forgiving kind of man," the lead Italian man said, who stood in the front with two buff guys right next to him.
"Then you'll just sell these drugs to a kid, and then another, and then another. You're polluting the world and its children with your evil, corrupted ways," the kid said.
"What's he talkin' about?" one of the other Italians asked.
"This is your last chance kid. My men don't wanna hurt you. That bag isn't filled with drugs. It's filled with things like….medicine that my men need. If my men don't get it soon, then they'll be forced to start shooting. Things don't have to get bloody, but if you don't give me the bag, then I can't guarantee your protection," the main Italian said again.
"Your corruption of this world ends now, scum," the kid said, and then threw the bag into the river. Some of the men screamed and ran over to the edge to see the bag disappear into the river.
"You really shouldn't have done that kid. Now my men will have to be given their medicine another way," the main guy said, and most of the men pulled out their guns, while others started to crack their knuckles.
"My purpose has been served. Do your worst, and may my sacrifice inspire the children of Gotham to do the same," the kid said. All of a sudden, a smoke bomb was thrown in between them, and everyone started coughing while others started shooting everywhere. When the smoke cleared, the kid was gone.
"Grrr! I want that rodent found and dead at my feet, adesso! (now)" the main leader said. Suddenly, Luke started shooting some neon baterangs at as many men holding guns as he could. The ones that made contact exploded and made the guns practically useless. Then Batman and Robin came in to finish the job.
"Where'd you leave him?" Batman asked.
"Left him on the rooftops and told him to stay put for a minute while we finish this. We're gonna have a long talk with that one," Batwing said, flying down and started to help take down some of the mobsters. After Robin took down one who was too focused on trying to make the non-working gun shoot again, he happened to look up and saw three figures standing on the rooftops watching the scene. One was the same brave, stupid kid from before, and the other two Robin was very familiar with.
"Mother," Robin growled and then shot a grapple up towards them.
"Robin, focus here," Batman said, but Robin was already halfway up. When he arrived, he stood his ground facing the trio with clenched fists and grinding his teeth.
"What. The hell. Did you do to him?!" he demanded.
"He's perfectly fine, Damian, but his loyalty now is to the league," Talia said, petting the boy's hair.
"Not him! Grayson!"
"What's the matter with Grayson?" she asked.
"Like you don't know!" Robin hissed. "TELL ME! NOW!"
"Perhaps, he has just grown up and realized his true place in the world," Heretic said. This caused Robin to growl.
"Justice, not vengeance. Justice, not vengeance," Robin mumbled to himself as he took dangerous steps towards them with his eyes narrowed similar to his father's. He was just about to pull out a baterang when his father appeared behind him.
"If you truly have feelings for me enough to think that you'll one day be mine, then you better tell me what you did to my youngest son," Batman warned.
"Beloved, you have no idea the feelings I have for you and how I long for the day where you'll finally accept your rightful place. But until that day arrives…" Talia said, and then threw a smoke bomb down. Robin ran forward into the smoke with a baterang out ready to strike whatever he hit first, but he came out the other side of the cloud with no one in sight.
"UUUGHH!" Robin screamed and slammed the baterang down on the pavement hard. Then he got out his grapple again and started to run off the building.
"Robin, wait!" Batman called when the smoke cleared, but he already grappled to the next building and was jumping off of rooftops. That's when Batwing flew up.
"Got them all secured," he said and saw Robin running away. "So….do you want me to go after him?"
"No. We need to get these men tied up and then wait for the police. We may be dealing with a runaway now kidnapped scenario," Batman said.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
After Batman and Batwing gave their statements to the police, they spent the rest of the evening and into the night looking for clues of the whereabouts of the Leauge or the missing kid. Once their search came to a dead-end, Batman called it quits and gave Luke a communicator.
"I'll use this to get in contact with you if we need you. It won't be much, but you can work behind the scenes with Alfred or if we need backup. I'm sure I don't need to tell you to keep this away from your mother and sister," Batman said.
"Nope. I won't tell a soul. Dad might be a different story when he walks up, though," Batwing said.
"We'll deal with that when he does later," Batman said, and then drove off in the car. After quickly sending a message to Damian telling him that he was heading back towards the grounds. After switching to Bruce Wayne again, he arrived while the second to last act was going on after picking up some popcorn on his way to the seat. When he got there, he saw that Dick wasn't there.
'He must be backstage, but I thought he would want to see the show first,' he thought to himself. He sat down and enjoyed the final two acts and then the grand finale when all the acts came out for one last bow and to dance to the music. Everyone in the audience was on their feet when they all stroke their final pose. Then the music came back, and everyone walked backstage waving goodbye. While everyone else was leaving, Bruce made his way backstage where he ran into Jack.
"Hey Jack," Bruce said.
"Oh, hello Bruce. I didn't see you come back," he said.
"Sorry. Something came up that made me late for the show but don't worry. I'll make plans to stay for at least one; no acceptations. So how's Dick? I thought he would be watching the show," Bruce asked. Jack's facial expression suddenly dropped.
"Well, Bruce. You kinda missed a lot. Dick didn't make it to see the show," Jack said.
"Why not? He was so excited earlier," Bruce asked, hiding his worry.
"I know, but he didn't want to come back inside the tent; not even to go backstage," Jack said.
"What?!"
"I don't know what he's thinking about, but he said he never wanted to go inside the circus tent ever again."
Dun Dun Dun! What happened? Guess we'll have to find out in the next chapter(s). This one was a little hard to write the ending part because I had an idea, but it was hard when I have one idea, but I also know what will happen in later chapters that need to be set up somehow. I'll figure it out.
In the meantime, I need everyone to stop what they're doing right now, pick up a drink or whatever, and raise a glass to 2021. (I've got my Root Beer in hand). Here's to making 2021 waaayyyy better than 2020; a year that was 75% awful. Why 75? Because new babies have been born, adoptions have occurred, and seniors have graduated this year too. Don't forget that.
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LaurenHardy13