Hey everyone! So I know there was supposed to be a chapter update last week and there wasn't. That was because as I was writing this, it made more sense to me that it should be one long chapter as opposed to two shorter ones. I'm working on the next chapter now, but i warn you it is very slow going to it could take a bit. The other thing I would like to bring it up is that while This is Dick's story first and foremost, their may be a few guest narrators sprinkled in every now and then (this chapter in particular has multiple). Lastly, here is another cheat sheet for the DC characters who haven't appeared in this universe yet in the show:
The Cyclone (Maxine Hunkel): Grandaughter of the Original Red Tornado
Tom Cat (Tom Bronson): Son of Ted Grant, the Wildcat
KG Beast (Anatoli Knyazev): Ex-Russian Mercenary, now just plain Mercenary
The Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane): A former professor specializing in fear
The Red Hood (Jason Todd): I'm confident you know who this guy is. If not, google it, someone else can explain him better than I ever could.
The Phantasm (?): I'm gonna keep this one a secret until the next chapter. Its a character that appeared in the Original Batman: Animated Series (and one Justice League episode), but for those who don't know, I'll save the surprise for later.
The Arrow (Connor Hawke): Oliver Queens son and heir to the "Green Arrow" mantle
Rick Flagg: Leader of the Suicide Squad
King Shark: He is literally a gigantic man-shark. No joke.
Ok, I think that takes care of all the house-keeping stuff. Please enjoy chapter 4!
Wayne Manor, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:15]
Jason Todd
Finally, I thought Mr. Dickie two-shows would never leave.
I'll give him this, he knows how to give winning speeches, whether it be to sidekick replacements or dead statues. Though I supposed I should be grateful he was focusing on his cry-baby feelings about our dead "Dad", because that's what allowed me to sneak into the manor right behind him. I knew tailing him would be good for something.
I flipped down from the corner part of the ceiling and used the tech in my helmet to map the new manor. The place hasn't really changed since my days as robin besides being invisible now. And having that gross stench of Teenager.
I walked through the Hall of heroes and stopped for a moment at my statue. I guess I should be grateful that everyone still puts me in these "Memorials" but every time I'm reminded of the fact that I was dead it still seems…surreal to me. Like my life before was all a dream, a tall tale people tell their kids about a hero they'll never meet. Like it was someone else's life. And I suppose in a way it was. I stopped again when I came across Bruce's statue and I sighed. All the time I've spent since I was back, I've spent hating him for not killing the Joker. Now he's gone, and my angers still there, but its emptier now, hollower than before. I eyed the statue one more time, and walked on. Any chance I had to say something meaningful to Bruce Wayne passed when he died.
Besides I wasn't here for him.
I was here for his acolyte.
I Silently made my way down the hall and ducked behind a pillar once I heard two voices arguing like timon and pumba.
"Dude I'm telling you, the first ones always the best."
"Come on. Your telling me Han getting frozen in Carbonite and Luke finding his father doesn't make it a better movie?"
I recognized one as Bart Allen. I met him during the "Crisis" six months ago in Gotham. Kids got a pair on him that's for sure. Took out six parademons in the blink of an eye to save his friend Blue Beetle. Even helped me out when Icicle sr. and Icicle Jr. tried to turn me into a toddsicle. The other kid I didn't recognize. He looked a little Ted Grant, but he seemed a little more…wilder. I could tell he grew up on the streets. Takes one to know one I guess.
"Look Bronson, I admit it's definitely a good one." Bart said. "But Han shooting first, The Death Star blowing up, and Obi-wan and Vader's big fight are just bigger moments. The first ones better."
"How?" Bronson Retorted. "The Death Star gets blown up in Return of the Jedi too. Empire has better characterization, better action, better everything. It's the perfect movie."
As riveting as this argument was, I knew I had to take both of them out. Couldn't risk either of them getting in my way. I slowly walked behind them and made my presence known.
"Y'know I always preferred Phantom Menace myself." I both turned around immediately and they're eyes grew wide. "I mean Jar-Jar Binks? Definitely the franchises highlight."
Bart looked at me, trying to decide if he should punch me at super speed or offer me a drink. "Hood, how did you get…" Before he could finish his sentence, I threw a small capsule at his feet and he was engulfed in ice.
A little trick I borrowed from Captain Cold. I stole his gun once and used it to make some speedster deterrents. He was not happy.
"BART?!" Bronson pounded against the Ice block his friend was encased in.
"Relax Kid." I said Calmly. "With his metabolism, he'll be able to heal himself fast enough when thawed out."
That apparently didn't make him feel much better, because he turned right around and glared at me. "I don't know how you got in here. But your trespassing. Get out."
I cracked my neck and gestured him forward. "Make me."
The kid stared at me straight in the eye and charged. I assumed he was gonna pull a classic Wildcat right hook like his dad. Stupid me for thinking it would be that easy. Right before my eyes, the kid shift-shaped into a Were-Panther and pounced on me. He snarled and clawed at my mask, and for a second as I tried to force him off me, I thought about reaching for my gun and I chided myself.
I could get away with beating these brats in a fight, but killing one of them?
The League would reign hell on me.
Instead, I reached for my Taser and stuck it in his gut, making him fly backwards into a wall. Bronson only roared in pain and came at me again. This time, he jumped up against the walls and used his claws to stab me in my chest. Fortunately, my body armor saved me from being cut to ribbons, and I pushed him off again.
"You've got guts, kid." I spun around distracting him with my words and reaching for my second Taser.
"But guts alone aren't going to keep you alive in this game." I stuck both Tasers in Bronson's neck and his roar turned into a human cry.
"AGGGHHH!" Bronson yelled as he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Trust me." I said in a hushed voice. "I should know."
I was about to resume my hunt for my target when A huge gust of wind hit me from behind, knocking my helmet off. Before I could even reach to grab it, another gust of wind hit the helmet with a pressurizing strike, smashing it to pieces. I looked up and saw the girl I recognized as Maxine Hunkel.
Her hair whipped violently in the gusts she created and her small, but powerful funnels whipped around me meticulously, taking care so as not to knock anything in the room out of place. Her eyes were aggressive and the wind keeping in the air spun angrily around her.
"Get away from Tomcat and Kid flash or your silly hood won't be the only thing I smash." She growled spinning another tornado in her hand.
I backed up a little but couldn't help snickering.
"Tomcat? Really?" I said to her as I reached for a compartment on the back of my belt. "Boy, the sidekick names have really gone down since my days as Robin."
Cyclone looked at me with shocked confusion. "The second Robin's dead."
I pulled the silver sphere from my pocket and locked eyes with her. "So is Batman, kid."
I threw the sphere on the ground and it exploded into a smoke bomb. I dashed for cover as she used her power to funnel the smoke out. I used the detective mode in my mask to quickly analyze her weaknesses. Her powers rely on her being able to control air and float. Put her on the ground and the game changes. I pulled out a grapple gun and fired it at her. Immediately it wrapped around her and I used all my strength to pull her to the floor. She hit the carpet of the manor and before she could stagger to her feet I attached a power dampeners collar onto her ankle.
I stole a few of them after they "fell off" a Lexcorp truck. And by fell off, I mean the mercenaries he hired to guard the truck fell off when I stole the collars from Luthor's grubby little Meta-hating hands.
Anyway, Hunkel tried to hit me with a twister from the ground, but her powers were cut by the collar. "Why can't I…" I threw another gas pellet on the ground, this time full of anesthetic gas. She looked at me with panic for a second and then began coughing violently.
"Don't be afraid." I said as she started falling to sleep. "I'm not here for any of you."
I looked around the room, not necessarily proud that I beat up three teenagers, but I did admire how I just took out a bunch of meta-humans with precision. In a perverse way, I guess my "dad" would be proud of me.
I walked down the hallway and headed to the mission room. Hunkel, Bronson and Allen are down.
The big guns of the team are taking care of the human shark. I'd say it's a perfect time.
A perfect time to meet Tim Drake.
Wayne Manor, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:25]
Tim Drake
"King shark's going to need a couple more hours before they can transport him. Cassie said through the monitor of the holo-screen."Apparently They're was a riot in his cell block. Him and Orca did a number on their tank cells."
I rubbed my eyes and looked up at her exasperated. "I've been telling Flagg for months that the aquatic metas should be in solitary away from one another."
"He's still new to being the warden, love." She tried her best to comfort me. "He'll get the hang of it eventually."
I guess I've been caught up in my new role sometimes that I forget that everyone has a new position these days. Dicks Batman, Rick Flagg's Iron Heights new warden, Wonder Woman is running the Justice League. If I had a penny for all the changes that happened in these last month's I'd have more money than Queen and Wayne Industries combined.
"I suppose your right. It's a good thing you guys are there to supervise clean up." Wondergirl shifted in the video feed.
"Diana reached out, and sent Captain Marvel and Rocket to help supervise the transfer. She doesn't want to take chances now that he tried to escape even before we moved him."
"I don't blame her. After the riots on Stryker's island and Blackgate? We can't afford to be caught off guard."
Cassie nodded. "I sent Kara back since we have Marvel coming with us now. She was getting a little antsy."
That didn't really surprise me. Kara is probably our most powerful member now, but she's impatient. Conner's death didn't exactly do much to help with that problem.
"Yea, that was a good call. I'll give her another case to work on when she gets back. Maybe I'll take her to see this Emerson kid."
Cassie studied my face. I hate her and love her for that. She's always trying to gauge my feelings, no matter how hard I try and hide them.
"I'm okay Cass." I Reassured her. "Call me when you get King shark to Belle Revve ok?"
"Maybe when you get back we can go out tonight?" Cassie smiled but she kept her studied expression.
"Timothy Drake are you changing the subject so I'm not as concerned?" I couldn't help but grin. "I'll let you pick the movie?" She squinted at me in mock annoyance. "Fine. But it definitely isn't going to be a mystery."
I laughed, something I haven't really done in a long while. She's always had that effect on me, god bless her.
"My dad called by the way. He wants to know if we can do dinner with him and Dana next week." "Only if we can have it with my Mom on Tuesday."
"Fair enough, Sand marks. See you when you get back." She blew a kiss through the screen and closed the holo-feed. I was about to look more into Grants Emerson when I felt someone behind me. Immediately, I weighed my options. The person was too slow to be Bart, and too stealthy to be Maxine or Tom. An Intruder.
"You can't sneak up on me." I told the shadow. "Batman can't sneak up on me."
I spun around with my bo staff and parried with the figures long knife. I had never met him, I hadn't ever heard him speak. But I knew who he was instantly. The guy whose shadow I've been living in since the day I put on my Robin Uniform.
"Hey Tim." Jason Todd said. "I was here first." He broke the parry and pushed me backwards. I stood up straight and got in a fighting position. I studied him, analyzing possible weak points and where his weapons could be in his jacket.
"The others." I asked him, trying to keep him distracted. "What have you done with them?"
He sheathed his knife and reached for his pistols. "They're all alive, if that's what you're asking me."
He raised the guns up but he didn't point them at me. I clenched the Staff tighter in my hands.
"You've been killing D-list villains since you showed back up. What are you doing here?"
His jaw tightened, almost offended by my question. "Nobody got killed who didn't deserve it." He defended himself.
"Truthfully, I'm here to see you. I hadn't gotten a chance to meet the great Tim Drake yet. The guy who replaced me."
My glare morphed into confusion. Was that being what he was really here for? "Tell me kid, how long did dear old dad wait to give you my old pajamas?"
"Months, weeks, days?" "Did he tell you how right you were for the role? Did he tell you that you were capable of more than I ever was?"
I couldn't believe I was hearing this. The guy came back to life, and he was insecure because I took his job?
"Your telling me you broke into my home and attacked my friends because you wanted to kick my ass to make yourself feel better?"
"We have a statue in that hall for you, you idiot. I had to convince Bruce to let me be Robin because of how much his death haunted you." I spun my staff and pointed it at him. "If you ask me that's the only reason why you're not rotting in Arkham right now. Bruce thought he could rehabilitate you, Dick thinks we can save you, but me? You lost any sympathy I had for you the moment you walked in here."
Jason studied me for a moment, perplexed, then he smiled. "Maybe you were a good fit for my boots, kid." He chuckled before tossing his guns away. "So now that I've got the Tim Drake I wanted, then let's settle this the old-fashioned way." He cracked his knuckles before pulling out his long-jagged knife again.
"Man, to man, brother to brother."
A gleam flashed in his eye. Like a lion when he chooses which Zebra to kill.
"Robin to Robin."
And then he charged me.
Wayne Manor, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:28]
Jason Todd
I slashed at him with my knife but he parried again with his staff. Titanium pole, not bad. He spun around and tried to back kick me but I blocked and jabbed at him. He deflected with his hand just in time and flipped over me with his staff to go for my legs. I jumped over the staff sweeping the floor, backing up about five spaces. He threw a smoke bomb down, and I had my rebreather on in record time. He swung from the smoke cloud and bat my knife out of my hand. His next swing went for my head but I blocked it with my fist. I reached for a shuriken and threw it at him but he matched me by throwing birdarangs to block.
Tim deflected the last shuriken with the Kevlar of his gloves and went on offense. He thrashed and swung his staff at various areas of my armor. elbows, chest, any weak spot he could fathom. Eventually, he feinted hitting my chest and swung his staff, landing a dazing blow in my face with the tip. I stumbled backwards and touched my face. No one's really landed a hit on me like that since Dick and I fought last time.
I looked at Red Robin and smiled, spitting out blood . "Not bad Timbo." I mocked him "Good to know you'll be able to last when I'm not holding back".
He ran at me but this time I was ready . He swung at me with his staff, aiming for the throat. I was ready this time and swatted away the stick, elbowing him in the jaw. He staggered back and I pressed my advantage. I slammed my heel on his boot, making him lose balance and I rammed my fist into his ribcage. He coughed and tried to maneuver away from but I grabbed him and slammed his face into my knee. He sprang back, dazed and swung his staff wildly.
I caught it and pushed him backwards, sending him toppling to the ground. I looked at his staff in my hand and smiled.
"How about I show you what the Joker did to me." I sneered. "And let's find out how tough you really are."
I beat him down with the staff violently and without restraint. He blocked and guarded his vital areas but that only made me come down harder on him. When I felt satisfied, I grabbed him by the collar of his cape and held his bloody face close to mine.
"Know what your problem is Timbo? Your weak. You've had Bruce, Dick, Barbara, an entire team to babysit you through your whole career. You've never been alone. You don't understand what it's like to have to rely on yourself for everything."
I let go of his collar and pressed my foot down on his chest. I felt a light breeze enter the room but I barely acknowledged it.
I proved my point. "You understand now 'Red Robin'? You're a 3rd rate sidekick who graduated to being a 2nd rate leader. And I'm going to put you in your place. Then I'll find Ol' Dickie- bird and show him what it really takes to be Batman. And when he's gone I will burn Arkham Asylum straight to the ground and take Gotham back from the scum that pollutes it".
He glared at me from under my boot, but as the breeze began to pick up in the room, he looked past me and smiled.
"Your right, Jason. I guess I'm not good at being alone. But at least I have good friends to make up for it."
Before I could even answer, A blue and red streak grabbed my jacket from behind and flew me out of the mansion and high into the air . When the motion stopped, I finally saw what grabbed me, face to face. She wore the "S" on her chest, and her golden hair made the sun seem dark by comparison.
I had heard stories of her since I came back to the life, but I never saw her in person. But looking at her now, she was as incredible as people said.
"You've got a lot of nerve, breaking into our home, and attacking Red Robin!" Supergirl shouted as she raises us even higher in the air."What the hell were you thinking?"
As she dangled me 10,000 feet in the air, interrogating me, I couldn't help but do what I do best. Say the wrong thing.
"I'm thinking I'm in love."
Crime Alley, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:15]
Dick Grayson
"Dick?"
I looked down at the building below us, studying the Scarecrow through the skylight. He's going to try something for sure. Bullock and Montoya can't get close to the building without risking him killing the girl, but he's definitely going to make a move.
"Dick."
My eyes shifted to the guards in the room, armed to the teeth with automatic weapons. Impossible to counter for the cops, but then again, we're not the cops.
"Dick, are you even listening to me ?"
I looked up from the building and turned to Tigress.
"Dick, I asked if you've gotten any sleep these last few days."
My position on the roof shifted and I lied.
"Yea. About 6 hours last night."
She gave me a look. I always did admire her ability to detect bullshit. I think that's why her and Wally were so good together. She'd never put up with his nonsense.
"Not really." I corrected my answer. "Crime hasn't really cared about whether or not I get a good night's rest."
"You know it never will." She replied, now studying the Scarecrow like I was previously. "You should let the team handle Gotham for a night. Or see if the little monster over there can handle it for a night."
I looked behind us at Damian, who was on the other side of the roof losing to Connor Hawke in a sparring match for the 10th time. "He's a good fighter, but being a good fighter isn't all it to takes in this city." I said to her.
Tigress looked at my expression. "It's something else, isn't it?"
I could tell she was trying to figure me out so I turned away.
"I'm okay Artemis, really." "It's just the stress of being Batman now." She tilted her head and sighed.
"You're doing what I used to do you know."
I looked at her puzzled. "What you used to do?"
She took off her orange tiger mask and put her hand on my face. "Whenever anyone used to ask me what was bothering me, I could never tell them. I never said that my dad was a criminal, or my sister abandoned me." She paused finding the words. "When Wally and I started dating, it was the same at first. But he opened me up eventually, and when he would ask me what was wrong, I told him. And this pressure, this stress inside of me, it would go away."
Her hand fell from my face and found my own hand. "When I met you, I was always amazed by how full of life you were. I mean you lived in Gotham. One of the worst places on earth. Full of killer clowns and guys with freeze guns. But you always had this optimism, this ability to be calm and upbeat even when the world was coming down on us. And now when I look at you, I don't really see that kid anymore."
I shifted on the roof again, this time more uncomfortably.
"I grew up Artemis."
She smiled sadly.
"We all did. But my point is this: grief, burying emotions, this heaviness around you. It's not you. And even if you can't tell your friends what's bothering you, theirs always one person you can talk too." I looked at her, trying to understand what she was saying.
"Who?" She let go of my hand. "I think you know who I'm talking about."
I was about to ask her more, until I saw out of the corner of my eye, Scarecrow opening the door to his room, and hurried the people on the outside into it. In walked the criminal, KG Beast, carrying a large duffle bag and a woman over his shoulder. The Beast has been hiding in Bludhaven since the "Crisis", but Artemis contacted me last week saying He had been spotted in Gotham. Its why her and her new protégé decided to join me and my annoying little protégé tonight.
The Beast unzipped the bag and dumped an enormous amount of cash onto a wooden table in the middle of the room. To my relief, it looked like the money was the marked bills I gave Commissioner Gordon for the trade. One of the stacks of bills had a tracer in it and a bug so we could listen in on what they're next move will be. I wasn't concerned about that too much anyway. What concerned me is who Beast was carrying on his other shoulder.
Beatrice "Bunny" Vreeland, the daughter of Veronica Vreeland, a wealthy Gotham socialite. Her and Bruce were old friends, so Bunny went to the same school with Barbara and I back in the day. Unfortunately, just like me and Barbara, her parents were important figures in Gotham so that made her a target for the criminal element and unlike Barbara and I, her parents never taught us how beat the snot out of anyone who'd try to kidnap us. Anyway, its seems like Bunny hasn't changed because two days ago on a business trip in Bludhaven, she was snatched up by Scarecrow and KG Beast. The money I gave Gordon was for the ransom, figuring they'd let her go before realizing it was fake. Apparently, they're smarter than we gave them credit for because they decided to hold onto her until they escaped.
The Beast tied her to a chair and put her in the corner of the room, walking back over to the table with the money, Scarecrow was counting it, obviously pleased with the haul.
"Damian, Connor!" I whispered. "They're making their move!"
The two stopped fighting and hustled over to the edge of the building.
"This isn't over, Hawke!" Damian hissed. "I'll beat you next time!"
Connor chuckled as he knelt down next Artemis. "The past 15 fights would tend to disagree with you."
I couldn't help but smirk.
Connor Hawke is Oliver Queens newly discovered son. Like Tomcat, His mom was a girl Oliver had a one night stand with (Superheroes really do suck when it comes to this sort of thing, and parenting in general). About a year ago, Connor tracked him down after his mother died and asked if he could live with him, which the timing kind of sucked because he and Black Canary had just gotten married. Lucky for Ollie, Dinah's a saint because she not only agreed to let him stay with them, she offered to train him.
That was of course when we all learned that not only was he already a skilled fighter, but he was actually way better than Dinah. See, Connor and his mom lived in an Ashram, an Indian monastery where he learned how to mimic fighting styles and master them just by watching people preform them.
He's a better fighter than just about any of us. Better than Ollie, better than me, he might be even better than Bruce was.
But the amazing thing is looking at the kid, you wouldn't know. He's incredibly shy and quiet, only really opening up to people close with him. Artemis and I have talked to Ollie about offering him a spot on the Team, even though he's 18 and technically old enough to be in the League, but he's said that Connor still not comfortable being on a team, and he's afraid he won't be able to pull his own weight. That always makes me laugh a little. The kids one of the deadliest fighters in the world and he's afraid he's not good enough to be on the team.
If only Damian was so humble. On the plus side, He and Damian do get along really well. They both showed up around the same time so I guess they have that to bond over. And He likes Artemis a lot, even to the point that he stays in Bludhaven sometimes to be with his "Big Sister". As typical with all of Ollies sidekicks, he's great with a bow, even taking up the "Arrow" Identity. His costumes a tribute to what his dad used to wear on the island he was stranded on.
"Hey Batman, you said you put a bug in the money, right?" Connor asked.
I snapped back into the reality and nodded, turning on the microphone inside the bills.
"Not a bad haul eh Beast?" Scarecrow laughed holding the money with the bug. "Kidnappings aren't usually my style, but this money will go a long way to my experiments."
KG Beast was less convinced, studying a stack of $100 bills. When he finished he roared in anger, picked up the table with the cash on it, and threw it out the window, creating a giant, glassy hole in the wall.
"What the hell are you doing?" Scarecrow shrieked, raising one of his gas devices up to hit the Beast. T
he giant Russian only stomped over to him angrily. "The money was fake, comrade. We were played like fools."
Scarecrows shock eventually matched KG beasts and he tossed the money he was counting to the side. "Damn GCPD filth…" He looked over at Bunny and smiled for a moment. She didn't even look up at him , frightened at whatever invisible horrors Scarecrows toxin was making her see. "Perhaps we need to show them how serious we are."
The Beast nodded and loomed over to Bunny, producing a long-jagged knife. "We'll start with the fingers." He threatened. "If we don't have the money after that, well…then we'll send them her head."
Tigress looked over at me "Well, like you always said…show time."
I nodded and the four of us grappled off the building we were on and swooped into the hole in the window, Landing in smack in the middle of the room.
"Thanks for making us an entrance, Beast "I mocked whipping out my escrima sticks. "Really makes the landing easier."
Scarecrow looked at me in stunned horror. Fear from Jonathan Crane. Theres something I didn't know I needed. "Your supposed to be dead!" He wagged his bony finger at me.
KG Beast stuffed a magazine into his automatic weapon. "I too heard rumors of your passing Dark Knight." He pointed his gun at me and gestured to the guards blocking Bunny. "Perhaps we can find truth in them right now."
They fired their guns and I covered four of us in my cape. I guess I have to thank Alfred for insisting I wear the Kevlar one tonight.
"Tigress, Arrow, take out KG beast. Robin, take out the two covering Bunny and get her to safety. I'll take Scarecrow."
Everyone immediately dodge and rolled to their objectives. Arrow went straight for the Beast. With speed and precision, he fired three arrows, one knocking the gun out of his hand, and the other two being blocked by his bayonet. With his attention diverted, Tigress charged forward and jump kicked Beast in the faced. He staggered backward slightly, but he grabbed her leg and threw her into a wall. Arrow sprinted towards him, nocking and releasing arrows left and right, only for them to be deflected by Beast's bayonet. When he got closer to him, he parried the Bayonet with his bow, only to be swept aside by the sheer strength of the Beast. Tigress got to her feet and glared at the Beast, drawing her sword and clashing with him.
Robin threw two batarangs at the thugs guarding Bunny, jamming their guns and sweeping them off their feet.
Scarecrow raised his scythe and tried to cut me in half, but I slammed my fist in the middle of it, snapping it half. Before he could even process this, I hit him with an uppercut in the chin, and jabbed him in the nose, knocking him to the ground. I jumped onto him and gave him my best bat-glare.
"It's over Crane." I growled. I was about cuff him when I heard a moan and the sound of bones cracking.
Robin was on top of one of the thugs, beating them into submission. "Not so tough without your big guns!" He punched the guy repeatedly in the face.
"Pppplease…" The thug begged him through blood and broken teeth.
Robin only slammed his fist harder into his head. "Come on! You like kidnapping women? You like hurting people? Face the consequence!"
He was going to kill him at that rate. Dammit. I let go of Scarecrow and ran to Robin, pulling him off the thug.
"Robin, stop!"
He fought me every step of the way.
"He's a coward!" He yelled.
Damian.
I wanted to believe we had gotten through to him about killing. But he's fighting like an assassin, and if this keeps up…..
My focus on Robin made me forget about the straw man behind me because Scarecrow smashed the broken stick of his scythe against my head. I stumbled to the ground, as Damian fell with me, hitting his head on the pillar, and blacking out. My vision was blurry and I was about to get up until Scarecrow sprayed me with his fear gas. I calmed myself for a moment. I had taken a vaccine for Cranes fear toxin before we left the Bat-Bunker. But as my vision dazed and my head started spinning, I realized it wasn't enough . The formula was new, wilder than it was before. I saw Scarecrow dash for the exit, and I stumbled to my feet to chase after him, but out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Bunny, and I collapsed again.
Sitting in the chair where Bunny was, was Barbara, tied in the same way and giving me a glare.
"Go ahead and chase after him, Boy Wonder." She spat at me. "You'll only fail again. Just like you failed me."
It's the gas I told myself.
She's not there.
I tried to move away from her, but that only made her angrier. "Don't you turn your back on me! Not again!" She yelled.
I couldn't look away from her. "Barbara, I tried to save you…."
"But you didn't, Grayson. And now you can add me to the list can't you? Jason, Wally, Conner…Bruce."
I slumped to the ground even lower than before. "Barbara, please."
Before I knew it, she was up from the chair and she punched me right in the face. It wasn't the blow that hurt me though. She then proceeded to beat me down with punch after punch, and kick after kick.
"I HATE YOU!" She yelled "I HATE YOU DICK GRAYSON!" After she was satisfied, she produced a knife.
"I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!" She dug the knife deep into my shoulder and twisted it. None of it hurt as much as her words.
"Wake up Grayson!" She said now slapping me. "WAKE UP!"
The final slap hit me, and instead of Barbara, the Arrow was in front of me.
"Batman? You okay?"
I stood up and looked around the room. Bunny was still tied to the chair in the corner, and the guard who apparently stuck the knife in my shoulder was knocked unconscious, presumably by the Arrow. Damian was regaining his senses, and KG Beast was being tied up for the cops by Tigress. I painfully pulled the knife from my shoulder, grunting as the blood poured from the wound.
"Scarecrow…where did he …?"
"He got away." Arrow said. "Bunny Vreeland still has the toxin in her veins, but she's okay otherwise."
I got to my feet, clutching my shoulder. "I'm going after to him." I said. "Stay with Bunny."
Tigress tried to block my path. "Batman, your in no shape to…"
"He's not getting away." I said bluntly. I pushed passed her and ran to the exit. I wasn't going to let someone else be on my conscious.
Crime Alley, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:32]
Scarecrow ran from the building and sprinted down the stairs. He wasn't going back to Arkham. No way. He bolted out the back door of the building and dodged down into an alleyway, avoiding the cops that were outside the building. When the coast was clear, he ran down the alley and made a break for the street. He got about 10 feet before he was stopped. Smoke began to fill the alleyway, and a shadowy figure emerged from the other side.
"Jonathan Crane…" The figure said in a ghoulish voice.
Batman! He thought. How did he recover from the new toxin so quickly?
He pulled out a pistol and began firing it at the figure, but the bullets seamlessly passed through it. When the figure appeared into the light, Scarecrow realized with terror that it wasn't Batman.
The Figure wore a black cloak with a grey hood and had a face like the grim reaper. It looked like some kind of… Phantasm
"Your angel of death awaits."
Scarecrow backed away, the master of fear beginning to feel his own sense of panic.
"Your not Batman!" The Phantasm loomed closer to him, showing that in the place of its right hand was actually a sharp blade.
"Wwwwhat do you want?" Scarecrow's shaky hands drop the empty gun.
The phantasm looked at him in his eyes and whispered. "I want you, Jonny boy."
Crime Alley, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 4:35]
Dick Grayson
I kicked the door of the building down and bolted down the stairs. The fear toxin still coursed through my veins, and my shoulder felt like it was on fire. I used the detective lenses in my cowl to follow the traces of toxin in the air, tracking Crane down. I eventually made it into an alleyway when I saw him. His body lay limp across the alley floor, his eyes wide open and a bloody hole in his chest. My detective lenses immediately scanned for a heartbeat that wasn't there. I analyzed the chest wound. It was some kind of short blade for sure, but the cut looked so clean it made me shudder to think about how sharp it actually was. I turned on the comm's link in my cowl
"Batman to Tigress , I found Crane. He's dead."
"What?" She asked stunned. "How?"
"Some kind of stab wound. Is the Commissioner up there yet?"
"Yeah, He and the MCU are carting the Beast away, and a squad car is taking Bunny home." I looked at Cranes body and sighed, feeling the toxin in my the distance, thunder rolled across the sky.
"When their done with them, have them call a coroner, and seal this area off. We need to find out who did this."
I turned off the comm link just as Damian came running down the alley.
When he saw Crane, his eyes grew wide. "Did you-"
"No, but we're going to find out who did." I finished off his sentence. "What the hell happened back there Robin?"
He folded his arms in a defensive posture. "I was kicking that kidnappers ass is what was happening."
"You could have killed him! I chided. Violence against our enemies is one thing, but there have to be limitations!"
His defensive position became aggressive in the blink of an eye. "I wasn't taught to restrain my skills! My mother taught me to win a fight, whatever it takes! And as far as I'm concerned, she was a far more effective teacher than you are!"
The thunder finally came closer and My frustration poured down with the falling rain. "HOW CAN I TEACH YOU WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO LEARN?" I roared.
"HOW CAN I GUIDE YOU WHEN EVERY SECOND, YOUR DOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT I SAY?"
"AND HOW CAN YOU BE MY PARTNER IF I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOU CROSSING THE LINE EVERY TIME WE GO OUT AT NIGHT?"
Damian was taken aback at first but he angrily shoved me back. "DON'T PRETEND YOUR HIM!"
He shouted back at him "LOOK AT YOU! THIS PALE IMITATION OF THE BATMAN, PRETENDING TO BE SOMETHING YOU COULD NEVER BE! YOU DON'T GET TO GIVE ME ORDERS, YOUR NOT MY FATHER!
MY FATHER IS DEAD!"
It might have been the fear gas polluting my body, but as he was yelling at me, Damian looked a lot like Bruce.
He turned away from me as the rain began to fall faster and louder.
"My fathers dead…." He whispered over the thunder. The things I always forget about Damian, perhaps because of what he's seen and even what he's done, is that he's still a kid.
"Damian…" I began, but he sauntered off towards the Bat-mobile, his head hung low from the rain.
I stood there watching him leave and replayed the scenario that just happened.
"Dammit."
Sirens wailed in the distance and I knew the cops would be hear soon to clean up Scarecrows body. The rain will have washed away any evidence we could have used. It was pointless to stay. As I disappeared to the Batmobile, I thought about what Artemis said. About the weight on shoulders. And… I think I understand now.
The Clock Tower, Gotham City [January 11, 2020, 5:30]
Barbara Gordon
I forwarded my last message to the Justice league for the night, informing them I was signing off for the night. I wheeled myself back from my computer and looked at my Holo-TV, switching it to the Gotham News.
"This was the scene moments ago as the newly returned Gotham icon, the Batman, foiled a kidnapping plot attempted by the notorious outlaws, KG Beast and Scarecrow." Reporter Jack Ryder spoke on the broadcast. "While we're waiting for developments on the Scarecrow, KG Beast is reportedly being imprisoned in the newly rebuilt Blackgate where he will await trial. The victim, Bunny Vreeland, is reportedly in good health and back with her family."
I smiled and turned off the feed. "Nice work Hunk Wonder." I said to myself.
Dick hadn't been to visit in a bit, but he didn't need to for me to know that was him under there. The moment Dad told me there was a new Batman on the prowl, I knew it had to be him. I knew he would do it for Bruce, for Gotham. How? Because I know him. And he would always be there for Bruce, just like he is for the rest of us. I moved my wheelchair back from my holo-computers, which were all flashing and buzzing with new information every few minutes.
"Computers." I commanded. "Audio and visual off. Lock down Clock Tower. Authorization: Oracle. "
The server processed my voice and the computers immediately powered down and I shut the door to the room. I wheeled over to my bedroom and using my upper body strength, pushed out of my wheel chair and onto my bed.
After the Joker shot me, I thought my life was over, and for about two months, it was. I was paralyzed from the waist down and couldn't be Batgirl anymore. I stayed in bed most of the time, feeling powerless. And Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne was gone. I couldn't even attend his funeral being in rehab. It all seemed over. And then, my friends, Dinah, Tim, Kaldhur, Artemis, Dick, they all reminded me of the one thing I had that was always stronger than my legs. My mind. I began hacking simple things for the Justice League, cracking codes and deciphering messages from villain organizations. Within a few months, I became the database for just about every superhero in the world.
I became an Oracle. And for the first time since the Joker took away my choice to be Batgirl, I felt whole again.
Still, despite my new life, everything was far from perfect, and not just for me, but for this city. Gotham was coming undone. If Dick hadn't taken over the cowl, I don't know if the city could've held on for much longer. I heard thunder rumble in the distance and lighting came and went from outside my window. I curled up in my bed listening to the soft tap of the rain, happy to finally get some rest. As drifted off, the soft tapping against the window become louder and faster.
I looked up and nearly rolled out of bed in shock. When I looked up a flash of lightning revealed it to be none other then Batman himself, tapping against the window like a puppy out in a rainstorm. My shock eventually took the form of a smile.
Its true I could've used the sleep, but I hadn't seen Dick in a long time.
He was my best friend when we were kids. And over the years, we've always stayed close. But lately, for some reason he's been avoiding me. When I asked Tim about it he wasn't sure why. But I was glad he was here now, I missed him. I put myself back in my wheelchair and wheeled towards the window, unlocking and opening it.
"Y'know just because your wearing tights doesn't mean you can't use the front door, Grayson." I said grinning.
When he came in, my smile faded. His face, from I could see beneath the cowl , was ghost white, his knees were wobbly as he climbed through the window, and his shoulders were hunched over, almost as if he was Bruce. When I eyed his shoulder I noticed that there was giant gash in it, blood pouring down his armor.
"Oh my god, Dick your bleeding." I said turning my chair away from him. "Hold on, I'll get my medical kit. Maybe I can reach-"
He gently, but firmly turned my chair back around to face him. He knelt down so he was lower than and took of his mask. His eyes were glazed over, as if had been crying. He took my hand in tight grip, but his hands were shaking. He looked like the one word I would never have used to describe Dick Grayson. He looked broken.
"Dick?" I said. "What's wrong?"
After a moment of silence, he pulled me into an embrace and began to sob. I was confused, but I matched the strength of his hug with my own. After a minute, he managed to choke out a few words.
"I'm so sorry."
I looked at him puzzled.
"Its my fault." He whispered. "If I had been there for you when the Joker… I could have stopped him. I could've done something."
I pulled out of the embrace and looked at him dead in the eyes.
"Dick, look at me." I moved hands up to chin and rested the tip of my fingers there.
"What happened to me, theirs only one person blame for it. And he's sitting in a padded cell in Arkham. The only thing you did to me that night was save my life. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't gotten me to Dr. Midnite."
He brushed the tears away from his eyes, but he continued to look at me. "I make my own choices." I told him. "Its why I was there that night as Batgirl and its why I'm fighting now as Oracle. You didn't fail me Dick, you never have."
He moved back a little and sat on my bed, keeping his one hand wrapped tightly around mine, and resting his other on head.
"I'm not sure I can do this Barbara." He began speaking more coherently. "I'm not him. I'm trying to be, but I'm just not."
I looked at my friend and once again picked his head up.
"So don't be." I said. "Don't be Bruce Wayne wearing the Batman suit. Be Dick Grayson. Because that's the hero we all need now."
It seemed like such a simple answer, but to Dick it meant the world. He looked up at me and he smiled, and for a moment, the 13 year old boy I had became best friends with returned.
"Your right." He said "Your always right." I grinned back at him. "Somethings are never going to change hunk wonder."
His smile faded again and he squeezed my hand.
"Barbara, I'm so sorry I haven't come to see you, I just felt so…"
"Grayson, do me favor." It was my turn to pull him in an embrace "Just shut-up and hug."
We sat there for a moment, in each others arms and I felt the weight he was carrying become lighter. And for that moment, one of the people I cared about most in the world finally began to feel like his old self again. And I knew he would find himself again.
How?
Because he's Dick Grayson.
Next time: The Team questions the Red Hood, Dick begins to start his new life with Barbaras help, and in the flashbacks, We see the initial fallout of the Crisis. Thank you all so much for reading and please review if you are so inclined. I read everything!
