2009
They're dead. They're all dead. The whole league gone, in an explosion of fire. Artemis is gone, Superboy, Kaldur, even Wolf. And now here he was, trapped in enemy territory and about to die. Worst of all he had dragged Wally to his death as well. The red head looked at him, his eyes portraying his fear but also the relief that he didn't have to die alone. Robin wished he could give him the same look back; but with his domino mask still in place, Wally was unable to see the emotions running like a cinema screen over his pupils.
Which was properly just as well, Robin really didn't know how he was feeling. He had watched his parents fall to their death, he had seen his family and friends killed; unable to do anything to help them. The man who had taken him in, become a father to him; he had died, not even able to finish his last transmission. Christine, the woman he now called mother, had in a fit of fury gone to her friends aid, only to he wiped from existence herself.
He was breaking inside. But he had to stay strong, that was how he was trained and he had to be there for KF. Wally took his hand, holding it tight. Then the explosive went off and everything went black.
OOoOoOoOoOo
Robin couldn't quite pull the world into focus. Everything was buzzing around too fast, nothing was making sense. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Where was the pain free weightlessness? Where were his parents, his friends, his family? Then he realised there was something looking down on him, a dark fuzzy mark against the stark white.
'Robin?' he pulled the black mark into focus with great difficultly. Then suddenly everything came back into focus all at once. It was Batman above him, very much alive. Slowly he sat up, taking in the scene before him.
They were all alive. His friends were all sat on tables, all looking rather pale but they were alive! Their mentors were beside them. What was going on? What had happened, why was everyone alive? And then he remembered; the training simulation, that's why they were all led on these metal tables. He started shaking, as the surprise was replaced with a strange anger. Why would Batman put him through that? The one thing he feared in the world; loosing everyone he loved, being left alone. Batman had slapped him in the face with it.
'Robin?' He was trying to get his attention again, a strong hand was placed on his shoulder. The weight that for so many years had seemed so comforting was suddenly too heavy. Swiping the hand away, he leapt from the table, running from the room and ignoring as he name was called.
He didn't really know where he was going, he had to move, he had to get up high where he could clear his head from all the confusion. He turned the corner and collided with a solid force. He tumbled to the ground, but instantly scrambled to his feet, taking no note of what it was he had hit.
'Robin?' the voice that called after him was female this time. 'Robin, baby what's wrong?' he still didn't stop, he kept running until he reached the gym. Once there he climbed up the ropes and bars until he was high up in the eaves of the mountain, in the 'Robin's nest' as the Team had started calling it. Once there he let the tears flow.
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Batman had considered going after the small boy, but after 4 years of having him in his care, he had learnt that there were times when Dick just needed to be alone. He was considering this when Christine stormed into the room. She was still wearing the Kevlar padded suit from her mission. Bruce had little time to register this however before he was lifted by his neck and slammed into the nearest wall. The League and their young counter parts gasped, unsure what to do as the two Bats collided.
'What the hell is wrong with him and why do I get the feeling you're responsible!' Christine's eyes glowed dangerously purple as she growled at him, her fangs on full display.
'It...was a training simulation.' Batman choked out, he had never seen his friend this angry before 'Something went wrong.'
'What?' At her question J'ohn stepped forward.
'The shock of seeing the League destroyed was too much for M'gann. She lost control of her powers, causing me to lose control of the simulation. From that point on the children forgot that what they were seeing and experiencing wasn't real.' He paused, fear edging over him as the vampire's eyes swept over him.
'That doesn't explain why he is this upset.' She had lowered Batman so that his feet were now touching the floor, but her hand remained warningly around his throat.
'He saw everyone die...before dying himself.' said Batman, he looked Christine in the eye, hoping she could see past the mask and see how sorry he was. If she did, she didn't react to it. Instead she slammed him once again into the wall but then released him; storming out the way she had come in. Batman straightened, glad that he had been wearing his Kevlar, because he wasn't so sure she would have cared if he wasn't. He could understand her being a little upset; she had bounded with Dick considerably over the years. He had seen her cry to herself the first time the young boy had accidently called her Mom. But this anger was unexpected; it was almost feral. The kind of rage you see from a wild cat protecting her cubs.
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Christine knew she shouldn't have reacted like that; she most defiantly shouldn't have man handled Batman the way she had. But she was so angry, she was still shaking with anger as she headed towards the gym. She had felt this anger before, towards Zucco after the Grayson's were killed. But she knew she didn't feel like that because of the act that had taken place; it was because of the emotions it had caused Dick to feel.
When the boy had run into her she had been hit with a wave of fear, anger and betrayal. Now that she was calming down she realised they were not her feelings but Dick's. The more time they spent together the more in-tune they became. It was a feat that came in handy when dealing with the young teen. There was nothing he could hide from her. Which was why she knew where he was now; though she couldn't see him, her sensitive ears could pick up his muffled sobs.
oOoOoOoOoOo
'Robin?' Dick sniffed as the voice called up to him. Peering over the edge of one of the eaves, he saw Christine looking up towards him. He sat back, wiped his tears away and then looked back over; but Christine was now gone.
He jumped slightly as he realised she was beside him. She rarely used her powers in front of him; it was always slightly strange when she did.
'Are you alright?' It wasn't a question really, it was a open invitation for him to tell her everything. But he treated it like a question, unable to talk for the tears. Instead he shook his head silently. 'Come here.' She opened her arms and eloped him in them. He pressed his face to her chest as he cried; letting her rub soothing circles into his back as she rocked him. After a few minutes he felt as though he was able to once again talk.
'They were all gone, all dead. There was nothing I could do to save them. Everything just kept going wrong. I was alone.' She shushed him softly, holding him tighter.
'The simulation was to show you that sometimes things don't go according to plan. Sometimes there are battles you cannot win.' He could understand that, it was a good lesson to learn. But did it have to include watching everyone die. He tried to express this, but he could only muster two words before his voice cracked.
'You died.' He felt the woman stiffen against him, but soon she relaxed, pulling him away from her so she could remove his mask and look him in the eye.
'You listen to me. I will never leave you, ok. If there is only one thing I thank immortality for, it's that I will always be here for you. Always.' She smiled and Dick gave her a small smile in return before attaching himself back to her, like a little koala.
He was calming down now, his sobs had turned to periodic hiccups. His breathing had even out and his mind was once again becoming still. He pushed the scene of his families demise from his mind, instead focusing on what Christine had said.
'Mom. What's it like?'
'What's what like?'
'Living forever?' he felt more than heard her sigh. It was a question he had never thought to ask. After four years he had always seen Christine as a mother figure, not a vampire. It had never really sunk in that she was in fact older than Alfred and would live long after he himself had died. She pulled him in closer as she answered.
'It's lonely Honey, very lonely.'
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The fighting started that night. Robin was sat on the sofa with the other young heroes. After the events of the day, their mentors felt they deserved some down time; the team had chosen a movie night. But none of them were focused on the screen. From down the corridor they could hear Christine and Batman screaming at each other. The two usually calm and quiet heroes were ripping into each other in a way that had M'gann biting her lip in anxiety. Robin was sinking further and further into his seat. He had never heard his adoptive parents fight this way before. Sure they had had the odd argument, generally about him, but Dick was now genuinely concerned about his families welfare. He picked at the hem of his shirt, trying to distract himself from what they were saying.
'Did you even consider the damage you could have done. Not just to Robin, to all of them!' they heard Christine cry.
'The simulation was not supposed to go the way it did. I thought I had calculated all the possible outcomes.' Batman snapped back.
'Obviously you're slipping! How could you not consider that M'gann would lose control? That girl has so much power, you know that!' there was silence as Batman didn't have a comeback to give her. The team held their breath, waiting for what would be said next.
'Do you even care how they feel about this? How Robin feels?'
'Of course I care. They're my team aren't they.'
'Then tell me why. Why didn't you stop and think about the effect this would have on my son!'
'Our son.'
The team looked to Robin who now had his hands over his ears. In that moment they had never seen their friend look so young. He was chewing on his lip, though he couldn't decide himself whether it was from grief or anger. He should have known that this fight would be about him. In the end it was always him they argued over. He couldn't help but wonder if they had fought like this before they had taken him in. Or had they been happy before he came into their lives?
Batman strode into the room. He informed the team that over the next few days they would have several sessions with Black Canary to talk about how they felt now that the simulation was over. Then he turned to Robin.
'We're going home.' Robin nodded, jumping over the back of couch to join his mentor, following him through the zeta beam. Once in the cave he removed his sunglasses, looking up at his father.
'Where's Christine?'
'She's gone on a mission, she won't be back for a few days.' The older man glanced at the boy before doing a double take, walking closer and looking into the boys face.
'What's wrong?' asked Dick, his eyebrow raising at Bruce's strange behaviour.
'Nothing. Go and finish your homework.' Dick nodded, heading for the stair case. Bruce shook his head, he must have been seeing things. Staring into Christine's angry vampire eyes all day must have done a number on him, because for a moment he had thought he had seen the glowing violet hue of her eyes merging with the crystal blue of Dicks. But that was just ridiculous.
A/N So sorry this hasn't been updated in forever, but after I got back off my holiday, I went down with the flu and I was still trying to work everyday so I pretty much exhausted myself and so my stories went completely out of my head. This is the last background chapter after this we will be getting to the main point of the story and the reason you are all here...if anyone is here ;) If you are reading this, please leave a review and tell me what you think and whether or not you would like anything changed or if you have an ideas about the direction this story could go in :). Until next time. Karin xx