The Memory that Remains
Chapter 1
Kara blinked into the fading crimson sunlight, lost in her own thoughts as the city was bathed in the day's final scarlet tones. The world was not right. Every fiber of her being every last ounce of her Kryptonian intuition screamed in silent dread. Yet, her eyes belied her feelings by reporting nothing but calm. Serenity she could not feel settled quietly over Kandor enveloping it as fully and the sun's fading light.
"You're internalizing again," a lightly amused voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Can I help it if your incessant droning drives me to daydreaming?" she teased back with humor she could not fully embrace.
"We both know that it's my stunning good looks that drive you to daydreaming," The voice shot back.
Kara scowled at her companion who simply smiled cheekily in response, the same grin that seemed to transform his face into some sort of exalted trickster. She normally enjoyed bantering with Oteo though she rarely got the best of him in their verbal sparing. But today, a deep sense of foreboding precluded any enjoyment she could have taken from the raven haired boy's wit.
"Come on," he continued, his azure eyes twinkling, "This is the part were you come up with a witty rejoinder. If you are off your game I'll even spot you a particular scalding reply."
Kara felt a brief smile tugging at her lips. But even Oteo's effervescent personality failed to lighten her mood. "I'm sorry Oteo. Your deadly boring exposition on quantum superposition has broken my will to banter today."
"My deadly boring exposition is about to earn me an apprenticeship with the Elders of Kandor," he sniffed in reply. "And it was actually on further computational application of quantum superset…"
"I'm not my father," she cut him off. "You don't have to impress me with your academic achievements."
Oteo's grin seemed to broaden. "Well, I guess I'm just compensating for the fact that I don't have your father's affections firmly harnessed by my by version of your 'don't you love me daddy' routine."
"Hey," she protested loudly. Kara was about to inform her friend in a rather imperious tone that no one else was ever allowed attempting the pleading-innocent-eyes-of-death on her father. Suddenly, another wave of intense foreboding washed over her. For a moment she thought that a group of clouds might have even enveloped the sun so strong was the sense of approaching darkness.
"Hey, you really are off of your game." The boy's expression quickly transformed into one of concern and Kara quickly attempted to avert her eyes. Oteo had always been too perceptive by far; those blue eyes were always moving and never seemed to miss anything.
"I'm just tired," she hurried to explain, "my aunt is giving birth soon and I have been spending…"
"Kara…" his tone told her that no false explanation would suffice. Their eyes met briefly and in that moment she would swear that the boy was reading her soul. "You sense something that disturbs you but you don't understand it."
The young woman could feel a small twinge of annoyance that he could read her so completely. "What are you now, a telepath?"
Oteo smiled slightly. "The lines have tightened around your eyes but the eyes themselves remain clouded, uncertain."
Kara sniffed. "I'm the one that's daydreaming now. How you can even see my eyes from down there remains a mystery.
The boy's expression soured. Kara was tall for her age while Oteo still hadn't hit his own growth spurt. It was a source of constant annoyance to the shorter boy, who swore that one day he would tower over her.
"Do you want to tell me what is really going on Kara?" Apparently, he would not be deterred.
The young woman sighed in growing exasperation. "Nothing is going on Oteo. It is a perfect evening. The wind is calm. The city is at peace. Serenity reigns supreme over the city."
"And yet you feel out of sync, disconcerted by some force?" She turned to face her friend, once again surprised by how easily he seemed to read her. "You always had a deeper connection to the world than I did. Changes in the weather pattern never seemed a surprise to you Kara."
At this point she abandoned all efforts at pretense. "I don't know what this is Oteo. I've never felt something this big before." She could feel herself growing more and more agitated. "I just know it will be soon….and, and I think someone may even die"
"Shh…shh," he cooed while taking her into his arms. She readily returned the embrace pulling what comfort she could from her first and best friend. "Whatever it is Kara, we will be there for each other, as we always have been."
Kara continued to fight back tears. She hated getting this emotional and Oteo knew it. "Is that a promise then?"
He broke the embrace to look her strait in the eye. "Of course Kara. Just like we swore when we where children. Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there. Where-ever it takes you, I will find you there."
A few tears finally broke through her defenses and rolled down her cheek. She was about to tell him how silly he was to keep bringing up that foolish oath they had made as children when Oteo's face suddenly burst into flames.
Kara watched in horror as her friend's clothing soon ignited, throwing painful heat into her face. Oteo's body still clutched to her arms as with impossible speed the flames reduces him to ash. She could only scream as the entire world burned around her, the earth opened to engulf massive structures of glass and steal. A harsh wind caught the remains of Oteo's ashes and ripped them from her, scattering the remains across the landscape of a dying world.
v
Kara jerked from her bed with a startled gasp. A moment of pure panic overtook her. Where was she? This was not her room. This was not….home. The young Kryptonian forcefully calmed her breathing letting the moment pass. Slowly her surrounding became familiar to her once again. She was at the Kent farm, in the guest bedroom, on Earth She conceded that last thought with the smallest amount of bitterness.
She had grown weary of Paradise Island and wanted to spend some more time out among this new world in which she now lived. Kal-el was still reluctant to let her wonder the globe unsupervised and she knew that creep called Batman was still keeping a close eye on her. She still didn't understand how her cousin tolerated him.
The Kent farm had been a happy compromise on all parties. Well, most parties. Conner seemed thrilled to have her over, despite his self-imposed exile. Kal-el had been more than pleased to have her spend time with his adopted parents. Diana had thought it best for her to begin her explorations in the rural confines of Kansas so as not to be overwhelmed by 'Man's World'. The only person who hadn't been completely happy with the arrangement was Kara.
Kara leaned forward, resting her chin on her knees and curling her arms around her legs. She still could not remember much of her life before emerging from that rocket at the bottom of Gotham Harbor. There were brief images of her Father and Mother, but little else to tell her of what her life on Krypton had been like. And now this dream troubled her.
Her mind grappled to grasp the quickly fading fragment of the nightmare. Had Krypton truly burned around her as her father loaded her into that ship? The images were fading to quickly leaving her empty once again. It was almost enough to make her cry in frustration. Why couldn't she remember? What had happened to take her life away from her?
This time however, she was able to hold onto one image; the boy, Oteo. With a stubbornness that Lois had insisted must be inherent in all Kryptonians, Kara battled through the fog for a clear glimpse at the boy who had been her dearest friend. She could see his eyes in her mind now, clear, focused, always moving always seeing. Other flashes appeared in her mind. Mapping constellations from the top of Kratellan Tower. Racing wind-speeders down the Revena Corridor. The faces in the backgrounds of these memories remained blurred and indistinct, but she could see his face now. Oteo, her best friend since her fourth naming day.
The elation at her new accomplishment soon faded into sorrow. Oteo was dead. Krypton, her home, was dead. Kara curled back into blankets that provided no comfort. Her world was dead and all that remained was a cousin that no longer needed her to fulfill her last duty to her people.
Sleep would not claim her again, not tonight. The sounds of the farm enveloped her idle mind. She was not yet accustomed to the power her hearing had been granted on this world. At times it was difficult to bock all the noise out. She would hear the rustling of the Earth beasts. Cows, Martha had called them cows. The rustle of wind in the fields of wheat echoed in her ears with preternatural volume, almost completely covering the soft murmur of low voices from behind the barn.
Kara's eyes snapped open. Who would be out beyond the barn at this time in the morning? Her eyes glanced briefly at a time keeping device on a nearby dresser to confirm what her body already knew. Kara rose slowly from bead, focusing on the voices drifting from the other side of the farm. One of the voices belonged to Kon-el, or Conner as he preferred to be called these days. She could not identify the other voice.
The young Kryptonian quickly grabbed a pair of faded jeans from off of the credenza. A pink t-shirt with some cartoon animal print completed the outfit. She quietly opened the bedroom window and floated out across the lawn. The voices were becoming stronger now and she could begin to make out the conversation.
"….I know none of you blame me for what happened." Conner's voice carried a note of sadness that she was not accustomed to hearing. "I just need more to figure things out on my own. You of all people should understand that."
"Trust me, I understand," the other voice replied. It was more familiar now, but she still couldn't place it. "And under normal circumstances I would be more than willing to give you all the time you need."
"I sense a huge 'but' coming here."
"Events are moving faster than we can keep up with them. I can feel the boat sinking. We are all paddling for all we are worth but more water keeps coming in."
"Metaphor's aren't your thing, Tim," Conner's voice was just on the other side of barn now. She switched to her x-ray vision to get a better look at his companion. It took a moment, but she soon recognized the Black-caped figure opposite of Kon-el. He was called Robin by the other heroes. And if she was not mistaken, was an apprentice of sorts to the Batman. Kara could not fully suppress the shudder at that thought. She could not understand how any person could stand to be under the constant supervision of that creep.
"And hiding out isn't your thing Superboy," the young hero replied. "Like I said, no one blames you for what happened and we probably could have used your help against Kestrel today."
Kon-el had switched back to his stubborn expression. Maybe it really was a Kryptonian trait. "Look, you guys handled him just fine without me. So I don't see what the big…."
Robin cut him off with a quick gesture as some device on his belt gave a soft indicator beep. He then tapped the mask covering his eyes and proceeded to scan the area.
"What is it?" Kon sounded a little concerned.
"I'm picking up x-rays," his eyes then seemed to settle directly on her, "and a heat signature from the other side of the barn. Hello Supergirl, would you care to join us?"
Kara felt her cheeks reddening as she drifted around the corner. "I heard voices, recognized Conner's voice as one of them," she hurried to explain. "He isn't normally up this early in the morning."
Robin met her gaze with an amused smirk. His eyes were impenetrable behind that mask, but she sensed that they were always moving and didn't miss much. "It does normally take a world threatening event to coax him out of bed before noon. And even then it's a fifty-fifty proposition."
"Hey!" Kon protested. "I get up early all the time. I don't have much of a choice in the matter anymore."
Kara focused her x-ray vision again. She didn't like not being able to see this boy's face even if his features where more open than his mentor's. The mask still hid far too much from her. And for some reason, she wanted to know what color his eyes were. But, the mask remained impenetrable. It didn't appear to be lead-lined, she just couldn't see through it. It was almost as if it was emitting some sort of low-level frequency that was interfering with the x-ray wave length. Her thoughts were once again interrupted by a beeping sound from Robin's belt.
"That's not very polite, Supergirl." His smirk had widened into a cheeky grin which seemed to lift his features.
"And you're not being fair," she pouted in reply. "I'm not hiding my face from you."
Kon chuckled. "You might as well give it up cousin. You don't know how many times we tried to get Robin to take off the mask back when we were kicking around with Young Justice." It didn't escape her notice Kon no longer seemed to be referring to the other boy by his real name in her presence.
"I eventually took it off," it was Robin's turn to protest now.
"Yeah, after we had been a team for over a year," the taller boy shot back with a laugh. "Kara, get this. We are out camping with the rest of the team while the mentors are having a super hero parent night or something."
Robin groaned dramatically as her cousin continued the tale. "So, we decided to play truth or dare as any self respecting camp out demands that we must."
"Truth or Dare?" Kara's brow creased slightly in confusion.
"Juvenile game," Robin offered. "You ask someone truth or dare. If they say truth, you ask them a question and they have to answer. If they say dare, they have to do anything you dare them to do."
"Well, we managed to convince Mr. Maturity here to join in our 'juvenile' game…"
"Sometimes personal sacrifices must be made in the interest of the team welfare."
Kara was enjoying watching the banter between the two boys. Clearly there was a long history of friendship there. This was a side of Kon that she had not seen. She knew from Clark that he that the younger member of the family had been a more light-hearted hero in the past. It saddened her that so much had happened to dampen his spirit.
"…anyway, finally someone asks Robin here truth or dare." Kon was really getting into the story now. "He chooses dare and we tell him to take off the mask.
"We don't think he's going to do it, but Boy Wonder ponies up. And like the drama queen he is, stands right in front of the fire to cast some upwards shadows on his face…"
"Oh, I'm the drama queen now. That's rich."
"….And rips the mask right off," Kon mined the action violently while Robin simply shook his head in amusement. "Only to reveal that he was wearing another mask underneath."
"It wasn't that hard to predict that someone was going to want to play truth or dare. So, I came prepared." He turned an amused gaze back at Kon. "I never did tell you about all the other preparations I made for that night."
"You mean, if I had dared you to…"
"Had it covered."
Kara and Kon both broke into laughter and Robin even allowed a few chuckles to escape. Kara wiped here eyes. Finally regaining her breath, she said, "I swear, you are as paranoid as that Batman."
The moment the words left her mouth she wished she could call them back. His expression dropped into a solemn scowl. His eyes, which had previously been merely impenetrable, seemed to harden impossibly, closing off the rest of his face. His posture tightened just the smallest fraction and shadows seemed to gather around his form. The transformation almost made her gasp.
Kon-el groaned, "Come on Robin. She didn't mean…"
"I should probably go," the raven-head boy cut him off. "I have a great deal of work waiting me when I get back to Bludhaven."
"But you just got here," the taller boy continued to protest.
"You don't have to leave on my account," Kara quickly added, even though she wasn't entirely certain why.
The shadows never budged from his face. "No, I really only had a few moments anyway. And besides," his head nodded at something behind her, "It appears that you are not the only one to notice Conner's uncharacteristic sleeping schedule this morning."
Both Kara and Kon turned to see that the front porch light had been turned on. The master bedroom light was also on and as they watched the hallway also illuminated.
"You should stay. I'm certain the Kents would love to have you for…" as Kara turned back to where Robin had been just an instant ago, she found herself talking to air.
"Son of a…." Kon cursed softly. "I hate when he does that."
"Does he have some form of teleportation ability?" Kara asked in confusion. She quickly scanned the area again using every range of the light spectrum available. He simply wasn't there. "I'm not sensing anything that would suggest an energy discharge."
"No," the boy grunted in frustration. "When a Bat doesn't want to be seen he just isn't seen."
"But, I can't even hear a heart-beat," she argued.
"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out how he pulls that one off."
She strained her ears for a few more moments until they picked up a soft distant whine. It was a sound almost distinctive of an advanced jet engine. She turned her eyes skyward and just barely caught the outline of dark aircraft, quickly retreating across the Eastern horizon.
"There," they young Kryptonian stated with authority. She was about to lift off in pursuit when a strong hand grabbed her arm.
"Let it go, Kara," his voice carried a sorrow now, tinged with some unknown guilt. "Robin said his peace. Chasing after him isn't going to change that.
He sighed again as her eyes met his, practically burning with defiance. Lois had to be right. Stubbornness was genetic in Kryptonians. "Besides, we both know who it is flying that plane."
Kara felt the defiance quickly drain out of her. She was not intimidated by this Batman, not the way her cousin was. She just didn't want to deal with the creep right now. Yes, that was all. She didn't feel like dealing with him.
"So, he does this to often then?" Kara didn't understand why the boy's abrupt departure upset her so much. Certainly it was considered rude by just about any culture's standards but this Robin was Kon's friend, not hers. If anyone should be upset by that kind of behavior, it was him. She certainly would have never put up with that sort of thing from Oteo.
Kon sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "The whole Bat-Family has issues. He's actually the sanest one of them."
"Still 'Tim' should treat his friends with a little more courtesy," she purposefully emphasized the name her cousin had been so careful not to use around her.
His eyes widened in concern. "Ah man. He's going to flip when he finds out you know his name. He keeps telling me to only call him Robin while he's in uniform."
"Why are you defending him?" Kara could feel a scowl forming. "I had to watch Clark endure his mentor's pointless paranoia in relative silence. But, I'm not going to let Tim do the same to you."
"Look, I'm defending him because I'm trying to make sure that he doesn't end up like Batman," Kon replied. "You don't know Tim. Not yet anyway. And even with all the secrets he has to keep, the guy was still ten times better as a teammate than pointy-ears could ever hope to be."
"Was?" Kara asked coolly.
A brief pained expression passed over Kon's features. He stood there for a moment, visibly thinking through is next words. "Stuff….happened recently with Tim. It's kind of wearing on him. And because this is Tim we are talking about, he either over-thinks everything or resorts to denial. Trust me, he doesn't want to become Batman."
They continued to stare each other down for a few more moments until the bang of a patio door interrupted the contest of wills.
"Hey kids," Jonathan's jovial voice cared across the farm. "I was going to let you sleep another hour or so, but if you're already up, there are cows that need milking."
Kon swore softly again. "Well, there goes any chance of grabbing some more z's."
Kara couldn't resist one last verbal jab. "I can't believe Clark lets you talk like that and still wear the sign of house Kal-el. I was lectured extensively on a few phrases that I picked up from the amazons."
"The whole 'we represent something greater than ourselves and need to project a positive image' shtick?"
"That's the one," Kara concurred, as they began walking back towards the farm house. Perhaps if there was a global emergency she could get out of mucking out stalls this morning. Conner somehow always left her with the less enviable chores. "It's nice to know that there is someone else my age that gets it just as bad as I do from him."
Kon smirked as they approached the steps. "Technically, you're forty plus years older than me."
Kara pinned a glare on him, but Kon continued undeterred. "But don't worry. You look good for someone pushing fifty."
She swatted at his shoulder half-heartedly, but he quickly darted away and shot up the stairs to his room. "Enjoy the joke while can. You'll have wrinkles long before I do." She called up after him.
His laughter carried down from the second floor. "I have no problem with that. I speak from experience, being sixteen forever is way overrated."
v
Oswald Cobblepot was not accustomed to feeling fear. He dealt with the freak of Gotham on a regular basis for Christ Sake. Intimidation tactics did not have the same effect on him that they tended to produce on most gunrunners. Despite these facts, he could still feel a cold trickle of sweat running down the back of his neck.
I trust our latest shipment is still on schedule. The digitally scrambled voice carried a clinical ruthless quality. With the incoming visual feed being equally scrambled Oswald could never tell if his contact with the Society was preparing to order his death or commend his workmanship.
"There have been no complications," Penguin replied evenly. Hours of poker in Blackgate where a wrong move meant a shank had refined his bluff face a little. "No one in Gotham or Bludhaven is paying attention to any of the off-shore dummy corporations. I foresee no difficulties in completing our arrangement."
The blocky image shifted and Oswald could almost imagine that his contact was smirking. Your reassurances not-withstanding, my associates have expressed some concern over your ability to control your own territory lately. You ceded Gotham to Blackmask and now seem to be having some problems with Batman's children in Bludhaven.
"The brats are already dead!" Oswald snarled with indignation. Good, anger was good. If he blustered enough, they couldn't see how nervous he was. "They just haven't realized it yet. Without the big bad Bat to protect them, I'll have their corpses hanging from city hall within the week. They don't even factor into our arrangement at this point."
See that they don't Penguin. There was no mistaking the threatening edge in his contact's voice now. Our partnership has proven to be profitable. It would be a shame to have to terminate it.
The monitors blinked to blackness as the Society contact disconnected the call. Oswald leaned back in his chair and slowly let the breath exhale from his lungs. That exchange had gone considerably better than he had expected. He had possibly bought himself two, maybe three more days at the most. It was time to find out if those days should best be spent packing and relocating his operations.
He flipped the intercom switch on his desk. "Send in the twins."
The door to his office soon flew open to reveal Tad and Todd Trigger. He had finally managed to convince the two to drop the ridiculous cowboy motif that had characterized their earlier endeavors. Well, they had mostly abandoned it. They both still insisted on wearing Stetsons to clash with their new Versace suits. Still, it was an improvement and with Deathstroke and Deadshot off the market, they were currently the best gunmen available.
"Tell me you have some good news." Oswald pulled a tumbler and a twenty year-old bottle of scotch out of his top desk drawer. He pored a shot and downed it quickly. The gunrunner had a feeling he was going to need a good deal of the bottle today.
"Well, that would depend on your notion of good news." Tad drawled as the duo settled into the chairs opposite of him, kicking their feet up on his desk. Penguin scowled but let it pass.
"The manifest for the latest shipment has definitely been tampered with," Todd casually reached across the desk and swiped the bottle. He took a deep pull before handing it off to his brother.
"Shit boss, you keep come nice booze here." Oswald resisted the urge to strangle them. He needed them. In addition to being the best gunmen he had, they also happened to be the best watchdogs in his organization. The rest of his subordinates tended to overlook the two. But, the twin's sharp eyes never seemed to miss anything, and their ears seem to catch every wayward comment.
"I'm waiting for you to explain to me how confirmation of out shipment being compromised could be viewed as good news." He still could kill them. No one else knew right now and he still had at least two days to beat feet.
"The good news is that Dr. Chan has a new pair of chopsticks to pin back her hair." Oswald stared at the two incredulously. Ayumi Chan had a PHD in theoretical mathematics. However, she had found that running the Yakuza's books had been far more profitable. Then she found that cooking them and pocketing the steam was more profitable still, for a time at least. Her current agreement was very simple, she helped him keep his numbers in order, and his organization helped keep her families organs on the inside of their bodies.
"Are you brain dead? If you are suggesting that Ayumi would double-cross me, I don't even know why I pay you." Penguin irritably swiped his bottle of Scotch back. They had already managed to work through a third of it. He had been saving that bottle and would have to toss it out now. He couldn't lower himself to drinking from the same bottle that one of his henchmen had just befouled.
"But these chopsticks, "Tad continued where his brother had left off un-phased, "are the kind that will cause just a little bit o' static in Brutale's XM radio when she walks by."
"She also seems a might stronger since she got 'em," Todd was casually studying the toes of his boots. "Normally makes a fuss about moving crates around so she can check invoices until one of us manly types does it for her. Since them chopsticks, I'd say she's not bothered any of us with extra chores."
The implications of the twin's report slowly dawned on him. He sank back in his chair and took a deep pull from the bottle, he no longer cared that he was drinking after his two henchmen anymore. "Jesus Jervis, what the hell are you up to this time?"
v
The silence seemed more strained than usual inside the aircraft. Tim couldn't tell if he was more responsible for the current tension or if his current traveling companion was to blame. Regardless of who caused the oppressive atmosphere, neither had moved to end it for the past hour.
Tim was still worried about Conner, despite the boy's continued protests that he was fine and just needed some more time to work through his own issues. The young man couldn't even begin to imagine what his friend was going through, but he knew that this self-imposed exile was incredibly out of character for the young hero. As Robin, he was more than aware that prophecies tended to be self-fulfilling. He was becoming more and more concerned about what Conner might be turning into while focusing on not becoming Luthor.
And we can't afford to have him sitting on the sidelines much longer. We both know the dangers that are coming our way all too soon. Superboy will soon play a crucial role.
Robin grimaced sourly. Despite his best efforts, he could feel his thought process becoming more and more cynical lately. Ever since his father's death, thinking of his teammates in the Titans and in Gotham as family as apposed to chess pieces took increasing effort. A part of him believed that he had convinced Bruce to detour to Kansas for the right reasons, providing support for friend. The rest knew that he was performing a field analysis of inactive soldier.
The two do tend to blend together so easily. Don't they Robin? Ulterior motives will become more natural with continued practice.
Robin scrubbed his hands through his hair. He was tired. No, he was exhausted. Almost forty-eight hours had passed since the last time he slept. His own thoughts were meandering, making it difficult to focus. He should have been concentrating on his open cases, or working on a way to get penguin to take the price of his head. It was odd how calmly he accepted the fact that a rather large contract had been taken out on his life. He didn't even change his weekend plans.
Penguin's contract will be the least of your concerns soon enough. The society will keep him too busy to worry about settling old scores. Still, the old bird does yet have some cards left to play.
"We are preparing to make our final approach on Bludhaven," Batman's terse voice drew Tim from his thoughts. "ETA is six minutes."
Robin quickly checked the altitude and current approach vector. "Flight path and angle of descent look good. Radar shows no other craft in the area, our approach corridor is clear."
"Confirmed." If it had been anyone other than Batman, Tim would almost swear his mentor hesitated for a moment. "I trust our detour to Kansas was satisfactory."
Tim grimaced involuntarily. Well, at least he was being polite enough not to demand a status and threat assessment. "Conner is fine. I have complete faith that he will soon rejoin the Titans as an active member."
"You left rather quickly," he was in tenacious investigator mode tonight obviously. "I could have easily maintained position for another half-hour."
Tim schooled his features into a blank expression. He knew that his mentor still didn't completely trust or particularly care for the latest Supergirl. To be honest, the young man wasn't quite certain what to make of her himself. She was obviously becoming closer to Conner and Tim couldn't bring himself to begrudge his friend his newfound family. Still, he had gotten the oddest impression from her tonight. Almost as if he had been evaluated and found lacking. Perhaps he was simply over-analyzing the encounter.
The Kryptonian girls evaluation of you weighs less than air. She remains an important piece but will not factor in to your plans.
"Our discussion was interrupted," he paused to gage the other hero's reaction, "by Kara Zor-el."
Batman merely grunted as if he had been expecting as much. "She is staying with the Kents this week."
Robin sighed as the final pieces clicked together in his head. Well, might as well give the old man what he wanted. "The holographic masking emitters seemed to hold against Kryptonian X-ray vision, including Kara. The new sensor array passed its field test and the modifications to the biological signature dampeners seemed to have improved its effectiveness." It was difficult to keep the bitterness from his voice.
Bruce picked up on his tone regardless. "I just want you to be prepared, Tim."
"Prepared for what?" Tim could feel long repressed anger bubbling to the surface. "I was just making a simple visit to a friend that I haven't seen in while and you have me field testing countermeasures against him. The rest of the super-hero community is already becoming wary of the Gotham crowd. I don't want to bring the same drama to the Titans."
Batman bowed his head slightly and in that moment looked older than Tim had ever seen him. "It was not my intention to compromise your relationship with the Titans." When he met the young man's gaze there was nothing but sincerity in his features. "I don't want you to have to pay the price for my misplaced trust."
Tim felt his anger ebb ever so slightly. "I understand your reasons. But, these things have a tendency of getting out of hand. And in light of what happened with the War Game initiatives…"
"You know those were never meant to be implemented. They were no different than any of the tactical exercises that I had you run during your training."
"Maybe someone should have told that to Stephanie." And just like that, his rage had flared right back up again. It seemed that his mind was far quicker to anger lately. The stress of the job must finally be catching up.
The effect of his statement was almost as if someone had fired a gun in the cockpit. The mentor and his protégé glared at each other in a silence that was equal parts shock, anger, and sorrow. And, for the first time that Tim could ever remember, Batman backed away from his glare.
In his surprise, Tim nearly missed the brief lines of pain and guilt that ran down muscles of his mentor's neck before settling into his shoulders. Almost instantly the last of Tim's anger dissipated, leaving him empty and cold. If he was going to be honest with himself, he couldn't direct any of that anger at Batman anyway.
Tim turned his gaze to the passing landscape outside of the window. "I'm sorry Bruce, I know Steph and I know it wasn't your fault." He let out a deep breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. "I….I just….can't blame her. Not yet."
He will carry his own increasing burden of guilt until it crushes him beneath its weight. No one could ever punish Bruce as cruelly as he does himself.
The final approach to Bludhaven was made in silence. Soon, the craft was hovering over an abandoned warehouse in the waterfront district. Tim quickly ran a final scan on the surrounding area to confirm that it was secure to disembark. Satisfied, he hit the release switch on his harness and began to make his way back to the crafts aft boarding hatch. He only required a few more moments to hook into the decel line wench positioned over the hatch.
"Robin," Tim looked up in surprise. "I understand if you don't agree with me on this point, but I need you to be cautious around Supergirl. There are things about her story that just don't check out yet as far as I am concerned."
Robin smiled grimly. His mentor was desperately struggling to find a polite way to forbid him from interacting with Kara. He decided to concede Bruce this one point. Tim had his own reasons, but it was probably for the best that her avoid her. "Don't worry, Batman. I'm not looking to break up the team."
And before Batman could respond, the young hero hit the release on the hatch and dove out into the night. After two seconds of freefall, the decel line caught and slowed his descent until he landed in a practiced crouch on the warehouse roof. Robin then quickly unhooked the line from his belt harness so it could be reeled back in. A few moments later, the aircraft broke from its position and disappeared into the night.
In retrospect, it really was a foolish move to spread ourselves so thinly. Batman's isolation inevitably contributed to some of his later issues with the JLA.
Tim simply ignored the dark thought in his head and took a running leap from the warehouse roof. Two hours, three double-backs, one attempted mugging, and a set of covered tracks later, Robin finally arrived at his headquarters. Robin flipped on the switch in the kitchen noticing that the dishes had disappeared out of the sink. Alfred must have dropped by earlier that day, perhaps after a visit to Dana. Tim fought down a quick stab of guilt. Alfred was spending more time with Dana than he was.
Tim wanted to visit his step mother, he really did. But right now seeing her was a painful reminder of all that he had just lost. Her tendency to momentarily forget recent traumatic events as her own mind coped with the loss didn't exactly help in that regard.
He dug around in the fridge for a bottled water and then retired to his room. Robin did still have a great deal of work to do, but that could wait until he had managed at least four hours of sleep. He was about to flip the light switch when a warning instinct kicked in, screaming caution.
The young hero dropped into a combat ready crouch. Across the room on the other side of his bead he could make out a seated figure, one that was familiar. The cowl and cape were similar enough that a bystander wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between it and the one worn by the current Batman. But there were other differences as well that indicated that Bruce was not the cloaked figure currently facing him.
This Batman was slightly shorter, and Robin's trained eyes could see that for the most part his equipment was far more advanced than what his mentor carried. The one unmistakable exception was well worn hand-gun, holstered on the figures left flank. Tim's eyes narrowed. He knew that gun, even though he had only seen it once and that was in a world that was never supposed to be. It was the gun that had killed Thomas and Martha Wayne.
Tim, it is time we talked, face to face.
To be continued…..
End Chapter 1