Disclaimer: *sings* 'tis a miracle these things exist! I only wish they were mine to persist! But to avoid DC's vengeful fist, these characters are not mine, something-ist! XD
YAY! I'm back! Well I said I'd update on the 20th. FYI, it's like really early on the 20th for them. they have the whole day to go. XD Anywho, I've now thoroughly tortured Batman with this. It's just too much fun! bats has mood swings too, mostly because he's trying his hardest to control himself. He has to, because he's Batman.
Oh don't forget 'Without Me'! it's updated too. I'll try to update them together as much as I can, unless more time passes in one over the other, then I'll just try to keep them within the same day of each other. But I'm doing three stories here, and I've run into a few hiccups. This one is up to ch 7 and it's brother's done to ch 17, so it'd be a while before I'd stop for unknown reasons, but I need some help to continue them. Read at bottom for details.
NOW READ! I RAMBLE TOO MUCH!
Where's Robin?
Ch. 2 – Blame
It was Blue Beetle and Red Tornado who stood in between Batman and the Flashes as the rest of the team told them what happened. Kaldur tried to be as gentle as possible, but Artemis spared no one any kindness. Batman listened to every word the kids said, clenching and unclenching his fists often to control himself. There were seconds when he'd glance past everyone to Wally, and glared in such a way they knew he was planning the boy's death. But seeing the boy's state pulled the man back from any extreme action.
Once they finished giving the man their report, everyone fell silent. Flash stared down onto his traumatized nephew, caught between feelings of loss for Robin and anguish for Wally. Neither of them deserved this. One look at the stock still Batman told the speedster he too was caught between feelings. Part of the man wanted to kill Wally for what happened. The other half must have wanted to break down. But he kept still, not moving. Frozen.
After a few agonizing minutes of silence, Batman strode forward, dodging everyone between him and Wally. The boy flinched and his uncle held him closer, instinctively trying to protect him. A raging bat was nothing to underestimate, and no one knew what was going on behind the man's eyes.
The man stopped just short of where the incident occurred, staring at the offensive weapon ending his bird's life. He just stood and stared at it for a good minute before picking it off the ground. The lights had died out, dormant once again. The teens flinched at the sight of it. How Batman could even touch the thing now baffled them.
He turned to Blue Beetle and handed it to him. "Find out what this is and how it works, now."
Batman's voice betrayed nothing. He sounded just as dark and broody as ever, but it was clearly a command. Beetle nodded and took the thing, holding it like it was a bomb. He took a look around to the others for a moment, then bit his lip. "Sorry." In an instant he bolted out of the room to the science center of the cave to figure out what this weapon was.
The bat didn't stop there. His back to the speedsters, he knelt where Robin last stood, looking at the ground. He touched the spot briefly, looking over his glove after a moment. He rubbed his fingers for a moment, then stood up and walked in about the same path as Robin would have been thrown. Often he'd touch the ground and then rub his fingers. He said nothing to any of them.
The team watched, baffled by his actions. Many of them expected him to be whaling on Wally by then, but the man wasn't. Flash was focused more on calming his nephew down than on what Batman was doing, but part of him was grateful the man wasn't pounding the stuffing out of the kid. It was an accident. Like any other stupid kid who found a gun in his parent's drawer, Wally had played with it and the weapon went off. Victim: Robin.
After touching the ground and then the wall a few more times, Batman returned to the center of the room. He brought up a keyboard and started typing. Within seconds, security footage of the past few hours appeared before them. They saw their victorious return once again, then KF playing with the alien tech. Batman paused the image for a moment, then brought up several more angles of the same scene. Each played in unison, one voice coming out of all their past selves' mouths there.
"Wally just put that thing down."
Artemis flinched at her own voice. She should have done something sooner.
"No way! Until Flash and Beetle gets here, I'm gonna see how this thing works!"
"Nothing's worked yet."
M'gann turned away. She should have ended the discussion with her telekinesis.
"Maybe it's got a deadlock."
Robin's voice made every witness flinch. Kid Flash gave another gasp for air before another volley of tears.
"Huh, can't make out a pattern on the buttons."
"We'll figure it out." Somehow the teen disengaged the 'dead lock' and turned it on. It started to glow. "Cool."
"Ah, KF? I think we should put it down now."
The warning in the boy's voice reminded them all how experienced Robin was. He ran across alien tech less than others, but he still could tell when something might be dangerous. Though he too had wanted to have some fun with the device before the League got there, he was no fool. Fiddling with things you don't understand could end your life.
"You're joking right?"
Wally flinched again, gripping his uncle's suit in guilt. Flash held him tighter but looked up at the feed. All the boy had done was press a series of buttons on top, then tried to keep the thing in his hands. Robin just happened to be on the opposite end of the device. If it were pointed the other way, Wally would be the one gone.
"No seriously Wal. You need to put this thing—"
His last words. The last words he'd say were to Wally, telling him to put it down. Oh if only he listened earlier.
Then came the blinding light striking Robin's stomach and the ear splitting snap. The cameras were blinded for a moment, just like everyone else. Batman froze the picture again and started to work them, changing the lighting and scopes to make a clear picture. No one wanted to actually see Robin die, but that was exactly what the dark knight was aiming for.
Under all the interference, Batman finally brought out a clear picture. Flash, Kaldur and Tornado were probably the only ones in the room who could look up to see what actually happened. Robin was hit, thrown back a little, then vanished. Just vanished. There really was nothing left. Nothing at all.
"Way to go Baywatch!" Artemis yelled. "You just found an alien flashlight!"
The deafening silence that followed tore at everyone. Everyone on the screen was staring at where Robin once was, and saw nothing.
"Robin?" Wally's trembling voice at that moment would break any man's heart.
"Get that boy out of my sight."
The controlled rage in Batman's voice was noticed by everyone. He was shaking, stopping himself from doing something rash. Flash knew these signs and nodded. In a blur of red, he picked up his nephew and ran to the kid's room in the mountain. The bat continued to shake, not looking at anyone.
Artemis couldn't bear to watch him or be in that room a second longer. She ran as fast as she could down the hall to the gym to take out her raging pain on an unoffending punching bag.
M'gann looked to Conner, seeing the boy of steel still unable to move from the shock of losing Robin. She didn't want to face this alone either. Quietly she knelt next to him and wrapped her arms around him. After a brief moment, the boy finally responded. He returned her hug and buried his face into her shoulder, sobbing.
Red Tornado seemed to be the only one who stood still. Kaldur, trying to be the responsible and compassionate leader, placed a hand on the Batman's shoulder. "I am truly sorry for your—"
Batman turned abruptly and decked Kaldur without thinking. Aqualad slid back against the floor, not expecting this reaction. M'gann and Conner jolted out of their hold at the sound, gaping at the sight. Red Tornado stepped forward in case he had to intervene, but it wasn't necessary. Batman already started regaining control of himself, still shaking uncontrollably.
"Not now," he barely growled. "Not a word." He turned back to the holopad, obviously wanting to break something. Rumor had it the reason the League used these computers now wasn't because of its space saving efficiency, but to stop certain members from breaking them all the time. It was Batman's forethought.
"Just… Just leave me alone."
Everyone stared at him in silence, still as could be. Silently Kaldur nodded, rising to his feet. He walked over to M'gann and Conner to help them leave as well. They didn't leave each other's arms as they walked out the door to the common room. M'gann glanced once at Batman, showing her concern, but said no words of comfort. What was there to say? Everyone guessed a while ago Robin was his son. All they could do was leave him to grieve.
Red Tornado stayed a moment longer, staring at the Bat. "Shall I inform the rest of the League?"
Batman shook his head. "No. I'll take care of it. I'll take care of everything later."
The android nodded, then turned to leave and join the other teenagers. "Robin is and was a very special boy. He would not want you to grieve."
The man said nothing. Once the robot was gone, he let himself crumble. Falling to his knees, he gripped his head, wanting more than anything to tear himself and everything in the world apart. Bruce already lost his parents. It was what made him Batman. The pain from that one night would never leave him. But this pain… losing the light he had finally gained, losing what hope, what faith he had once again, it was too much. Inside he felt the darkness consume him, hollowing him once again. There was nothing but the darkness, the agony, the rage.
But there was no one he could hunt down, no shadow he could chase after and tear to pieces. Only a scared teenager who was in just as bad a shape as him. Wally West was Robin's best friend. He crumbled with guilt far easier than a murderous scumbag would. That was more than enough punishment. Dick wouldn't want Bruce to kill him over this. He'd hate him if he did. That was not the way to honor his bird's memory.
Grief and rage battled inside him, crying out for vengeance and knowing there could be none. Justice was already served upon the boy. It really was an accident. Stupid kid. Stupid, stupid kid! How could he let this happen? There was no way Batman could stop those two from meeting all those years ago. Just like it was impossible for him to stop the boy from being Robin.
Maybe if he hadn't… No. The team would have formed on it's own as well. Batman did everything he could to keep his little bird safe, but he couldn't be caged. Robins flew free. Dick was raised in a circus. Couldn't be stopped, always moving forward. There was nothing Batman could have done to prevent this.
Frustrated, the man threw his fist into the floor, cracking it and bruising his fingers. The word FAIL appeared beneath him, bating him to punch the display once more. The display appeared again and again he hit it. This repeated several times over and over again. The word haunted him and he kept hitting, trying to somehow succeed. It wasn't until he broke through the Plexiglas beneath him and he ripped out a part in the system that he stopped. No more floor displays would he haunting him now, but the word continued to play in his head.
He had failed. Batman had failed. And Robin was gone.
Tears started flowing under his mask, grief taking firm hold of him at last. A bloodied gloved hand gripped his head as he sobbed, rocking himself slightly. He silently let them flow, unable to forget the smiling boy he took in five years ago. A boy he swore he'd see grow up into a man, swore he'd have a life better than his own, swore to the world he'd exceed all expectations. Now… now…
Batman didn't know how long he knelt sobbing on that floor. He didn't hear the zeta-tube activate. He barely registered the presence of another person in the room. He only realized he wasn't alone when Superman wrapped a firm arm around his shoulders and brought him to his feet. "It's alright Bruce. It's going to be alright."
A/N: Yep, Batman had a complete breakdown. There was nothing to break in that room but the floor. I'd be annoyed at a floor like that too. Remember duck hunt? I always wanted to shoot that dog. same with that floor if it kept telling me i failed.
now for the help I was talking about. I've kinda hit a few walls with a few stories. Running three series here. All the help and ideas would be great.
1- Slade Plan B: need names and positions of people in Haley's circus. Just a little background and really my usual sources online aren't helping.
2- Where's Robin?: How does Roy find out? Bit merky here. =/
3- Without me: need a world wide crisis the whole league would have to take care of that can be handled in a single afternoon, like the whole blocking out the sun mission or the injustice league's plants. Must have people from Belle Reve and Injustice society. Need to empty their base for a few hours so teens can run around unsupervised. No aliens. Ideas?