Disclaimer: Been reading Identity crisis, you know the one owned my DC comics, and I was reminded how much l like to borrow their characters. Lookie here! I'm borrowing them right now! not even getting a cent off of it either.
Well, now that I've tortured Supes, It's time he had something "good" happen to him. Just remember, people who are barely awake don't always make much sense. Been building up for this scene for a bit if you read carefully earlier.
I use "Knightmares" a lot don't i? =/ it's just a great play on words unfortunately.
Without Me
Ch. 22 – Returning of Knightmares
Like all the other times before, it started with tossing and turning. He could hear the whimpers and whispered pleas as well. Then the boy would thrash, sometimes screaming. Superman tried to ignore it, knowing the kid would wake himself up shortly and calm himself down, but it hurt every time he heard the boy's pleas.
Each night they became worse. Each night he thrashed and shouted longer, louder. Often he begged for his parents, or Bruce. Depending on the dream, he alternated between Bruce and Batman, always crying out for protection. Robin's voice would tear a person up inside. It tore up Clark every time.
But this night he couldn't take it. Try as he might, Superman couldn't ignore another of the boy's pleas. He pushed it out of his mind all the times before, but not this time. He flew straight to the kid's door and tried to open it from the outside. The lock was still engaged, but a note was written above it. Hastily, he read it, realizing it was the only clue he'd get to safely enter the room.
If two is company and three's a crowd, what's four and five?
A riddle. Great. Thankfully he heard this one before and pressed nine on the keypad. Instantly the doors opened, letting him rush over to the boy's bedside. He grasped the kid's shoulders, shaking him gently awake. "Robin! Robin!"
It took a moment but the boy woke, sweating and panting for breath. He looked around wildly, mind racing from the terror he was witnessing just seconds ago. "It was just a nightmare. Everything's fine here. You're safe."
"Clark?" Robin shook a bit, confused still from his dream, still looking around. Desperation filled his voice. "Wha… Where's Bruce? Did Joker…"
Superman pulled the boy into his chest, holding him as he continued to shake. "It's alright, it's alright. Joker's not here. Bruce is fine. It's just a bad dream. Everything's okay."
Slowly the child raised his arms and hugged him back, calming his heartbeat breath by breath. The kryptonian continued to speak to him, reassuring him everything was alright and there was nothing out there to hurt him. He rubbed the boy's back and rested his chin on the kid's head, comforting him best he could. Below him he heard a few soft sobs, but not a word of explanation. Robin seemed content just staying like this for a few minutes.
When Superman ran out of words to say, he fell into silence, hoping the boy would drift back to sleep in a few moments. Instead he heard him whimper.
"I wanna go home."
"I know." His heart ached hearing Robin's forlorn voice. It really was all he wanted in this world, and he was denied it.
"I wanna see Bruce and play basketball. I wanna talk to Alfred and eat his cookies. I wanna hear Gordon and Batman plan the next drug raid on Thorne. To hang out with Wally and Roy and Conner and Kal and Artie and Megs. To train with Canary and tease Ollie. To go on missions again and take down bad guys. I wanna see the farm again and eat your Ma's pies." He curled up, still pressed into Clark's arms. "I wanna go home. Why can't I go home?"
Superman closed his eyes, not wanting to see the lost face off the child in his arms. Just his voice, so close to breaking with every wish, was enough to shatter his heart. He sounded so much like a little child right then. The dream was clearly influencing his perception. The young man he was during that day wouldn't have admitted all this, not this way at least.
"Was it because I'm a bad boy?" Robin continued, startling the man above him. Tears were starting to roll down his cheeks. "Does Bruce not want me anymore? Does he hate me? Did I do something wrong? Was it the pranks? Is it because I can't keep my mouth shut? I'll be good and stay quiet. Just don't… don't send me back to the orphanage. I really like Bruce. I just… I just wanna be with him more. I miss him all the time. I don't want him to hate me. I'll be good, I swear. Just… just don't leave me Bruce. Don't leave…."
He sobbed, burying his head into Superman's arm. "Don't leave me alone. Let me stay with you Bruce. Don't hate me."
Clark couldn't take it. This boy's nightmare had taken complete control of his mind. He was beginning to think he was Batman. He held the kid a little closer, crooning. "It's alright Robin. Bruce doesn't hate you. He loves you very much. He wouldn't send you away. No one can hate you. You're a very good boy. Faithful and brave, full of joy, you're a light in a dreary world."
Robin looked up to him, hopeful. "Really?"
Superman nodded, looking down on him with a kind smile. "Really. I just… I just wish you picked a safer profession."
The kid gave a weak yet warm smile and settled back into his arms. "Nothing's safer than being with Batman and the League."
The man of steel gave a weak chuckle. The kid had him there. Robin seemed to settle in his grasp, calming down enough to start drifting back to sleep. But he still had a few more words to say.
"I miss Bruce."
The kid's words stayed with Clark the rest of the night, pressing him to call Batman once again. It took three tries before the dark knight finally picked up. "What?
"Bruce you really need to visit the mountain before Robin goes to bed tomorrow night," Superman insisted.
Batman gave an exasperated sigh. "I thought we had this taken care of."
"He's still here Bruce," he glared through the monitor, having made contact through the computers, "and he may be here for the long haul. He needs you. He needs his father."
"We've been through this. I'm not his father," the Bat insisted on the other end, just as frustrated as before. "I'm not his Batman."
"Regardless," Superman insisted, "he needs to see you. Just for a psychological effect if nothing else. He needs to know you're still around, that you care a little. Just come by and talk to him for a few minutes. That's all I'm asking."
The man on the other end paused, considering his words. "What brought this up?"
He took a deep breath before answering. "Robin's been having more and more nightmares every night since you last saw him. I think they get worse from not knowing how you are. Remember when you—"
"Fine," he cut the alien off irritably. "Wanted to ask him what Sportsmaster was trying to take anyway. Cheshire working with him suggests Shadows, but working two times together in six months is unusual. Sources say she hates him."
"Sportsmas… Wait a minute," Superman wondered out loud, "are you talking about his trip outside Monday?"
"Of course."
"We haven't even gotten around to making a report on that! How do you know anything—"
"I found the fight on the surrounding security cameras. Kid's a damn good fighter." Batman was typing on his computer, a small smirk on his face. "Clever trick with the cape too. I'll have to remember it. The flares were a bit dramatic, but he is a circus kid."
Superman started massaging his forehead. "Let me get this straight. You have no problem with Robin hacking your systems, leaving the cave, endangering Zatanna's life, and taking on half a dozen criminals?"
"I knew about his exit code when he set it up," the dark knight informed him. "Clever kid nearly got away with it. It's always a good idea to have an emergency exit strategy. Didn't expect him to use it unless the cave was under attack. Doesn't exactly have any where else to go. I attached an alarm to my computer and put a tracker in his suit should he use it."
Batman's logic was sound, making Superman rethink current events. The man continued. "Zatanna was his backup and he made certain she was out of harm's way. He wouldn't have taken her if he wasn't sure he could cover them both, and he wouldn't have left if she hadn't pressured him.
"As for taking down criminals," he sent the security footage straight to the monitors Superman was watching. "I believe his actions speak for themselves. He's quite capable of the job."
The man of steel stared speechless at the screen. Batman rolled his shoulders for a moment, slightly agitated but it didn't register in the alien's mind. "Are you actually… approving of his actions?"
"Never said he couldn't be a hero Clark."
"But you said you couldn't take a kid in." The man of steel interjected. "End of discussion."
"I can't," Batman repeated, a solemn look on his face. "I will never drag anyone into this world if I can help it.
"But if they jump in on their own, I'll watch their backs. If I had trained a partner, I'd have taught him to do exactly this."
Superman could detect a measure of pride in the man's voice, enough to let him know he was beginning to approve of this Robin and his antics. Frankly, the Boy Scout was beginning to accept Robin as a hero as well. But seeing him in such a fragile state earlier, he couldn't help but wonder what this was doing to the kid's mind. Robin might end up losing it before he turned twenty, that's if he lived that long.
The man shook his head. "You're crazy, you realize that?"
"Once in a while." Batman returned to typing on one of his keyboards. "Now quit bugging me. I have to update my Scarecrow and Joker files."
"Past few days been rough huh?"
"Be glad they weren't part of the Ice Gang's plot. You'd be dealing with laughing fits and panic attacks along with freeze victims." His aggravation was beginning to become more noticeable. The man needed rest.
"You'll be here tomorrow right?" Superman asked to reassure himself.
The knight nodded. "I'll be there."
He cut off the transmission, but despite his rudeness, Superman smiled. Bruce was going to visit Mount Justice for something other than League business or conspiracy theories. He was coming to reassure Robin he was still alive.
The last son of Krypton looked through the walls separating himself from Robin and saw the kid sleeping on his bed. He was exhausted, but still twitched in his sleep. He hadn't woken since his last nightmare, but no one could really call what he was experiencing now a good night's rest.
Tomorrow would be better. It had to be.
A/N: So, Dick has a bit of a breakdown, but he's half asleep and had a horrible nightmare. If I remember right from other people's stories and other small tidbits I got elsewhere (no expert here) one of dick's fears as a kid was being hated by Bruce and being sent back to the orphanage. I thought it'd be good to have him mentally return to a kiddy state and just spill everything out while not completely coherent. Also wanted to tug at everyone's heartstrings again. X3
And I like how Bats is starting to accept Robin, even from far away. He's realizing if he had a partner he'd train him to act like this. I always thought Bruce would keep track of his kids, even if they were on the other side of the planet. bet the Batman in the Teen Titans tv series world has lots of newspaper clippings and tv shorts on his robin in jump. *sqwee*