FudoTwin17: Yo, dudes. It's been way too long.
Goldfish # 4: Yup.
Cat: And, as usual, here is your apology.
FudoTwin17: I give these things out way too often. *sigh* I'm really sorry I haven't updated in forever and left you with that painful last chappie. It's sad. You guys deserve an author that would devote every free moment to this story, and I'm really sorry you don't have that. So, this chapter is how I will try to make up for that. Hopefully it's enjoyable.
Dog # 1: She doesn't own YJ.
Goldfish # 7: Fooooooooddddddddd-
Goldfish # 4: Shut up. She'll feed you later.
FudoTwin17: Yeah, anyways, I warn you that I am going to do something terrible in this fic, but I want your input. I'll be killing someone we all know and love, but I haven't decided who yet. I'd love your input, but I know who you guys will choose to kill if I ask using names. So, I've decided to do a blind vote. One is younger and the other is older. Do you guys want me to kill the older or the younger? That's all I want to tell you about them (otherwise you'd know what I was asking and you would vote for one of them to die that I know would kill you).
Dog # 1: So you're asking them to vote for who to kill without telling them who they're voting to kill?
FudoTwin17: Yup. Now, back to the story!
Chapter 7
Most of the team seemed like they were holding their breath, waiting for the next horrible thing to try to break the boy wonder. However, as they were once again released by the unknown force that had been transporting them, they found themselves at an old, worn down looking building. It had fences with barbed wire, dead grass surrounding it, and a small basketball court off to the side with a small pavilion. The dingy building looked old with a faded tan paint job. It's windows were barbed and there were guards on duty. At the front entrance and halfway down the walk to the front doors were the guard posts where the on-duty guards would stop visitors and new prisoners, check them, and open the gates.
In all, it didn't look suitable for an adult prison, let alone a children's prison.
"They took you here?" Asked M'gann quietly. Her sad brown eyes turned on Robin who nodded quietly, his dark blues remaining on the building. He didn't want to look at them. He was afraid to see the sadness in their eyes.
But much worse, he was afraid to see pity.
They all jumped at the sound of wheels on pavement. Turning, they watched as a police cruiser pulled up on the long, abandoned stretch of road. Slowly, it came to a halt before the front door opened and a female officer they didn't recognize stepped out. She walked around the car before opening up a door. From the door stepped little Dick, his blue eyes wide as he looked at the building.
Kaldur couldn't help it as his eyes automatically scanned the eight year old for injuries. He looked relatively unharmed, but he could pick out a few new bruises and scars on the boy's bare arms. As well as that, he seemed to walk a bit stiffly, as if he'd just gotten the hang of walking again and was afraid to fall. Kal's eyes wandered to the older version.
Faintly, he wondered about the boy's scars. He had known the boy for years, but now that he thought about it, he had never seen a scar on the boy's body, not even when they had all gone to the beach. His eyes narrowed. How . . . .
Kal couldn't help it as his eyes widened. Duh! Makeup! It felt as if the bottom of his stomach had dropped out. How many scars had the smaller boy been hiding? Why had he been hiding them in the first place? Does he feel ashamed of them? And a worse thought too hit him. Does he feel afraid to show us them? Is he scared we'll treat him differently?
When Robin's shoulders tensed under his gaze, Kaldur looked away, heart and mind heavy.
The female police officer put a hand on Dick's shoulder before she slammed the door. As they started up the walk, the eight year old version of their friend looked up at her. "I know it's your job, but thank you for talking me here. You've been really nice." The woman's eyes widened before she smiled at the little boy. She stopped before they reached the first guard post at the gate.
At their friend's words, Wally gaged. He took a deep breath, swallowed, and slid an arm around his best friend, pulling the smaller boy into his side protectively. Dick didn't react, just letting Wally hold him like a doll.
The woman knelt down to the small boy's height, putting both her hands on his little shoulders. His blue eyes sparkled innocently. The police woman swallowed sadly. "Don't thank me. It may be my job, but what I'm doing right now is wrong. You don't deserve this."
The little boy blinked, looking confused. "What?"
She sighed through her nose, and the team looked surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I wish I could do something, but I can't. When I was a little girl, I got thrown in here, too. It made me who I am today, but if I could change it, then I would. Where you're about to go, life is different. Things aren't fair, and force is used at will. I can't do much, but I can give you advise. Find a friend in there, someone to protect you. Don't let anyone walk over you, okay? And, no matter what, don't let them get to you. Keep your chin up, 'cause one day, you'll get out of there. One day, you'll be free."
The little boy smiled at her. "Don't cry. I'll be okay!"
The woman smiled weakly before hugging him. "Just don't lose yourself in there. I know it's scary, but you'll get out one day."
She released him, getting to her feet. The little boy grabbed her hand as they approached the post, and Artemis couldn't help it as her heart broke. He didn't know what was ahead. Really, she didn't know, either, but she knew enough to be afraid for her friend.
The team followed the two of them once they reached the window to the guard post. A young (but kinda mean) looking man looked at the two. "The new one? Grasson?"
"Grayson, sir." Dick corrected, looking up at the man.
The guard sneered. "I see." He pressed a button on his board inside his post before the gate opened. He exited the box as the gate opened. "Well, we've got you all set up." He pulled out a pair of cuffs from his belt. "Hands."
Conner's eyes widened. "They cuffed you? Like a criminal?"
Dick nodded at his teammate, wishing more and more to himself that they had been transported into someone else's past.
"That won't be necessary." The police escort informed the man. "He's here, 'cause his parents-"
"Sorry, ma'am." The guard started, roughly pulling the boy forward as he cuffed him. "It's protocol. It doesn't matter why he's here, just that he is. And while he's here, he'll be treated like everybody else." Before the woman could even dignify the statement with a response, the man pulled a radio from his belt. "Hey, the new one's here."
There was static for a moment before a rough voice spoke over the line. "Kay. Sending out Bill and Chuck. They'll be there soon."
"Okay. Thanks, Charlie." Stated the rude guard before he leaned against his box, looking at the kid. He didn't even try to conceal the judgmental look on his face. Little Dick fidgeted under the man's gaze until the two guards came to get him.
Artemis looked at her Dick, trying to find similarities between him and his smaller version that went past looks. The little boy seemed to have a habit of fidgeting, but she noticed that the older version was stiff and still underneath scrutiny. The little boy was much more innocent, too. It was obvious in the way he talked and moved. Not to mention the little boy was polite. Though older Dick was fairly polite, his younger self seemed to radiate politeness.
Somehow, she just knew that he had been trained out of it. After all, a polite, fidgeting, innocent little boy would be easy to beat in a fight, and it wouldn't be very good for the bat's image, either.
She shivered lightly. She didn't want to think about how hard he must have worked to get rid of all of it. Though it was true everyone changes, it always took something to make a person change. She didn't want to think about what it took for Dick to change.
Finally, the two guards, two imposing men, came and collected the young boy bound in chains. He glanced back at the police officer. "Bye." He murmured before he was practically dragged up to the next checkpoint where the team watched as he was searched roughly, the guard patting him down before the first two dragged him up toward the pitiful building with the peeling paint.
The little boy sent a final look over his shoulder at the officer who drove him to the jail, watching as she stepped in her cruiser and drove away. The door shut, locking in the small child.
Outside, the team seemed to stare.
Finally, M'gann whispered. "They really locked you in jail."
"Yeah." Stated their youngest member, tone sounding . . . defeated.
"Was that how it happened in your memory, too?" Asked Conner quietly. His eyes locked on Dick. His eyes, though sad, conveyed no pity. Dick was thankful when he caught the older (though technically younger) male's eyes.
"No." Dick murmured. "I don't remember it very well, but I was driven by a guy. Though, it was the same guard on duty that day." He pointed to the crude young man who'd first spoken with the officer and little Dick. "The conversation with him went about the same."
After those words, the air around the team seemed to grow heavy with tension. No one knew what to say or who to say it to. All of them had different thoughts, though, ranging from the small boy inside Juvenile Detention to the thirteen year old with them to the mercenary that was somewhere unknown.
Finally, Dick spoke. "We need to go to the Justice League soon."
Everyone looked up in surprise. "I thought that they weren't going to use time machines for another year." Megan asked.
"They're not, or at least they're not supposed to." Dick replied quickly, one of his hands absentmindedly fingering the bandages on his head. Glued to his best friend's side and fidgeting a bit like his kid version, he looked much less formidable than usual. "But the timeline's already messed up. It shouldn't matter if we show up. Besides, watching my past isn't doing anything." His tone was so final that none of them seemed able to respond. "If we go to the League, I'm sure we can talk to Bats and everyone. Maybe they'll be able to help us set things right again."
Kaldur pursed his lips, looking deep in thought. Finally, he spoke. "Alright. Surely, it can't hurt. The League will probably be able to help us easily."
"But what if we can't?" KF asked, his voice quiet, but his grip on Robin like steel.
"Can't what?" Questioned Conner.
Wally looked up. "What if we can't go to them?"
"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.
The redhead looked frustrated for a moment before he spoke, his soft voice getting louder and louder. "What if we can't go to them? I mean, we've practically been forced to follow Rob's life by whatever that weird force is that's been dragging us around. What if we can't do anything other than follow his life? I mean, that's all it's shown us."
Kaldur looked surprised before his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure."
"Well," Robin spoke, "whether or not it lets us, we have to try. I mean, if we can get to the Justice League, they can help us. Batman," Robin's voice faltered for a moment before it strengthened, "Bats has probably been researching us this entire time. He's been trying to find us. If we can reach him and explain our situation, then I'm sure he'll try to help us." Despite those words, though, Robin wasn't as sure as he let on.
He knew that there was a chance that Batman would see it from another point of view. If he helped them fix the timeline, then the version of Batman in this timeline would disappear. If Batman considered that, then it was possible that he wouldn't help them. He'd just let them continue to bounce around the timestream, or worse.
And Robin knew that worse was coming. Something always happened when the timestream was messed with. There was always a price to pay . . . .
"Anyways," Robin continued, ignoring his thoughts to the best of his ability, "even if that's different, we at least have to find out where our Slade is-"
The team's reactions might have been comical in any other situation. M'gann gasped, Artemis's eyes widened, Wally's steel grip on Robin's arm tightened painfully, and Aqualad and Conner gaped at him.
Robin stopped himself. "What?"
Megan chose her words carefully as she spoke. "I mean, what makes you think that our Slade is here?"
The boy rolled his eyes, and M'gann couldn't help but think that it was weird seeing his eyes actually preform the action instead of just seeing the lenses of his mask stare at her. "Well, he has to be here. He was closer to the machine than I was, and that would mean that he had to have been transported as well."
"Then why didn't we see him when we woke up?" Questioned Conner, looking actually curious. He didn't understand how the mercenary had disappeared without anyone seeing him, and, knowing that Robin was Robin, he figured that the boy would have at least one theory thought up.
"Well, I don't think that the machine knocked him out." Robin stated easily. At everyone's disbelieving stares, he began an explanation. "Think about it. You guys were right next to the blast when it sent us back in time. Any explosion or sudden energy waves would have knocked you out being so close to the origin, even if you are invulnerable." He sent a weak smirk at Conner as he said that and earned an even weaker smile.
"But what about you and Aqualad?" Asked Wally. "I mean, it shouldn't have knocked you guys out from so far away."
"Well, I already had an injury." Robin stated, pointing to his head. "The energy waves that send us back probably messed it up worse, that being the reason I was the last to wake up." He turned to Aqualad then, touching a finger to his chin. "I'm not sure why you were unconscious."
"Oh. I apologize, then. After you fell, he turned and hit me. I was caught off guard and knocked unconscious." The Atlantian stated, bowing his head in apology.
"That . . . makes sense." Robin said. "He probably wanted a clean escape, and needed you out of the way considering that you would have been the only one awake and there to at least impede him in his escape."
"That . . ." Wally paused for a moment before his eyebrows rose in surprise. "makes perfect sense."
Robin nodded. "Even without that, though, we would've been in trouble. We need to see the League as soon as possible."
"Well, we must try." Aqualad agreed.
However, before they even took a step in the opposite direction of the compound, the world began to blur. They were about to be consumed once again to experience something dangerously important to the new timeline.
. . .
FudoTwin17: Stopping there. Anyways, about halfway through this, I found out my aunt died. You can probably tell where I was feeling down, and turned this fic so weird. Anyways, please review. Bye.
