A/N: So here we are… the endings. It's been fun, guys, and I hope you enjoy them. ;) By the way, I'm not sure WHEN it may happen, but there MIGHT be a sequel to this branching from the BAD ending. It depends on my mood.
Reviewer's Response:
DeathwishJV: Well, I passed the message along to the author of that scene… And you get a dream from Damian in two of the ends, but neither are the dark horrible ones that are probably NORMAL… You'll see. ;)
Hount-Walf: Ahhh! That was the longest chapter! Lol… Well, I'm a firm believer in the whole 'don't drag it out' idea. Here are three endings, ready for your perusal!
Anonymous: Oh, hi there, anon! I'm glad you liked it! :D Thanks for reading it, and I hope you find the endings as good as the rest of it!
Tyra Kinami: Sorry that y story doesn't focus so much on Tim or the other kids… Maybe poking at BlueMoss will get her to write more about his nightmares! Or maybe she'll just be flattered… Well, here you go, endings to find out just what happens to Dick!
pokerfacedcat: :D I'm glad you liked and reviewed all the previous chapters! Here is the end to your suspenseful waiting period! I hope you enjoy!
(Again, another scene written by BlueMoss, this time because she wrote it before I could. Being the lazy author I am, I didn't complain.)
It was a few hours after the explosion when Dick slowly started to come around. The first thing he felt was pain in his chest. He struggled, but his body felt like it weighed 5 times more than it normally did. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The room was dim so it only took him moments to adjust to the light. He couldn't move his head but he could see tubes and wires around him. Then he noticed the antiseptic smell of the clinic and the sound of the machines. He was awake. Really awake.
Relief rushed over him as he started to take tabs on his own body. His chest hurt, a lot. It felt like he was drowning but he knew it was only the ventilator forcing him to breathe that was causing this. He also knew that it was blunt force trauma that caused him to go into a coma in the first place, but there wasn't any pain in his head right now. Dick was not looking forward to the headaches after starting to move around. It was just as he was beginning to wonder when someone would discover him when Alfred walked in.
He didn't notice the man was awake until Dick lifted his arm to reach for the butler. He gasped. "Oh good Lord..." and rushed to the bedside, relief washing over his face. Dick was happy to see the man, but really wanted to breathe for himself. He brought his hand up and motioned toward the tube sticking out of his throat. "Yes, of course. Just give me a moment…" In a few minutes Dick was sitting up and coughing between sipping on some water. Alfred was quiet until Dick smiled at him and croaked out a weak "Hey, Alfie."
Alfred sure looked worried for Dick just waking up from a coma. "Master Richard... You should know that I am elated at your awakening but..." he trailed off, looking away.
"But what?"
"Master Damian was caught in a bombing a couple of hours ago. He's been missing and the others are looking for him right now."
The bomb. Dick had completely forgotten about that. "But..." But Damian was far enough away from the bomb when it went off. It wasn't even all that big of a bomb, only large enough to take out that bridge support. "He was clear of the explosion."
"Excuse me?"
Dick held up his hand. "It's a long story. Do you have a communicator on you?"
Dumbfounded, Alfred handed his comm over to the man. Dick fiddled with the device until he was sure it was only sending to one person. "Hey O, you there?"
"Dick? You're awake?"
"Alive and kickin'! Well, alive anyway. But listen, Alfred told me about Damian."
"Oh, Dick. I'm sorr-"
"Wait. I know this is going to sound crazy, but Damian was not caught in that blast."
"Dick... How could you possibly know that?"
"Ok, let me explain. While I was knocked out my spirit or something was able to roam around. You guys couldn't see or hear me at all. It was kind of weird, really... But Damian COULD see me. Well, I followed him to the bomb site to keep an eye on him. It seemed like he disarmed the bomb so he left and then I went in to check it out. It was a remote activated bomb, though, and it went off. It didn't hurt me, actually I think it woke me up, but Damian was on the retaining wall when the bomb went off. There was no way he would have been hit by that blast." Dick could only imagine the look on Barbara's face. Actually it probably looked close to Alfred's: mouth agape and stunned.
"Ok, I'll… tell the others. You get some sleep, some real sleep."
Dick hadn't noticed till now, but he was dog tired. "That sounds pretty good right now."
"Hey, Dick?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you woke up."
"Me too, Babs." With that Dick handed the comm back to a smiling Alfred. Dick lay back, asleep as soon as his eyes were closed.
Damian glared at the dark sky above the alley he was crouching in. How could he have messed up disarming that bomb? It was a stupid rookie mistake, and he had been disarming – and building – bombs since he could hold the tools necessary. He, Damian Wayne, Robin and son of the Batman, had failed. And Grayson had seen it. That was worse than the knowledge that he had failed in his mission. He didn't want to face his father or any of the strays that had become his family yet; did not want the sympathy, pity, or mockery that was sure to accompany their greetings.
So, here he sat, tracer disabled, in a filthy alley littered with old newspapers and the garbage overflowing from a nearby dumpster. A petulant scowl overtook his features, and the young boy pulled the hood of his cape over his hair and switched the victim of his glare to the ground. He was NOT pouting.
A soft high-pitched sound jerked his attention from a crack in the pavement, whipping around to face it. Surprised, Damian blinked at the small walking pile of dark grey fuzz that was staring up at him with exceptionally blue eyes. The kitten mewled again, tottering towards the boy a little unsteadily. The current Robin stared at the feline as it climbed over his legs to enjoy the warmth of his lap before hesitantly moved a gloved hand to stroke the soft fuzz on top of its head.
A short time later and Damian was climbing through the window of his bedroom, clutching the grey kitten to his chest – and getting little hairs all over the red tunic – with one hand. The animal had fallen asleep in his hold, purring at first before falling silent as its sleep deepened. He found himself reluctant to put the kitten down, but finally coaxed the tiny claws from their hooked place in fabric and carefully put the fuzzy ball on top of his blankets so he could change out of his uniform.
Since the kitten seemed tired enough to just sleep, he decided against going downstairs to find temporary supplies for it, and joined the kitten on the bed to rest.
...
Damian waited impatiently for his father to go through the motions of preparing for the day. Bruce had decided to take him to the Gotham Clinic so he could finally see what was so important there that could demand the attentions of the two adopted sons of the Wayne family. Scowling at the bright light streaming in through the open door, the boy folded his arms over his chest. The sun seemed to be shining almost too brightly…
Footsteps pulled his thoughts away from the door as his father approached, finally ready. With only a glance and not a single word, the two walked through the door and to the waiting car.
The following car ride was quiet, and seemed to be too short for the distance they should be traveling. Damian attributed it to some childish excitement and forgot about it as Alfred stopped the car and moved to open the door for his charges. Together, the Waynes made their way into the clinic, where they were greeted by a morose Leslie.
"Bruce… I tried to reach you, but you had already left the Manor," the older woman gently commented.
"Has something changed, Leslie?"
Damian frowned. Surely if this woman wanted to reach his father so badly, she would have called his cell phone when the landline had gone unanswered.
Leslie hesitated a moment before responding. "Yes… After the explosion last night…" Was he imagining things, or did she look at him with pity? "Well, come see for yourselves."
Damian followed his father and the old family friend as they moved through the hallway – strangely, it seemed longer than it should be and the doors seemed to be out of order – to one at the end. As they walked in, Damian looked at the gurney and fought the urge to run away. Bile was rising in his throat and panic had started to set in as he gazed at the single casualty from the bomb's unexpected detonation.
...
Bright blue and black swirled in Damian's mind as he jerked himself out of the dream, a startled yowl pulling his focus from his nightmare to the gray kitten clinging to his blankets. After staring at his new bedmate for a moment, the boy picked up the kitten and gently hugged it, burying his nose in its soft fur to calm himself. A breathing exercise later, and Damian moved the now-purring creature to his lap, idly stroking it.
"If you are to stay here, you will need a name." He looked down at the kitten, staring into its too-blue eyes. He stayed that way for a few minutes, but ultimately decided to wait until the morning to decide, lest he come up with something idiotic. Like Fluffy.
A scant few hours after Damian had woken himself from his nightmare (and fallen back asleep), Bruce himself had opened his bedroom door, presumably to see if his youngest son had returned to the Manor after disappearing. To his immense relief, that had been the case and Damian was sleeping with a toy - no, that was a kitten. That was curious.
Carefully, Bruce made his way to the bed, noting the way the kitten's head lifted to stare at him. He gently placed his hand on his son's shoulder as he looked away from the small creature. "Damian."
Damian's eyes snapped open to look up at his father, then waited for the man to say something.
"We have been looking for you since the bomb went off. What happened," Bruce questioned, his tone lacking the icy gruffness of the Bat but certainly demanding answers.
Damian took a moment to collect his thoughts, slowly shifting to a seated position so he didn't startle the kitten again. "I made a mistake in disarming the bomb. It was remote-activated. When it detonated, I began to make my way back here."
"Your tracker was deactivated."
"-Tt- The bomb must have damaged it."
"I see... Get ready. We are going to Gotham Clinic."
Damian fought down a rising surge of trepidation. This was only a coincidence. "What reason do we have to go there, Father?"
"You will see when we get there." Bruce looked at the ball of fluff, debating on what to say concerning it.
"I'm keeping it, Father." Damian wasn't going to give him the chance to say otherwise.
The Wayne patriarch nodded after a moment, repeated his command to get ready, and left his son's room. Damian huffed a bit and stood to dress himself; he purposefully chose lighter colors to wear so the hair from his kitten would not show so much.
This time, the car ride from Wayne Manor to Gotham Clinic took the appropriate amount of time. Damian spent the entire trip counting the seconds while he pet his kitten. Bruce was also the one driving them, instead of Alfred, who had driven in his nightmare. However, it was just as silent between father and son, and although Damian had been sorely tempted to question him about the contents of the manila envelope that sat on the console, he was equally determined to not be the first to break the silence.
When they walked through the doors of the clinic, another major change difference became immediately apparent: Stephanie and Tim - well, Batgirl and Red Robin were waiting for them with tired but relieved expressions.
"Bruce! Bruce, you'll never believe it!" Stephanie exclaimed when she saw him.
"What could possibly be so exciting..." Damian grumbled at the blonde.
"It's Dick!" Damian felt his stomach drop and he held the kitten a little tighter. Had something happened to the acrobat? "He actually -" the blonde cut off with an indignant squawk of surprise as they young boy shoved past her to trot down the hall, nearly colliding with Alfred.
The butler appeared as put together as usual, but like the other members of the Bat Family, was also sporting a tired but relieved expression. "Young Master Damian... You are here to see Master Richard, I expect? He has been a little concerned since your disappearance last night."
"Then he's... well?" Damian managed to get out without an embarrassing tremor.
"Come see for yourself," Alfred invited, gesturing through the open doorway.
Hesitantly, Damian made his way into the small room. There, Dick was sitting up on his hospital bed, smiling at Barbara and holding her hand tightly. The two of them turned to look at him, the tech whiz pulling her hand free so she could wheel herself back a little from the bedside. This proved a wise move as Damian flew across the room to cling to his older brother before he could think on how undignified it was or consider the well-being of a small gray kitten.
"Whoa...Little D, it's ok.. I'm alright.." Dick patiently told the boy, rubbing his back.
Barbara watched the two brothers with a small smile, not wanting to interrupt the moment. From what Dick had said, Damian was the only one who hadn't realized what had happened, but from his reaction... It was hard to tell. Well, maybe he thought Dick had been caught in the blast last night? The acrobat had said that Damian could see him, and claimed to have been there...
"So, what are you going to call your new friend?" Dick asked, reaching out to rub the kitten's head and pulling Barbara's attention back to the two boys.
The current Robin looked down at it, taking his time to consider his options. "Grayson..."
"Yeah?"
"-Tt-, not you. The kitten's name." Damian looked away, fighting down the warmth traveling towards his cheeks. Seems he'll have to find something else to call Nightwing.
Dick felt a wide grin spread across his face. "You're naming your kitten after me? Aww, Dami, I'm touched!"
"Shut up, Richard!"
A/N: Wow… Finally finished all three of these… It was pretty daunting, but I wanted to get all three written so they'd all be posted at the same time. Yes, there are similar parts (or flat-out copy/pastes) in these ends, but I figured… If there's similarities, why waste my time to write it all out multiple times when I can alter what was already needed? But I have warned you guys before that I'm lazy. So, thank you, everyone, for reading through to the endings! And for those of you who decided to read all three endings, I offer even MORE thanks! You guys have been lovely, and have encouraged me to write again after several YEARS of writing no literature at all. Well, not like this anyway…
Goodbye for now, and if you decide to follow me into the next fanfiction adventure… I look forward to the journey with you!
Actual Word Count of Chapter: 2361
PS: All responses to reviews after this point will be done by private messages. ;) Thanks again for all your support, faves, watches, etc!