Reunion
Chapter 18: Suns And Gymnastics
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Batman or DC...apart from a cute T-Shirt
Bruce tumbled forward with a gasp as his vision blurred and chest pounded. Although he didn't black out this time, his knees threatened to buckle under the weight of his body. The second time around, Bruce was awake to see the transition from Past to Present. Every object that surrounded him started to vibrate, faster and faster until they were merely a colored blur. A piercing ring shot through his ears, making his brain ache with all the visual and audible senses to process. As suddenly as the change had begun, the objects started to slow down and reform, minor differences noticeable and some were missing altogether. The Past had once again become the Present for Bruce Wayne.
Bruce's throat stung as the content of his stomach was evacuated onto his front porch. Alfred is going to love that…
Alfred! Alfred would be on his way to the door…and would see Bruce in his youthful form…
Bruce could hear footsteps approaching behind the mahogany door; he only had a few seconds to hide! With as much strength as he could muster, Bruce hauled himself down the steps and back into the garden. He quickly retreated behind a bush and prayed his whereabouts wouldn't be obvious to his faithful Butler.
The creek of the ancient door alerted Bruce to Alfred's presence.
"Good After-" Alfred was cut short when he realized no one was in front of him. However…
"How vile." He had obviously noticed Bruce's meal. "Hooligans these days, no respect." Alfred mumbled as he retreated into the Manor to fetch a mop and some disinfectant.
Bruce breathed a sigh of relief and waited till Alfred's footsteps were no longer audible before he made his way out of the Manor's garden.
Swiftly walking back down the streets of Gotham West, Bruce mulled over what he had just experienced. It was all quite confusing and slightly terrifying.
He had knocked on the door in the past, after speaking to Selina. Perhaps that was a trigger back to his present time? But why that precise moment, what was special about being in front of the Manor?
"Bruce!" The voice took Bruce off guard and he instantly turned to the source, fighting stance ready. Jason stood before him, hands raised as if surrendering.
"Please tell me you didn't go in the Manor." Jason pleaded, his face shrouded with fear and anxiety.
"Why the hell would I, they would see me like this and our cover would be blown!" Jason's jaw dropped as he realized his Bruce was back.
He swiftly shortened the distance between them and embraced Bruce, feeling twice as relieved as Bruce had before.
Jason felt Bruce stiffen and growl. The stiffening was clearly due to the unwanted contact. Jason suspected the growl was because he had to bend down to hug the boy, making Bruce painfully aware of his current physical traits.
"And why, may I ask, have you decided to display this rare affection?" he growled, signalling to Jason that he was not at all comfortable with the embrace. Jason regained his composure and released Bruce, looking him up and down.
"I thought you had amnesia, I…I...Bruce what the hell just happened?!"
"LE FEY!"
Superman flew through the Watch Tower in record speeds, anger and hatred becoming his fuel.
He swooped into the containment unit and the moment his eyes caught sight of the familiar golden mask, he bellowed in rage.
"Temper, Superman, you wouldn't want to do something you regret would you?" Her voice was smug and smooth. Although Superman wanted to bring her to justice, she had a point. Harming her, or even killing her wouldn't help the situation at all. It would only make matters worse.
"What did you do to him?" Superman whispered harshly, pressing his hands up against the glass to try and come as close to the witch as possible.
"I'm not a fool Superman." She began tone as sleek as silk. "I knew of the powers that lay at the heart of Eros. Magicians and Sorcerers have tried to retrieve the Sacred One; however very few are enlightened to the fact the Cave holds another powerful object." Superman raised one eyebrow, curiosity getting the better of him.
"The Sun Stone. It is an orb of pure energy that can bring life to anything. The Guardians of the Cave of Eros are the only beings that know how to craft these… brilliant objects. It takes centuries for the energy to form. Those blasted nymphs wasted the potential of such a strong power on growing crops and lighting the Heart of Eros. When you have that immense opportunity at your fingertips, why on earth would you use it to cultivate weeds? I need that Sun. And I knew that if your precious Bat died, those nymphs would use it to revive him."
"You planned this? You knew Mayua would bring him back to life?!"
Le Fey chuckled. "Of course."
"But… why were you after the Sacred One? If it's the Sun you need, what's the point in getting the ruby?"
"What is that saying you mortals use… Two birds, one stone. The Batman will undoubtedly now contain the power of the Sun Stone inside him. I am positive those nymphs will no longer think the Sacred One is safe at their Cave of Eros. So Superman, who do you think the nymphs entrusted the ruby to to find a new safe spot?"
"…Batman…" His whisper was barely audible, but to the delight of Le Fey, it sounded pained.
"Exactly. I laced my killing curse with another spell, which can only be reversed by myself. However I do not have this amount of power currently. To reverse the spell I need…"
"The Sacred One…" Superman finished. His stomach churned at the reality of the situation.
"I am curious though. I wonder what the combination of my memory loss spell and the Sun caused on our Bat. Care to enlighten me?"
Superman looked up quickly, surprise laced through his features.
"Oh? Why the shock Kryptonian?"
She hadn't de-aged him. Superman thought. She… wiped his memory? But that can't be right? He knew Jason perfectly well in that video and recognised his own Jet. Maybe the Sun and the Spell did react…
"Is that all?" Superman growled.
"I think I covered everything. Bring me The Batman and the Sacred One. Only then will he regain his memories."
"Don't count on it, Le Fey." Superman shot her one last glare (not on par with Bruce's) and started walking back towards the door.
"Oh… and one more thing. You have exactly six months before the spell becomes permanent. I'll be waiting."
"What's wrong, Alfred?" Dick called as he heard mutterings from the utility room.
"Some unknown trespasser has decided to leave us a small gift on the front porch, Sir."
"Awesome, what is it?" Tim enthusiastically asked. Dick rolled his eyes.
"I don't think we wanna know, buddy." Dick ruffled Tim's hair, causing the small boy to batter his older brother's hand away.
Suddenly Tim's eyes widened and sparkled, the tell-tale way to know when the Boy Wonder has an idea. Dick moaned internally, I'm really not in the mood for patrolling if that's what he's gonna suggest.
"Let's go patrolling!" Shit.
"That'll take your mind off things!" Tim practically bounced up and down on the spot, displaying perfect maturity levels.
Dick groaned, causing Tim's enthusiasm to waver.
"Or… you could teach me some gymnastics in the gym?"
"An excellent idea, Master Tim." Came a voice from outside.
Dick thought for a few moments then smiled. "Sure, buddy. Tkachev Salto sound good to you?"
This time it was Tim's turn to groan. "Can't we do something a bit simpler? I'm still yet to master the side flip."
Dick laughed heartily as he remembered the boy hitting a wall at his first attempt.
"Side flip it is!"
"What are you thinking?" Jason nervously queried after divulging the past hours experience to Bruce, whom retold his side of events in return. Well, he hadn't told the part about Selina. They were sat back in Jason's kitchen table, opposite to each other.
Bruce was silent for a few moments as he stared off into space. He shook his head lightly in an attempt to process Jason's question.
"I'm thinking that I screwed up your nose pretty bad, and that you need to put ice on it as soon as possible."
"I'm being serious."
"Me too."
Jason glared silently and retrieved an ice pack from his freezer. The cold pressure on his injury caused him to yelp in pain, but he soon acclimatized.
"I was thinking that the Past-me and I were at exactly the same places, just in different times. Perhaps that was the trigger for us to swap back. It seems that we also punched someone after the same distasteful words were spoken about our parents. Constants between the two times I've been 17 seem to be the triggers." Jason hummed in agreement.
"We need to find out the Ruby's secrets as soon as possible, change me back and get the damn thing far away from us." Jason nodded. Both of them turned their heads simultaneously to glance at the rucksack that still contained the precious gem.
"Maybe that's not the best hiding place" Jason sounded very nasal with the ice pack applied, but he did have a point.
"I have a safe under my bed room floor boards?"
Bruce shook his head in disagreement.
"Too obvious. Put a fake ruby in there by all means, but we need to hide this one in plain sight."
"We could make it into a necklace and send it to the Gordon girl. 'Dear My Love, here is a stone almost precious as you. I want you to think of me when you wear it. Specifically, I want you to think of me jacking-"
"Jason." Bruce warned with a scowl.
"…'Love Dickie'." He finished.
Bruce rolled his eyes at Jason's somewhat failed attempt of humor.
"I'll keep it in my pillow case." Bruce finalized. Jason snorted distastefully.
"And you called my idea obvious?"
"Would you suspect the World's Greatest Detective to keep an object with ultimate power in his pillow case?"
"Well no…"
"Then that's where we will keep it. Case closed." Bruce stood up and started making his way to his room.
"Don't you want some dinner?" Jason called, readying his microwaveable feast.
"Not hungry." In reality, he wasn't sure he could hold it down.
Tomorrow would be his "first" day of school. He needed all the sleep he could get if he was going to pull off the youthful, charming vibe. Specifically, he needed Tim to fall for it.
"Tim, I know you can do better than that!"
The boy was heavily panting on top of the exercise mat. They'd been trying to perfect the side flip for hours.
"We should call it a night, Rob. If you didn't get it the first couple hundred times, I doubt you'll get it now."
"No!" Tim breathed. "I.. might… need this…"
Dick smirked and joined Tim on the mat.
"You do fine in combat without the pirouettes and flips. Besides, flying through the air is my thing."
"Still," Tim took a swig of water from the bottle Dick handed to him. "what if I have to dodge a bullet and the only way to do it is a side flip?"
"I'm fairly sure the flip you do would suffice."
"It has to be perfect." Tim was adamant. Dick sighed and looked at his watch. 9:00 pm. And it was a school night.
Tim's doe eyes were very hard to resist though…
"Fine. I'll take you through it once more."
Tim punched the air in delight and resumed his starting position immediately. The kid had stamina, Dick had to admit.
"Right, try to gain more momentum this time round for the take-off OK?"
Tim nodded and started to relax his body for his final attempt. Then, he ran forward along the stretched mat, gaining more and more forward momentum. His lips couldn't help but smile, he felt that this time it would definitely be perfect. Tim kept his final lead up steps smooth and low to the ground, as Dick had advised. He turned 90° after his final step and punched up into the air- he was flying!
"Master Dick, I have some urgent news." Alfred's voice suddenly blared out of the inter com.
He was falling. Alfred had disrupted his train of thought and he was brought painfully back down on the mat. He swore none too politely, which gained a non-subtle cough from Dick.
"You almost had it. The beginning was brilliant, but I suspect Alfred didn't help with the rest." Dick outstretched his hand and helped Tim to his feet. He cupped Tim's shoulder, making the boy look up from his feet to meet Dick's eyes.
"It was good!" Dick reassured.
"When you were my age, you were mastering the Maltese Cross." Tim grumbled.
"I was a Flying Grayson. Of course I could do this stuff, it was my job! You're a Daring Drake. Don't forget that." Tim's nose crinkled at the cheesy but heartfelt message.
"Alliteration doesn't work in real life."
"Noted. Get some sleep. You're seeing that Danny guy tomorrow right? I'm sure he would prefer you refreshed and alert to barely awake."
"Master Dick?" The voice called once again.
"Coming Alfred! I'll see you tomorrow, Tim."
And with that, he was gone. Tim sighed heavily and looked down at his bare feet. They were starting to turn red and sore with all the pressure he had applied to them whilst practicing. He sure was tired though…maybe getting an early night wasn't such a bad idea.
Dick joined Alfred in the living room, declining the offer of a hot beverage.
"What's the news, Alfred?"
"Fox contacted me about a recent neighborhood watch alert in a rundown area of Gotham, quite local to us. An elderly woman called in to the hotline as she had seen, and I quote "A young man with white hair chasing after a younger boy" out her window. Apparently the man seemed quite aggressive and had blood dripping down his nose."
Dick was still for a few seconds. "You think it's Jason?"
"Fox certainly thinks so. However I fail to see how he was able to make the deduction from such a scarce description."
Dick hummed in agreement. "Let me contact Fox. I'll get the address of the woman and interview her. If this is Jason, her location could give us a clue to his whereabouts."
"As you wish, Master Dick. However, I suggest that for tonight, you should retire to bed. You have had quite a difficult few days."
The fresh memory of Bab's breakup reared its ugly head at that moment, making Dick realize he was absolutely exhausted both physically and mentally. He nodded in agreement and wished Alfred a good night.
At least he had a lead to where his "brother" may be hiding.
Thank you so much to all my reviewers, you really made me smile!
Dream-with-your-heart; I hope you do enjoy! Here's hoping this is the one you like! :P
Fallenranger: That's so sweet of you, thanks for your support :)
Please review and I am open to suggestions :)
See you next time!
~Pikaachew~