Both sidekicks bolted upright, scanning the room for any possible threats. M'gann moved towards the boys, but froze when Kid Flash went to run and Robin reached for his utility belt. She quickly held up her hands in a pacifying gesture, worried she was going to have to fight one of the boys. Luckily for her, she didn't have to.
The Flash placed his hands on his nephews shoulders, a restraint and a comfort, while Batman stepped into Robin's line of view, reminding him where he was. Kid Flash and Robin relaxed, knowing they were safe in the presence of the mentors. However, despite the acknowledged safety, both boys were still trembling. M'gann quietly let herself out, sensing that there was nothing more she could do to help.
For a moment the room was silent, but as usual, one of the Flashes broke the silence, "Hey Rob, did Dr. Destiny get you too?"
"Yeah," Robin muttered, staring around the room as if he couldn't believe it was real, "Totally not 'whelming."
Wally quietly laughed, the sound obviously forced, "Dude," Once again silence reigned, no one quite sure what to do now.
It was eerily similar to the aftermath of the simulation, but both mentors knew that the recovery from this attack would most likely be worse. The simulation had been a series of terrible events, but this nightmare had been their worst fears. Both boys would need to have many sessions with Black Canary to even begin to recover. But, they were physically unharmed and awake, and their mentors took a moment to appreciate that.
"How did he get in?" Wally eventually asked.
"A malfunctioning Zeta tube," Batman replied, "It has been fixed."
"I thought Dr. D was in Bel-Rev?" Dick commented.
The Flash nodded, "He escaped, but Superman has put him back behind bars."
The boys nodded and a minute later, Black Canary came in to run some scans to determine they were physically healthy, as well as guess where they were mentally. When her tests were complete, she sent the boys to the cave's main room to watch TV while she talked to their mentors. Surprisingly, they obeyed without argument, and Black Canary hated to think of what that indicated. When enough time had passed for the boys to be fully involved in whatever TV show they were watching, she turned to their mentors.
She sighed, "Both boys are traumatized. I won't know how much until I have the chance to talk to them."
"Just give us a time," Barry ordered and Bruce nodded. Both of their partners would be talking to Black Canary, whether they wanted to or not.
Black Canary sighed again, "I'd recommend that you take them home and make the rest of the week an easy one. No patrols." Both of the mentors stiffened at that and she quickly amended her statement, "One or two easy patrols. Let them burn off some energy and them get them back home."
They nodded, and after a moment the Flash asked, "Can we take them home now?"
Black canary nodded, "Bring them here tomorrow and I'll talk with them."
The mentors nodded and left to find their partners. They found the boys sitting next to each other on the couch, arms and shoulders touching. The boys close proximity was far from surprising, they often comforted each-other after rough missions.
They turned as their mentors walked in and Robin stood, Kid Flash slowly echoing his movement. Batman wordlessly began to walk towards the zeta tubes and Robin followed, throwing a quiet "Bye, KF." Over his shoulder.
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"You ready, Kid?" The Flash asked gently, and Kid Flash nodded standing and following his mentor out of the cave.
The run home was silent, an unusual occurrence for this team. Iris was waiting for them at home, and she slowly enveloped Wally in a hug. He hugged her tight, burying his face in her shoulder before pulling away. He smiled at her before his disappeared into his room, the door clicking shut behind him.
"What happened?" Iris asked softly, her voice free of judgement. She could tell by their body language that something had happened, and Barry hadn't called her to let her know what. She knew however, that most of the time Barry couldn't call her when Wally got hurt.
Barry sighed, burying his face in his wife's hair, "Dr. Destiny, you remember him?"
Iris nodded, wrapping her arms around her husband, "Yes,"
"He broke out of bel-rev. He wanted revenge, and he went after Kid and Robin to get it."
Iris tensed, took a deep breath, and forcefully relaxed. "But they're ok now?"
"Physically,"
Iris sighed, squeezing Barry, "I'm assuming Wally is going to talk to Black Canary tomorrow?"
Barry nodded against Iris' head, "Yeah." He slumped. He was so tired, and while the trouble wasn't over yet, knowing his nephew was safe and in his room allowed him to relax.
"Let's go to bed," his wife suggested and Barry nodded, allowing her to lead him up the stairs and to their room.
They briefly stopped by Wally's room, wishing him a goodnight and giving him a hug each, before retiring to their own.
"You think he will go to sleep anytime soon?" Iris asked her husband softly.
Barry shook his head, thinking back on the brief part of the nightmare he had seen, "I don't think he'll willingly go to bed for a long time,"
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In the manor, Dick and Bruce sat across from each-other, food growing cold on their plates. The room was silent, the food untouched, and Bruce waited. Bruce was not much of a talker, under any circumstance, but Dick was. So he waited, knowing that eventually Dick would speak.
"So, M'gann let you in our heads?" Bruce nodded, "That's good. She's seemed a little overwhelmed," Once again Bruce nodded and continued to wait.
"I'm sorry," Bruce knew now he could speak.
"Don't apologize,"
"But-"
"Fear is nothing to be sorry for."
"But it controlled me!"
"In a dream,"
Dick fell silent, obviously not happy, but unwilling to argue any further. He took his fork, finally starting to eat and Bruce did as well, silence once again reigning. Dinner was finished quickly, and Bruce and Dick went their separate ways.
Bruce made it to his room and waited five minutes before he left again. He went down the hall and to the clock that opened the Batcave. He grabbed some motion sensors and cameras from the batcave and made his way back into the manner.
He walked to Dicks room, keeping his footsteps silent to keep from alerting his protege. Bruce put the cameras and motions sensors so that any movement approaching the door or hallway would be noted and recorded.
Once they were all set, Bruce made his way back to his own room. He opened his computer and entered the passcode that allowed him to view the cameras. Keeping one eye on the computer, he began to plan upgrades for the caves security. With his new upgrades no one would enter or leave the cave without him knowing.
He was halfway into upgrading the caves security when Alfred entered his room. Alfred handed Bruce a mug of coffee and waited for a moment before he asked "Is the young master alright, Sir?"
"He will be,"
"Will the young master be requiring coffee as well?"
"Probably,"
"Hot chocolate and Batcookies it is, Sir."
Bruce smiled as Alfred may his way out, mindlessly nodding when Alfred asked him too, "Try not stay up too late, Sir,"
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The next couple of months were difficult for the boys. They attended daily therapy sessions with Black Canary, but that didn't stop the constant nightmares. Neither boy was able to get a full nights sleep, and because of that they were not allowed to go on patrol. This caused the boys to be even more tense because they had no way to blow off steam.
However, after a couple months, things began to get better. The nightmares became less frequent, and this allowed the boys to go on more patrols, which allowed them to blow of steam, which allowed them to sleep better. As more time passed, the trauma Dr. Destiny put them through eventually faded until it was bearable. By the end of the year, they rarely thought about it, and the only remaining evidence was the upgraded security systems in the cave.
Hi folks!
This is the last chapter! Thank you so much for staying with this story until the end! Please leave a review telling me what you think and what you might like to see from me in the future!