229. A Hard Act to Follow part 14
November 30, 2004.
8:32 a.m.
Smallville, Kansas.
Kent's' House.
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The radio on the kitchen counter crackled forth the voice of the morning news over breakfast.
"……just outside of Topeka where a privately owned jet is said to have crash-landed on a long stretch of highway. According to reports, no vehicular traffic was involved in the crash and—amazingly—the plane remained in one piece after what experts believe to be a sliding stop of about one hundred meters without landing gear. When investigators reached the site, there were no pilots found. Police are calling this one of the most bizarre incidents in Kansas' history, but nobody can complain about how extremely lucky commuters are for there being no apparent injuries from the fiasco. People are still on the lookout for whomever may have piloted the craft, especially since the owners were found safely back at their ranch home outside of Metropolis along the East Coast early this morning. In other news………"
"Heh…..," John Kent smirked and flipped through his newspaper at the kitchen table. "…looks like Smallville is moving up a notch!"
"Mmm….heaven forbid," Martha murmured.
Kara drifted in around that time. "Morning Ma. Morning Pa. Wow….breakfast already?"
"Having a guest around the place again is doing me wonders!" Martha mused. "I've been letting myself get out of the practice of things. But here I am getting up early in the morning again. Cooking. Ha! I didn't know I had any of it still left in me."
Kara half-winced. "Well…uhm….g-glad Terra's here to teach you how to slave again, Ma."
"Pfft….don't talk like that," Martha Kent rolled her eyes. "It feels good to be getting up early again like in the days before those corporations started moving in all over the place. Citrus farming? Out here? Ludicrous!"
"Floridians should stay Floridians…," John Kent muttered.
"A gray term as it is already!" Martha added. "Have a helping for yourself and Terra, darling. Are you both eating in the family room again?"
"Yeah. We like the sunlight there," Kara said, spooning herself and Terra two plates of scrambled eggs, grits, and sausages.
"Very well. Just use the table and don't spill anything on the floor."
"Heh….I'll be sure to clean her bib off," Kara winked and hovered out the room.
"Lord have mercy! Argosian sarcasm is even worse than Kryptonian these days!"
"Whatever you say, Martha…."
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Terra sat on a couch, her hands folded in her lap. Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved, button up shirt that seemed two sizes too big on her. But then again, Terra looked tiny in many ways. She gazed out the window with her lips parted and her blue eyes thin in a sort of thoughtful posture.
"Are you always looking so contemplative?" Kara mused.
Terra blinked and looked up at her. "Huh?"
"Hehe….nevermind. Here. Munch time."
Kara set down two plates on the coffee table with forks.
"I wish I could say we have orange juice…..but um…..Ma and Pa have this thing about citrus produce---"
"Y-Yes…," Terra nodded. "I heard." She sat down quietly on the floor, scooted quietly towards the table, and brushed aside a golden strand of hair quietly.
"…..," Kara looked sideways at her. "Still shaken up from last night?"
Terra sighed and picked at her grits. "Utterly confused is more like it…"
Kara swiftly dropped down and sat cross-legged at her plate besides Terra. "You said…..Y-You eventually said that it felt like something inside of you?"
"Or someone….," Terram muttered.
Kara paused in the middle of forking some scrambled eggs and looked at Terra.
Terra glanced back. "Don't get me wrong…," she bit her lip and glanced aside. "The child was…..n-never inside of me long enough to reach that stage where I can feel it move around. Or….at least….it never grew…."
"Right…..," Kara nodded and quietly ate some breakfast.
Terra picked at her grits more. "But….what I felt last night…..I….I just kn-knew that th-that's what it had to have felt like."
"Mmmmfff…..something only…mmf…a mother would know." Kara swallowed. "Right?" She took another bite.
"Yeah….I guess….," Terra nodded. "Like a bolt from above. Some….divine epiphany. I felt like a part of me far away was pulsing and reaching for me."
Silence.
Kara chewed.
Terra looked over at her. "Supergirl, have you ever been pregnant?"
Kara choked, coughed, spat out some eggs, and wheezed. "Ahem….uhm…..chkk…..n-no. Not myself…at least—NO….N-No, I haven't…."
Terra winced. "Stupid question…I know…"
"No. Not really, it isn't."
"…….."
"Terra…," Kara said softly. "Do you believe there's something that's……"
"That's what?"
"Worth investigating?"
"N-No!" Terra enthusiastically uttered. "I-I mean……I don't think so…."
"Something you would like to investigate?"
"……….."
"Mmm? Terra?"
"I….am concerned….but……," Terra closed her eyes, leaned back, and sighed. "There's so much going on right now. I dunno. I think I'm just…..letting stuff get to me."
"Hey….," Kara smiled and placed a hand on Terra's shoulder. "….you've been frozen in stone for a long time. It's a really big difference to be here and alive so suddenly."
"I-I've only been here a week…. to what? Months in rock? Terra…you've gone through a lot. Admit it. But I want you to admit something else. I want you to admit….that you have a lot of good things going for you. And a lot of people that love you."
"……," Terra looked at Kara straight. She leaned her head to the side. "I can't help but think that……y-you didn't volunteer for this 'job', Kara."
"So?"
"It's just….erm….n-never mind," Terra bit her lip and faced her breakfast. "It's stupid of me."
"No. Go ahead. Please."
"……," Terra's eyes looked Kara's way. "I almost find it…..a l-little difficult to believe that you could be so willingly kind to me after so short a time of knowing each other…."
"Hey….I try my best," Kara winked. "I was yelling at you a couple of days ago, wasn't I?"
"Yeah, but I deserved it."
"Hehehehe…no really, Terra," Kara sighed and leaned back with a contented gaze towards the brightly lit windows. "….if only you had any idea how much I wanted….a friend. Someone to hang out with. A sister….a fellow superhero….anyone here at the farm besides the always-loving Ma and Pa."
"Might as well be 'me', right?" Terra half-simpered.
"No…," Kara looked seriously at the blonde. "You're a Titan, Terra. Whether you admit it or not, you're a superhero just like me. Only…you got a few rough spots to work over. And guess what? I've got rough spots to work on too. And I think we really relate. And it's been…….no….it is a pleasure and an honor to help you out. I wish I could….just share with you how happy and proud I am….."
"Heh…..," Terra smiled painfully and hugged her knees to her chest for the moment. "D-Didn't think I'd be getting any 'new' friends in my life."
Kara leaned forward. "Surprise, surprise," she smirked. She slapped the back of Terra. "Now eat! The eggs won't disappear on their own."
"Ow….," Terra pouted and rubbed her shoulder. "You have palms of steel."
"Funny thing you'd know that and not Jordan," Kara sat up. "Once you're full, we'll talk more about what happened last night…'kay?"
"'Kay…."
"I'm gonna go get some salt. My eggs could use more sodium. Yourself?"
"Hehehehe….all right."
Kara drifted out of the room and back into the kitchen.
Terra sighed. She lightly murmured to the air: "I wish I could prove I was a superhero……"
She picked at her grits. And munched. Munched. Munched.
"……….."
One minute.
"………."
Two minutes.
"……….."
Three.
"……….?"
Terra looked over her shoulder.
Silence.
"……..," she looked at her half-eaten plate. "…….." With a slightly concerned look, she scooted out from the coffee table, stood up on morning-stiff legs, and walked briskly into the kitchen.
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Terra wandered into the kitchen. "K-Kara?"
"Shhh…," John quietly whispered. He held a finger up. He and Martha sat side by side, staring wide-eyed with ears craned towards the radio.
Across the kitchen, Kara hovered…frozen by the radio. Her hands wrung together.
"……this very moment police are forming a perimeter around downtown Smallville where reportedly a group of cross-country bank robbers from Central City have holed themselves up in the Blue Pin Bowling Alley. A schoolbus is inside the parking lot with half of its elementary school occupants missing, and as of this moment authorities believe that the robbers have them hostage at gun point. A bomb threat has also been reported, and right now the standoff is going into its second hour……"
Kara's eyes widened.
Terra gasped breathily, a hand over her lips.
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The Titan's City.
8:55 am
Urban Faith Academy.
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A bell rang, signifying the end of first period.
Students filed out in the outer hallways of the school.
The cool air was warmed gently with sunlight outside the metal overhangs.
Lindsay emerged from her classroom door. Dressed in a modest blouse and skirt, she adjusted the backpack over her shoulder and headed across the leaf-littered courtyard to the doors that led to her hallway locker. Her face was deadpan…quiet….almost melancholy. A glance or two from fellow students, and she managed a smile and maybe a half-giggling 'hi'. But soon she was trekking alone across the courtyard under the cold November breeze and fall of flora. She brushed a strand of stringy brown hair away from her freckled brow and approached the doors to the inside of the Academy when a figure in a blue sweatjacket and hood approached her.
"Lindsay….we need to talk…"
"Um…," she murmured. "I-I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm being graded on a speech in debate class next and—"
The stranger lowered the hood, revealing a blue head of hair and a chakra stone set in a pale forehead. "Lindsay, it's me," Raven said.
Lindsay gasped and stepped back. "R-Raven?"
"This is serious…," Raven said. Not sternly. But still…with rigid importance in her voice. "…if it's a hall pass that you need, I can get you one."
"………," Lindsay blinked.
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Inside the empty gym of Urban Faith Academy….
Raven and Lindsay stood next to each other beneath a basketball hoop suspended from the metal-mesh ceiling. The lights were out, and only the glare from the morning Sun snuck its way in. Their voices echoed forbidden against the lone walls and floor as they spoke hushedly onward….
"What kind of vision do you say you had?"
"It has something to do with Noir….," Raven said.
"The other Titan who left, right?"
"Yes. But the vision wasn't exactly his. But still, what I saw had a great deal to do with him. It's as if there's some sort of all-pervasive force at work around us that's closely tied into Noir's powers…or at least the sensitivity of his powers."
"Really…."
"I spent all night on the Titan's Computer, looking up police records that we've shared with the Department's Data Systems. Since Commissioner Decker's Death and the tragedy of November Fourth, a lot has opened up about bizarre instances that have transpired in this City over the course of the last few months. Strange…horrifying things. Like blood lusting animals at zoos acting as if they're possessed. Power outages and curious computer software glitches. An entire psychological ward full of Dragonflare addicts who were the first screaming numbers to poor mercilessly out onto the heart of the City during Dagger's invasion. Coincidental, creepy things all happening simultaneously at twenty-one minutes after three in the morning on November Fourth and previous. Somehow, I think there's a dark…dark pattern at work. Something far too dark for any of us to overlook. Something that the Messenger was only trying to get to the crust of when he warned us the days prior to this City's holocaust."
"And…..," Lindsay blinked, "…..you think this is all related to your vision somehow? The one connected to Noir?"
"I'm pretty sure of it," Raven nodded. "And furthermore, I think Noir knows a lot more about this situation than I ever could on my own. And it might—at least—just begin to explain the incident in Metropolis in which he was involved. As well as the chaos at Las Vegas and just yesterday in Gotham City."
Lindsay looked shocked. "N-Noir was in Vegas during that jet plane attack?"
Raven nodded. "The News may be hesitant to admit it, but the Titans and I see it. We don't know what to think on our own. There has to be a reason…."
"Wh-Why have you…erm…………," Lindsay bit her lip.
"Hmm?"
"Wh-What can I do? I-I mean….you called me aside for a reason…."
"Lindsay….," Raven leaned forward. "I need to get in contact with Garth."
"…………"
"This is very, very important," Raven emphasized. "I'm speaking of more than just Noir here. But what bloody thing consumed our City nearly a month ago may be again on the rise. I want to cut the snake's body in half before the head reappears. Wouldn't you want that too?"
"I…..," Lindsay looked pensively to the side. "Garth wants to k-keep the things he says to me secret…."
"He can trust me, Lindsay," Raven said. "You can trust me. I'm a Titan. A teammate of his."
"Still….," Lindsay bit her lip.
"……..," Raven leaned back. She took a deep breath. "Lindsay, I'm sure that Garth has told you a lot of…..unpleasant things about the Titans. And….to be honest….he's probably right."
Lindsay looked at the dark girl.
Raven continued: "We've treated him like he was foolish and trivial on many occasions." She paused. She reiterated: "I have treated him unfairly on several occasions. And…I am sorry for that. I can see that I'm wrong now."
"………"
"I really….really need to touch base with him. He's in Metropolis for a reason, I know it. If I can communicate with him, I can learn more of what's going on here. The safety of thousands can be assured. Including himself. You've told me yourself how concerned you are about Garth."
"I have….."
"I can't force you, Lindsay. But please….if you can find a way….I wouldn't know where to begin to thank you."
"I….n-never thought you would be this…this…."
Raven raised an eyebrow.
Lindsay said: "Humble…."
Raven smirked somewhat. "Now I'm not so sure of what Garth's been saying about me."
Lindsay smiled crookedly…but it soon faded with a sigh as she closed her eyes, swallowed, and shudderingly admitted: "He….H-He is going to be meeting with me soon."
Raven brightened. "He is? When?"
"Soon. This e-evening…..coincidentally," said the schoolgirl. "He's going to give me a call as soon as I get home from school and we're going to meet out by the beach just south of the Bayside Plaza. It's…It's k-kinda sorta our 'place'."
Raven decided to skip that for the time being: "If you're going to get in contact with you ask him about my meeting him there too?"
Lindsay was silent for a short span of time.
Raven stared at her. Shifting uncomfortably.
"………..," Lindsay breathed. "Okay……."
Raven exhaled. "Good. Neither him or you will regret it."
"But….h-how do we know he'll accept?" Lindsay asked nervously.
"…….," Raven took a breath. "Tell him….that I will only be there."
"Only you?"
"And Cyborg won't know that I'm meeting him."
Lindsay gave Raven a strange look. "You're…..not telling your Titan leader?"
"No, Lindsay."
"But….B-But….," Lindsay looked confused. Hurt even. "Why not? Shouldn't he care?"
Raven turned aside, glancing down the glinting floor of the indoor basketball court. She inhaled and uttered: "Cyborg……wouldn't understand."
"………….why….wh-why is that, Raven?"
"I don't know why," Raven shook her head sadly. In a hushed breath, she added: "That's what scares me. And I don't do 'fear'."
"………."
"……….," Raven glanced at Lindsay and swiftly said: "I need to make a few trips today. I'll drop by to check and see what Garth said later."
"Okay. Godspeed, Raven."
"Heh….won't argue with that."
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9:02 am.
Gotham City.
Downtown.
Fox Family Loft Apartment.
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"William! For God's sake! Slow down and talk to me!" Lucius Fox panted and walked hurriedly to follow the footsteps of his exuberant son pacing to and fro across the lush apartment.
William Fox had bundles of documents and papers in his hands. Like a drunken-happy workaholic, he shuffled through the various manuscripts, rearranged them into brown folders, and formed a swiftly growing pile of material on a lamp table nearby the door leading into his personal suite and computer office.
"Son! Don't you hear your father's voice when he's speaking to you?" Lucius raised his volume, attempting a stern look on his grown offspring that fell short. "You just appeared out of nowhere! And after a twenty-four absence! We thought all manners of evil had happened to you! There's even rumors confirmed by the police department that you may have been hostage to those terrible supervillains in the zeppelin that fell downtown! Won't you at least tell me where you've been all this time?"
"Sorry, Pops," William chirped and shuffled through bundles of files and folders. "Really intense business stuff. The stock market's a jungle these days!"
"Stock market?" Lucius about went googly eyed. "William, this isn't about no stock market! All your associates are out of town! How could you be conducting that new business of yours?"
"I found myself new associates," William winked as he paced by. "Charming fellows, these. But not quite the high and mighty royalty like you're used to dealing with. Here at the dirty bottom, we have to wriggle and squirm our way through the detritus of capitalist dreams. Quite disgustingly beautiful it all is! You Big Whig types wouldn't understand…."
"I'm not a Big Whig, William, I'm your father! Now, dammit, you're having me worried!" Lucius gestured. "And that's not half as bad as how your mother's doing! She's practically having a heart attack as we speak!"
"Good. It'll help her build character…," William rushed to his door, paused, and 'smiled' back at his father. "Don't mind my frivolous absences, father dear. I don't enjoy it any more than you do. But when you're thinking, you can't be grinning. Am I right or am I right?"
"William, for the last time…"
THUD!
William was in his suite.
Lucius shook. His fists clenched. He trembled all over. "Ooooh…..mrff….," he turned about at the sound of a doorbell and stomped to the bottom floor of the loft apartment. "…Woodsheds are in short supply these days…."
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Inside his suite, Lucius sat down at one of three computers strung in a row in heavily wired chaos. He took a deep breath, grinned wide, and flew his fingers over the keyboards.
"Time to tap into Triangular….hehehehehe….oh, I'm not paid enough as it is for this…."
He connected into a network via a satellite connection. As he fixed himself into the digital realm for which he was born, he sat oblivious to a small blinking tag embedded into the wall beneath his desk. Opposite the desk's underside was a wide window open to the cool, semi-frosty November air.
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Across from the skyscraper where the Fox loft apartment was located, another skyrise stretched towards the amber-colored heavens of the cold Gotham morning.
Atop a gargoyle, Nightwing perched. He hid behind a rusted aluminum wing while staring into the apartment through a pair of electronic viewing goggles. A sensor dart gun rested in a holster on his thigh. He held a communicator with his free hand up to his mouth and spoke into it:
"Allright, Babs. The Fox is in the hole. Try tracing him now."
"Please, Nightwing. Call me Oracle."
Nightwing made a goofy face. "Aw sheesh….you serious?"
"For now, at least."
"Heh heh…all right…."
"Is he the only one logged on in his apartment?"
"In his room, yeah, as far as I can tell," spoke Nightwing as he gazed through the binoculars. "I don't see why Lucius or Mrs. Fox would be surfing the Internet right now. They've been worried sick about their son, hardly the mood to go visiting Ebay. Man, I tell you what….that William B. Fox is a total asshole."
"Reminds me of someone else I know."
"Yeah, real funny, Oreo."
"ORACLE!"
"Pfft…whatever."
"Hehehehe."
"You do my job, and I"ll do mine."
"Yes. Please do keep an eye out on him. I'll need to know if he leaves the station with his computers still jacked in."
"Want me to sneak in and do some insider trading for Wayne Corps?"
"Triangular. This is all about Triangular."
"Gee….I dunno, Oracle."
"Hmm?"
"Just a hunch," Nightwing smiled. "Batman has those, so I'm entitled to some too."
"Right. Sure."
"Something tells me that Triangular is striking much closer to home than anyone's previously hypothesized."
"Say, where is Batman anyways?"
"He's doing his part. Or so he told me before flew the coop."
"He abandoned you?"
"Oh….you know Bruce. Always working undercover."
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Lucius Fox opened the front door to his apartment. He blinked and brightened some. "Bruce!"
Bruce Wayne smiled. "Lucius! Hey there!"
Lucius gladly let the rich heir in. "What brings you here?"
"I heard that William came back."
Lucius produced a long-winded sigh. "Yes….that he did."
Bruce's eyes thinned. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."
"I wish I could say it was an entirely good thing….," Lucius uttered in a defeated tone. He gestured towards a coat rack as he closed the front door.
"Thanks…," Bruce hung his jacket and walked with Lucius to a couch in the foyer. "William is a busy man these days. But these constant disappearing acts of his….doesn't that worry you?"
"Heh…you're telling me…," Lucius sat down in an easy-chair across from Bruce. He sighed and rubbed his temples: "The boy—er—man is a great business associate. An even better whiz with the computer. He's got a lot going for him…but….my darling and I are just simply exhausted by him."
Bruce smirked mischievously. "He brings more panic attacks than progress?"
"I wish."
"Oh?"
Lucius gestured: "I know he won't admit it, but he goes to nightclubs. Dance halls. Not the innocent ones for the kiddies, Bruce. But the really heavy ones. Heck, I wouldn't put it past him to have stopped by the Stacked Deck Club or even a bardello or two. He's a bad apple, Bruce. I don't know where I went wrong."
"That's tough to hear, Lucius…," Bruce leaned forward and held his hands together. "I wish I could relate so I could give you some advice on what you're going through. When Dick grew up and went to college, he went on an extended vacation right after graduation without warning me. Turns out he visited half the world training in martial arts and stuff. Heh…can you imagine that? I was afraid for a while there that he was turning into some sort of mercenary for higher in South America!"
"It's not the same, Bruce…," Lucius said. He looked up with a sad face. "Please don't take that the wrong way. You've raised Richard, and now you have Timothy to watch over…"
"Off and on, yes…."
"But to have your own biological child just…..just go off on his own and make the family name look so flimsy a thing…"
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You don't think William's…..dealing with the really bad crowd, do you, Lucius?"
"………," Lucius fidgeted.
"Lucius," Bruce smiled. "You can trust me. How long have we worked together?"
The man smiled a little and breathed easier. "You're right, Bruce. I've been wanting to tell someone these things anyway. You wouldn't mind lending an ear, would you?"
Bruce gestured wide, smiling. "That's what I'm here for, Lucius. A friend in need."
"Heh heh…all right."
"……," Bruce glanced out the nearby window when Lucius wasn't looking.
Far away on the adjacent building front, the black and blue figure of a long-haired vigilante perched with binoculars.
Bruce's lip curved upward….
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9:07 am.
Wayne Manor.
Bat Cave.
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"Bruce is meeting with Lucius as we speak. We might be able to work out a tripartite operation here, Oracle."
Nightwing's voice filtered in through the speakers of the Batcomputer.
Barbara sat at the computer station, clad in her entire Batgirl gear save for her cowl. She typed maddeningly at an interface hacking its way into Fox's satellite feed while at the same time responding to another part of the station where Nightwing's communication was coming through.
"Pulling a triangle on Triangular. I never heard a more perfect plan!"
"Yeah,
well as long as Bruce and I do the dirty work. You just keep to that
keyboard."
"Eh….heheheh….," Barbara chuckled
sarcastically. "You don't think this is 'dirty work'?"
"What? It can't be that hard!"
"Easy for you to say, Nightwank!You try doing something as highly illegal as the Oracle's job with the likes of the F.B.I. and C.I.A. swarming over the digital security grid!"
"Illegal? You never told us that that was illegal, Babs!"
"ORACLE! And since when did that stop us? Vigilantes and hackers……it all derives from the Poetic Genius!"
"Yeah, whatever, Mrs. Blake. I'll try to keep you in touch about Fox and company."
"You do that."
"And Oracle?"
"Yes?"
"No surfing for Green Lantern Porn."
"Oh go eat a pigeon!" Barbara raspberried and flipped the communication off. She typed and typed and typed and typed. After a moment, she turned her redhead at the sound of heavy breathing to see Robin busily, sweatily engaging in the training equipment of the Batcave behind her shoulders. "Timmmmmm….," she cooed. "Unless my biological clock is fooling me, you've been up for the past eighteen hours. I think we would all benefit from you getting a rest."
"Jordan can rest….," Robin panted. "Jericho can rest." Robin sweated. He was hopping acrobatically from heel to palm to knee to heel to palm along a set of tall metal poles. He paused every now and then to keep his nightmarish balance—muscles at the shivering point—before hopping along to trade limbs some more. "I can't. Even if I try. It just doesn't work these days."
"The mind of a leader far from home?"
"The spirit of the dead."
"Ah, of course."
"Please, Barbara…," Robin hopped and balanced and hopped—flipped—and balanced. "Do what you're doing. At least you're putting yourself up to something useful."
Barbara paused in typing. "…….." She looked over her shoulder with half-a-frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
"Clarify for my ear drums. They're angst deficient."
"It's not angst!" Robin grunted, struggling upside down to hold his balance. "You wouldn't understand!"
"I wouldn't 'understand'? Hehehe…sounds like angst to me, Tim."
"Shut up…."
"Are you this blunt with your teammates?"
Th-Thwoosh! Robin flipped and landed off the side of the metal poles in perfect coordination. He took a deep breath, frowned, and marched over towards a bench where a towel lay folded. "I don't want to talk about my teammates now….," he icily murmured.
"……..," Barbara's smile instantly left her. She gulped and immediately returned to her computer hacking. "O-Okay…."
Robin dried his brow and torso off. He sighed…absorbed in his own body odor. The rusted scent of it all. Heat and dirtiness. He lingered, and he slowly dropped the towel. A blank face washed over his complexion, followed by an icy drip towards the nearest edge of the black underground ravine. He stared over calmly. His body feeling grimey all over. He spotted through his eyemask dangling cords and platforms from the rocky ceiling above.
He inhaled deeply. A slight cool sensation, like the distant breath over above-ground November wafting through the tight corridors. And then he shivered….
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Two years ago.
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"Keep it going, Tim. Concentrate. Maintain your balance……"
"I'm……t-trying……," Robin struggled. He hung one-armed from one of the swinging platforms suspended from the cave's rocky ceiling. "……th-this isn't so easy, you know……"
Batman stood on the edge of the cliff facing the black abyss where Robin suspended. He glared with heavy-set eyeslits and his black cape folded about himself. "You've done this dozens of times before. Just keep focused."
"Y-You must be th-thinking about the wrong Robin…," the petite Boy Wonder hissed and shook from where he dangled. "I'm not an Amazing Grayson! Circus acts isn't my bag……"
"Quit joking!" Batman snapped. "You're in no position to be jocular! Get with the program!"
"I……AM!" Robin snarled.
"No you're not! You're letting your self-doubt and emotions get ahold of you!"
"Batman……"
"This is the third time in the row! Now, we're not going to have a repeat of last night's events. Keep……FOCUSED."
"Batman, for the last time……I am not—" Robin pivoted and swung. He leapt for the next hanging bar……and missed. He gasped. "Aaaugh!"
Without saying a word, Batman reached into his utility belt, produced a Grappling hook, aimed at the falling sidekick, and fired.
POW!
THWISSSSSH! THWNNG! The cord wrapped snug around Robin's ankle.
The Boy Wonder gasped, fell, and dangled at the end of the cord's length. Pure black depth opened up beneath him. A seemingly bottomless fall into the belly of the Batcave.
Batman gritted his teeth, pulled, and dragged Robin up onto the Cliffside.
Robin panted, sitting up and regaining his balance.
Batman marched over and knelt by his side. "What did I tell you? You keep losing it! You need to just relax, find your center, and—"
"I don't need to relax!" Robin snarled and shoved Batman. "Nnngh!"
The Dark Knight hobbled back. A bit surprised. "Tim…what has gotten into you?"
"Mmmf……," Tim stood up and tried adjusting his cape. He batted at the folds in the polymerized titanium fabric and tried to breathe straight. It didn't work.
"Lately you've been nothing but short-tempered, irascible, impulsive………"
"Nnngh!" Robin finally gave up and flung his cape off his person completely. He clenched his fists and seethed: "I can't get it together, Batman. Not the way you want me to!"
"Tim?"
"Not here!"
"Robin……"
"…………," the Boy Wonder quieted at that. Exhaling slowly.
Batman paced a bit. "I want you to wash up. Call it an evening."
"Huh?"
"You're overworked. You need rest."
"Bruce, I'm not overworked……," Robin said.
"Robin—"
"I'm NOT!" the apprentice shook. "Why do you insist that I am?"
"Have you listened to yourself?"
"Since when do you ever stop training because you're overlooked, Bruce?" Robin pointed. "Is taking naps in the middle of a big assignment on the Joker's tail going to save more lives in Gotham City? Is lazing around while Two-Face is on the prowl going to bring your dead parents back?"
"…………," Batman stared. "Tim……I never thought I'd hear myself say this to you, but you're pushing it."
Robin spun and faced the abyss. He took deep breaths……still seething.
Batman gestured behind his back: "Something has been on your mind, Tim. These last few months, you've been sloppy in your fighting. You've outguessed your enemy and needed your neck saved more than once. And it's not because you're falling short of your fighting techniques or underestimating the enemy. It's like……It's like you're trying too hard. I've never seen you this aggressive, Tim. As a matter of fact, it's a good thing. I'm proud to see you this hardcore. But you seem to be exerting it in all the wrong directions. You're losing focus. I wish you would share with me why before you really lose it in the line of action."
"……………," Robin took a deep breath. He hung his head and kept his gaze away from Batman as he said: "I feel like I'm nothing here, Batman."
"'Here'?"
"Gotham City. The Batcave. This whole place……," Robin motions towards the abyss. "The most I can ever be is a shadow. A shadow of someone much stronger, much angrier, and much darker than myself. No matter what I can do, I feel like I stop just short of achieving justice……"
"And just what is it that you've been wanting to achieve instead, Robin?" Batman leaned his cowled head to the side. "Revenge?"
Robin shook his head. "Honor."
"…………"
Robin sighed. He spun around. He spoke in a low, muttering voice: "I feel nothing here but death. Death that……I can't climb out of. The bird cage is stacked to the ceiling with corpses. Morose sounding, I know. But trust me, Bruce, this isn't the Scarecrow gas talking."
"Okay……"
"This is about more than my dad's death and my bearing the cape or any of that 'legacy' crap……," Robin clenched his head with gloved hands like he was about to burst for a moment. He shook……exhaled……and wheezed: "I just need room to breathe. To……I dunno, to 'fly' or something. I feel surrounded by death here……"
"………………," Batman walked over and braved a hand resting on Robin's shoulder. "This job can be consuming at times. I wish you had told me earlier how you felt."
Robin suddenly snarled and shook Batman's hand loose. He gave him an angry look: "You think this is a 'job' to me?"
"…………"
"Well it ISN'T!" Robin shouted. He marched away from the training area and up the steps past the Bat Computer. "Not anymore, it isn't!"
"…………," Batman turned and gazed up after the Boy Wonder. "You still haven't recovered from that girl, have you?"
Robin stopped in his tracks. Tensing……
Batman continued: "The incident with Clayface. You won't forget about it……"
Silence.
Robin took a deep sigh. He spoke in a low voice: "Dick was right, Bruce. You are cold……"
And he exited the Batcave.
The Dark Knight stood alone. After a few seconds, he knelt and fingered the yellow cape of the Boy Wonder. Discarded. Tossed away……
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"………..," Robin took a deep breath. He swiveled about and marched back to the metal poles.
While Barbara typed madly away in the background, the Boy Wonder took a deep breath and vaulted so that he was balancing atop the poles again.
He held his breath, grunted, flipped, and balanced his tense body one limb at a time.
"I've been dead for a lot longer than a month…..," he muttered under his breath.
Then silent…..focused exercise.
T-T-T-T-T-T-
9:36 am
Smallville, Kansas.
Kents' House.
T-T-T-T-T-T-
"K-Kara! Wait! Wh-What are you doing?"
Supergirl marched through the upstairs hallway of the Kents' house, swiftly fastening her cape to the back of her costume top. "You heard what the radio announcement said. Those creeps in downtown Smallville have two things that I'm not kosher with. Hostages and explosives. And not just any hostages. There's a frickin' schoolbus in the line of fire!"
Terra frantically tried to keep up. "But, you're just one superhero. How do you expect to take them all on?"
"Terra, I'm Supergirl," Kara managed a wink as she slipped on one glove after another. "Believe it or not, that's supposed to mean something these days."
"But….B-But…."
"But what, Terra?" Supergirl rushed down the stairs as the petite blonde followed. "I have to do this. What's your problem, anyways?"
"It's not you I'm worried about," Terra said. "It's the whole hostage situation! How can just one person handle all that pressure?"
"Heh….you've lived with me for over a week and already you don't give me credit!"
Terra winced. "S-Sorry. I'm just thinking that…"
"Thinking what?"
"If y-you had someone else go with you to—"
"NO! Terra, no!" Supergirl spun once they were at the bottom of the stairs. She placed two hands on the blonde's shoulders and looked sternly in her face. "You're place is here."
"But…."
"No, it is! Jordan asked me to keep you safe, not throw you into unnecessary danger. You'll have a chance to prove yourself someday, Terra. But it's not when some nasty 'Red Aviary' is out to end you. Got it?"
Terra sighed. She looked towards the floor. "I understand…."
"Good…," Kara nodded. She leaned her head to the side and softly added: "Hey…."
Terra looked up.
Kara smiled: "Some heroes redeem themselves by knowing when to hold back."
"…….."
"I'll be back sooner than you can think!" Kara marched off through the house. "Don't worry about me!"
"…….," Terra stood by herself at the bottom of the stairs. She took a breath and silently muttered: "….not this hero…"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Supergirl marched out through the screen door, tightening her gloves.
John and Martha Kent were there, looking anxious.
"Kara…," Martha stepped forward. "Are you sure you need to see to this?"
"I'm a Superhero, Ma," Supergirl uttered. "I can't just sit back. Not for this one."
"But what would Clark—"
"Clark be damned…no offense."
"Uhm….n-no offense taken…"
"Be very careful, Kara," John said. "They have a lot of hostages in there. Don't do something impulsive."
"I think that's one thing I've learned over the last few months, Pa," Supergirl winked. "Not to be impulsive."
"Oh Kara…."
Supergirl walked forward and hugged Martha Kent.
"You be careful…"
"I will, Ma."
Supergirl stepped back. "Pa….keep an eye out for Terra. And…uhm….k-keep her indoors as much as possible while I'm gone."
"Will do…."
Supergirl took a deep breath. She turned around, took two bounding steps, and then took to the skies. FWOOOOSH! She soared skyward, arched around, and made her way through the crisp morning air northward towards downtown Smallville.
John and Martha watched, pensively, side by side.
In the background, Terra stood at the screen door of the house. She watched Supergirl make her danger-bound flight. Then—making sure nobody was watching—the earthen maiden bit her lip, stepped back slowly, and ran towards the opposite side of the house.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
The Titan's City.
10:28 am
Western District.
The New Phaser Labs.
T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Things are all pretty much starting to get rolling, Miss Raven," uttered a young scientist. A scraggly-haired fellow with thin glasses and a white labcoat draped around his thin figure. He marched into the basement laboratory of the place as the dark Titan out of uniform followed. "S.T.A.R. Labs was generous enough to lend us some supplies to salvage our database from the destruction of our old institution during November Fourth. It's amazing that we survived in any piece after that."
Raven nodded. "Very well, Dr. Abrams. But if I could check on just one thing in the database."
"Sure," Dr. Abrams nodded. "By all means." He walked up to a wall of computer consoles and turned to smile at her. "Should I summon Dr. Simon Stone? He's heavily integrated into our system and would surely be happy to—"
"No, thank you," Raven raised a hand. "I would like it if you looked up the information for me."
"…..oh…well…c-certainly!" Dr. Abrams blinked. He turned around and started fiddling about with the dials and keyboards of the consoles to warm the system up. "I'm quite flattered, really. Nobody's asked me directly to bring up information from the scientific database before."
"This happens to be a question regarding November Fourth, to be exact," Raven went right to the point.
"Ah. Sounds important."
"Phaser Labs—that is—the Phaser Labs of old was always conducting scans of various sorts on the City, right?"
"Mmmhmmm. Lord knows with all the metaphysical phenomena that just FLOCKS to our metropolis, it would be a sin not to have!"
"Show me the list of scans taken of the Radioactive Depository upon the carbonite explosion and shortly following…."
"Hmmmm…," Dr. Abrams took on a grave face. He nodded and proceeded to bring up the data. "Still a subject of extreme scrutiny, I take it….?"
"Is it ever…," Raven muttered.
The scientist typed and produced a list of schematics on the monitor. "There you go, Miss Raven. Same data as always," he gestured. "No trace of biological matter. No trace of synthetic cloaking. No residue of any organic kind whatsoever."
"That's what keeps bothering me…," Raven uttered. "No traces….no traces….no traces…" She paced forward. "Viper and Robin would be totally vaporized in that explosion, right?"
"Absolutely. The fires were beyond intense."
"Then it's rather obvious that there would be no traces of them," Raven said. "But what of something else?"
"Like…."
"An interference."
"Intereference?"
"Teleportation technology. Matter-to-energy transformation?"
"That's a rather far shot, Miss Raven," Dr. Abrams nervously uttered. "The odds of it are—"
Raven frowned. "Did I ask for a hypothesis or for data?"
"Ahem….true. Excuse me…."
"Could there be any such readouts?"
"It is highly improbable at best," Dr. Abrams said. "The scanners pick up a lot of chaos on behalf of the radioactive static. I doubt any energy source could have adequately pierced the explosion to have accessed the Radioactive Depository even if that was an option."
"………," Raven sat back, rubbing her chin in thought.
"I'm sorry, Miss Raven. There's not much else that can be said—"
She lifted a finger. "How about….a chronoton search."
"Chronotons?" Dr. Abrams blinked. "You mean…the sort of energy substance that Slade once used in his detonators?"
"Hypothetically, he used them," Raven spoke. "Truth be told, nobody has managed to make a chronoton detonator."
"True that. The technological expense to make a bomb that could stop time is unimaginably high."
"Still….were there any fluctuations of chronotons at the site upon the explosion?"
"Let me conduct a search….," Dr. Abrams said, performing a key-stroke.
"…….," Raven patiently waited.
"…………," the scientist's brow furrowed. "Hmmmm…"
Raven leaned forward. "What is it?"
"No chronotons were picked up at the area…..but…."
"But what?"
He turned and looked back at her. "There does seem to be…..wh-what I can best describe as a chronological fluctuation."
"……."
"We never thought to look it up before, but according to my readings here…..time slowed down by a least a factor of two point eight microseconds at the center of the explosion."
"…….," Raven took a deep breath.
"The factors for something like that would have to be astronomical….," Dr. Abrams stammered.
"So…there was a fluctuation at the radioactive depository…," Raven murmured. "At the time of Robin's death. A fluctuation that involves the bending of the space-time continuum."
"Apparently so….," the man adjusted his glasses and blinked at her. "But….to be honest, Miss Raven…even with this new data, anything is possible at this point to conclude."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Yes……," Raven's voice said through security feed. "Anything's possible……"
The black and white image of Dr. Abrams in the corner of the basement laboratory spun about and typed furiously on the computer console. "Permit me some time to investigate this further. I'm most intrigued as to what this might mean……"
"Keep me informed if you can," Raven said. Her image spun about and marched back upstairs. "I have someone I need to meet later today."
"Will do."
A titanium finger reached across the Titan Main Computer and turned the security link off.
Blip!
"……," Cyborg sat back in his computer chair in the Main Room. His human and red eye lingered on the monitor. He folded his hands together, took a deep breath, and thought……
T-T-T-T-T-T-
Gotham City.
10:32 am
Downtown.
Fox Loft Apartment.
T-T-T-T-T-T-
"And then there were these strange folks driving a black limousine…," Lucius listed on.
Bruce Wayne leaned forward. "Black limousine?"
"They looked like businessmen. But….there was something in the way they wore their suit and hat that bothered me, Bruce. It all looked too tight. Too….tense. As if suspicious of the city scene around them."
"If I were you, Lucius, I'd have known better than to let William just waltz into a black limousine!" Bruce smirked.
"I know….I know….," Lucius sighed. "It's just that….he told me that he was attending an important committee meeting. I don't want to question the boy! Listen to me…he's a YOUNG MAN now! Nnngh….if only he was more….open about his activities, I might not be so suspicious of him."
"Has he ever showed you the…..fruits of his labors?"
"I've seen some of his stock market progress…but that's paltry to me," Lucius replied. "The way he sounds so enthusiastic about what he's doing, you'd think he was making far more extraordinary progress. You'd think he was working for Powers or some other organization."
"Heh….that'd be rather insulting. Working for the competition?"
"And even if that was it!" Lucius gestured. "I wouldn't mind! As long as he was honest with me!" He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I can't believe how desperate I got…."
"How desperate?"
"……."
"Lucius, you can trust me. Come on. Spill it. How desperate did you get?"
"I had two of the apartment's security guard tail him one night," Lucius murmured.
"Oh?"
"They followed him to some abandoned shopping mall on the western end of Gotham City. The Diamond Plaza. You remember it?"
"How can't I?"
"They said he just walked in there by himself! Straight from his car…which was parked illegally in the lot, I might add."
"Interesting….."
"I mean…what's up with that, Bruce? I don't know what to think anymore…"
Bruce leaned back, his eyes thin. "You'd think someone should go there and…check things out sometime…."
T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Is Bruce still there?"
"Yup," Nightwing nodded from opposite the apartment complex. "Still yapping away."
"Ah. You know him and Lucius……"
"How's the Oracle's end of things?"
"Making some progress thanks to the Messenger's boost. Just a little more time and I might actually get into the heart of William's elusive digitizing."
"Well keep at it, Babs. In the meantime I—whoops! Hold it…I think I'm getting a message from Bruce. Hang ten."
"Got it."
Nightwing clicked his communicator and switched frequencies. "Yeah, Batman?"
"Dick.
I need you to do a favor for me."
"Oooh…I like the
exploitation sounds of this," Nightwing smiled.
"Wisen up. This is serious."
"Go ahead, Bruce."
T-T-T-T-T-T-
Lucius was on the far side of the room, getting drinks.
Bruce Wayne was speaking into a hidden microphone in the cuff of his sleeve. Keeping his voice down.
"I want you to go and investigate Diamond Plaza west of here."
"Diamond Plaza? What the Hell are we gonna find in that run-down heap?"
"Perhaps a hideout for Triangular….some sort of clue as to what we're dealing with," Bruce whispered. "It's hard to say. All I know is that Lucius' bodyguards saw William walk in there alone at night not too long ago. Probably before he was held hostage by the Terrible Troupe."
"Ah. Interesting."
"You bet. Think you're up to an investigation?"
"To make you look bad? Anything, Bruce."
"Hush up," Bruce frowned. "I can't just leave Lucius so soon. It'll make things look suspicious."
"Yeah, whatever. Take a swig of the good stuff for me, will ya?"
Bruce Wayne lifted an eyebrow. He gazed out the window at a distant blue figure on an adjacent building top. A blue figure that saluted and bounded away.
Bruce took a deep breath. "Where did I go wrong…."
"Where did you go wrong with what, Bruce?" Lucius walked up with drinks.
Bruce spun around, smiled, and took a glass. "I should have been visiting you more often, that's what!"
"Heheheheh….oh, don't be so hard on yourself, old friend! After all…you've got the busiest schedule of any Wayne I ever knew!"
Bruce winked. "Anyone can get out of a habit…"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
10:42 am
Wayne Manor.
Bat Cave.
T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Raaaaugh!" Robin shouted, spun, and flung his gloved fist into one metal target.
CLANG! Beep!
Another one shot up out of a hole in the floor behind him.
He spun and flew his boot up into the metal stalk.
"YAAH!"
THWACK! Beep!
Two poles shot up on either side of him. A red dot opened up in each and blasted a hot laser at the Boy Wonder.
He grunted, backflipped, and landed in a half-split beyond the two.
The poles pivoted and fired again.
He dove forward, rolled, dodged the lasers, hopped up, spun, and kicked both poles in rapid succession.
CL-CLANG!
Beep! Beep!
Three poles flew up and trained their lasers on him.
Robin panted…sweating all over.
The poles fired.
He grunted and vaulted his body up in the air.
He flipped forward, lasers streaming by him.
Time seemed to slow down.
He gazed at the twirling black ceiling of the cave.
His breath was short.
Eyes twitched under his mask.
And suddenly…
His lungs froze over.
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Two Years Ago.
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"………," Robin stood on the edge of rocky Bayside bluffs. His back was to a metal railing. Just behind it, the R-Cycle rested in waiting.
Under the red of the Gotham night sky, dark waters tossed and turned in the Bay.
A lighthouse stretched up high and stabbed the evening with bright ivory beams.
In the distance, a rusty dark factory loomed by the water.
Robin gazed intensely at it from afar.
He took a deep breath, his arms folded.
"………….."
Vrmmmmmmmm……
From behind, the Batmobile rode up.
"……," Robin glared at it over his shoulder.
The top door slid open….and Batgirl jumped out.
Robin chuckled bitterly. He stared back out across the Bay. "Batman sent you?"
"Actually…," Batgirl frowned. "No." She stepped forward. "I came searching for you on my own."
"But he gave you the Batmobile, right?"
"The same as he lends it to me every night I fight crime when he's not using it," Batgirl said. She hopped over the railing and stood behind the Boy Wonder. "Face it, Tim, he isn't quite as watchful over you like he used to be. He knows better than to treat you like a child."
"Why not?" Robin muttered. "He's done so for the last two years…."
"Tim? What's gotten into you?" Batgirl waved her arms. "Gawd, is it like every Robin to end up pissed off at his older partner and run off on his own?"
Robin sighed. "Barbara….I'm not pissed off at Batman…."
She blinked under her mask. "Well…you sure look it."
"I didn't say I wasn't pissed. Just….not at Batman….."
"Then what is it, Tim? What's gotten you so riled up?"
"I DON'T KNOW! OKAY?" Robin shook. "It's not fun anymore! It's not a thrill anymore! Everything is suddenly so dark and so lifeless!"
"……," Batgirl leaned her head to the side. "Well of course it is, Tim…."
Robin sighed.
"Maybe you're just waking up to it…."
"Maybe I am….Maybe I'm not….what does it matter?" Robin ran a hand through his hair. "But this City is overwhelming…."
"You can't handle fighting crime anymore?"
"I didn't say that!"
"Then what are you saying, Tim?"
"I'm not strong enough, Barbara…," Robin shook. "Not here. Not in this place. I'm not strong enough to face the challenges here. I feel weak. Helpless. Pathetic…."
"Batman says that you've been slipping as of late. Being clumsy. Giving the enemies an extra shot that has nearly ended on you on several occasions over the last few weeks," Batgirl gestured. "Could it be that you're telling yourself that you're helpless? And because of that……you're losing your cool?"
"Thanks, Barbara. But no," Robin hung his arms by his side and clenched his gloved hands. "I wish it was that simple. But things are changing. I'm changing."
She couldn't help but smirk. "Lordy Lordy……am I about to see the unfolding of a 'Nightwing II'?"
"Hardly," the Boy Wonder muttered. "It'd take a thermonuclear winter to bring that about."
"Then what do you want to do, Tim?"
"The name's Robin…," he spun and glared at her through his mask. "It has been……and shall always be. At least until Robin can do a decent thing to save his name before he dies……"
He paced past her.
Batgirl spun and shrugged; "Why, Tim? Why this lack of belief in yourself?"
"I said……call me ROBIN."
"No! I think you need to listen!" she pointed. "When was the last time you WERE Tim, Robin?"
"………what the Hell does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like! I don't care how dark and angsty Bruce and you boys like to be with your capes and masks and whatnot……but you have a human side! A very precious, sensitive, emotional human side! It's good and all to try and emulate the Dark Knight from time to time……but give your other self a chance to breathe, will you?"
"I'm not emulating Batman……," Robin shook. He spun and shouted: "I'm only trying to be myself!"
"Then 'yourself' is a total machine! Robin, you need to relax! It's okay to be hardcore, but you're driving yourself into walls! You're swinging for bad guys' skulls and hitting nothing but air! You're out of balance! Give Robin a vacation……give Tim a chance to breathe!"
"I don't need a vacation! I am myself!" Robin shook. "It's Tim who's been far too dominating lately! It's him who needs to hibernate for a while! Lord Help me, I don't need that creep's helplessness!"
"Don't you hear how dissociative you're sounding? You're staring to scare me, Tim……"
"It's Robin that's scaring you……heh………maybe that will be my 'edge'," Robin spun and gazed out at the dark waters of the Bay again. "Imagine, Barbara. The Boy Wonder incarnate. The wrath of the former sidekick turned into a badass that nobody has ever imagined before."
Batgirl blinked. "'Former'?"
"I've got to go somewhere, Barbara……"
"Where, Tim?"
"Someplace where I'll be free to wear this mask at all times……," Robin said. "Someplace where Tim doesn't exist. Where I can perfect Robin into the most perfect, strong, able-bodied guardian this continent has ever seen."
"Are you doing this for ego?"
"No……I'm doing this for myself," Robin spun and frowned. "My true self." His fists clenched and a growingly deep voice growled out from inside of his tense figure. "And if I can help it……nobody will ever cry out my name in torture or helplessness ever again!"
Batgirl shuddered. Like an ice-pick was driven through her.
Robin marched past the feminine vigilante, hopped over the railing, and mounted his R-Cycle.
Batgirl was left gazing out across the waters. Towards the light-house. The factory.
"……………Tim," she spun around. "Were you hurt somehow? Did something happen to you that you can't forgive yourself for? Is that why you're doing this?"
Robin slipped on his helmet, kick-started the R-Cycle, and gripped the handles.
"Timothy Drake is dead."
VRMMMMMM!
SCREEEEECH—FWOOOOSH!
"………," Batgirl watched him speed along the road.
Zooming southward.
"…………"
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"……….."
Robin spun and descended towards the triad of laser-blasting metal poles.
ZAP!
ZAP!
Z-ZAP!
FWOOOSH!
Robin descended in the center of them, hand-sprung, and kicked one hard.
CLANG!
Two zapped at his figure.
He vaulted up, spun his body, gripped the stalk of one, swung on it, and slammed his foot into another.
THWACK!
He vaulted off that spun, landed in a kneel, and slammed his fists into the last one.
"RAAAUGH!"
THWACK!
The poles descended.
Four more rose up around him.
Lasers heated up.
Robin reached into his utility belt, whipped out his bo-staff, and extended it. Crkktt!
ZAP!
Z-Z-ZAP!
ZAP!
"RRGHHHHH!" Robin spun, twirling his staff, deflecting laser blasts coming in from all sides of him.
The poles fired and fired.
Robin twirled in the center of them like a billowing green and red tornado. He rolled to the side, hopped up, and smacked one hard across its center with his staff.
CLANG!
"Nnngh!"
He spun, twirled, dodged another blast, and shot his foot up into the laser barrel of a second pole.
SMACK!
Two last poles fired at him.
He twirled his rod, deflected, rolled forward, jumped up, and swung with all his might.
SWOOOOSH! CR-CRACK! From the monumental blow, both metal stalks shattered and fell apart.
"RAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Robin shouted, vessels pulsing in his neck. Shrapnel and sparks flew around him.
The whole training area sparked. The pole short-circuited. They fizzled and powered down. Glitching.
"……………," Robin panted. Sweating all over. Face tense with clenched teeth. He gripped so hard to his bo-staff that it might snap in half. "……………"
Cl-Clang!
He dropped his staff with a shudder.
He fell to his knees and gripped his hair and face with two gloved hands. He shook all over. He seethed. "Rrrrrghhh-NNNGHH!"
THWAP! He punched the floor and all but slumped over, panting.
After a few deep breaths, he hissed to himself: "Dead….dead….you're still dead….always have been….."
He gulped and sat back on his hind quarters, leaning his wrists over his knees and resting…resting…resting….
Hidden eyes were hiddeningly shut under a thin eyemask.
"Dead…."