AN: I'm not dead, I'm just mostly dead. I had to fly across the country for a funeral and college has started. My chemistry teacher loves assigning homework, so updates will be slower than I hope. This story is almost done and it will be finished gosh-darn-it!
Dick slowly opened his eyes and blinked the room into focus. His doll-self was lying beside him, staring with its button eyes and smiling with its stitched mouth. The boy sat up, once again in the dark cave of a room. The cheese he left in the doorway was gone. Dick threw off the covers and ran into the clock room. When he pulled on the clock, it didn't budge. The tool to change the time was gone, leaving it locked in place. "What the heck?"
After breakfast Alfred announced that he and Dick were going to drop Bruce off at work in the city, then the two of them would go clothes shopping. Dick quickly got dressed and soon the three of them were ready to go. Alfred drove while Dick and Bruce sat in the backseat. Bruce tapped at his phone while Dick stared out the window. The landscape heading into town was just as dreary as the manor. Grey clouds filled the sky, (Dick was beginning to believe the sun never shined in Gotham) mist swirled in the air, and a feeling of melancholy hung ever present.
In the city wasn't much better. The tall buildings were dark and imposing, the streets littered with trash and tight-faced people. Any bit of light seemed to be snuffed out. Soon, Alfred stopped the limo in front of one of the tall buildings with a sign reading, 'Wayne Enterprises'. Bruce stuffed his phone in his pocket, grabbed his briefcase, and ruffled Dick's hair.
"See you later." He got out, but stuck his head back in the car. "You sure you can handle him Alfred?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"I'll manage the ruffian just fine Master Bruce." Alfred replied blankly. Bruce closed the door and disappeared into the building.
"Well, onto the shopping." Said Alfred.
He pulled back onto the road, driving to the main shopping district. To fill the silence Dick began describing his latest dream. "… and there were glowing flowers and living snapdragons!" Alfred gave a 'hmm', prompting Dick to continue. "There was a real rat orchestra upstairs! Not a pretend one like the crazy guy in our house has."
"I wouldn't use the term 'crazy' to describe him young master." Alfred intoned. "I would use heavily intoxicated." He pulled into a parking space. Dick looked out at the clothing stores and sighed.
Hopefully this won't take forever.
This is taking forever! Almost two hours in and Dick was ready to break down the dressing room. Alfred had been having him try on endless white shirts (they all looked the same in Dick's opinion) and pair after pair of black and grey pants. Finally, he was allowed to exit the small room. Alfred handed a stack of clothes to a clerk. Dick scanned the store, there were many different, fancy types of clothing but no jeans or overalls. He had a couple pairs of jeans and a set of overalls that he brought from the circus, but they'd soon be too small. The boy didn't think Alfred would approve of him playing outside or inside for that matter in the new clothes.
The heat of the store was beginning to make his head spin. He turned to Alfred who was looking at fancy leather shoes. "Hey Alfred, could I wait for you outside the store?"
Alfred looked up towards the doors. "I don't see why not. But don't go farther than just outside the entrance."
"Okay." He strolled outside, ignoring the stuffy store clerks. The store was located in a high end shopping district. Everyone walking by on the sidewalks were dressed in well-fitted suits, big hats, and bright ties. He doubted that any of these people had worn anything that cost under a couple hundred dollars. It was approaching midday and it was still cloudy and dark. Dick was ready to go back to the manor. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do there, but it would be better than getting stuffed in another dressing room.
"Thank you for being patient." Alfred was at his side with an armload of shopping bags. "The service isn't what it used to be when I bought young Master Bruce's clothes here." The British man looked at his watch. "We have a little time before lunch, let's drop these bags off at the car."
Dick took a couple of the bags and they started back to the limo. Dick piped up, "Um, Alfred,"
"Yes young sir?"
"Could we maybe look for some jeans?"
"Denim jeans? I don't believe any stores in this area sell those… Whatever do you need those for?"
"Uh, y'know, playing? Getting dirty?"
Alfred chuckled and lightly shook his head. "We need to get you fitted for a school uniform. We can find play clothes another day. School and its uniforms are top priority right now."
Dick nodded and walked quietly. My OTHER 'family' would get them for me.
When they finally got to the car, the ride home went rather quickly. To make conversation Dick asked, "What is behind the clock in the big room?"
Alfred kept his gaze straight ahead. "I don't rightly remember. Storage most likely. Hopefully not a singing Master Bruce and button-eyed butler!" He added chuckling.
"The clock door was locked this morning."
"I found rat prints leading of the passage. They're dirty little creatures no matter what Mr. Rathaway protests. I don't want his pets spreading disease throughout our section of the house."
"They're orchestra rats Alfred! And I doubt they're dangerous! Them and the dreams are the most fun I've had since we got here!"
"School will be fun."
"How can school be fun when they make you wear those monkey uniforms?"
Alfred just sighed and turned into the driveway.
They carried the shopping bags into the house and Dick dumped his on the kitchen table. Alfred set his on the counter, then began to scan the cupboards and refrigerator. "It appears I need to go food shopping." The butler stood and closed the white door. "Would you like to come along? You could pick out a treat."
Dick flopped down onto a kitchen chair. "No thanks. I think I'll just stay here."
Alfred patted his head and walked to the door. "Alright then, stay out of trouble. I won't be long." With a gentle click of the door, he was gone. Dick sat still until he heard the car start and drive off.
He dove off the chair and ran back into the clock room. The dial for the hands wasn't on the clock, Dick began scanning the room. It wasn't sitting on any of the tables or bookcases. He walked over to the fireplace mantle and jumped, it was resting at the back. The boy pulled over a chair, then he was able to reach the dial. With a quick click and a twist, the clock swung open, revealing the colorful tunnel.
"I knew it was real!" Dick exclaimed. He entered the tunnel and eagerly darted forwards.
He emerged in the other manor and ran into the kitchen. It once again was filled with warm, cozy lighting and wonderful smells. The small kitchen table was piled with plates of food, macaroni and cheese, potato soup, grilled cheese, popcorn, and multiple soda flavors. There was also a rectangular black box with a sticky note attached. Dick plucked the note off the box, 'Dick, Miss Quinn and Miss Isley want you to come downstairs after you eat lunch. Hope you enjoy the new clothes I found for you!' –Bruce.
Dick pulled off the lid; inside the box was a bright red and green hoodie, a pair of jeans, and a pair of new red sneakers. Finally, real clothes! He set them back in the box so he could dig into the food.
He stepped out onto the porch, wearing his new clothes. It's always night here… he noticed. It was a different type of night oddly enough. The dark was welcoming and playful instead of being suffocating and cold. A merrow made him look up. A black cat was sitting on the roof above the porch.
"You look like Wally's cat. Not quiet Wally; the one that talks a lot! You must be Other Cat."
The cat leapt down onto the porch railing. He seemed to shake his head. "Actually, I am no one but myself," he purred. His blue eyes twinkled in the moonlight.
Dick was surprised, "Okay… you don't have the button eyes, but if you are the same cat, how can you talk?"
The cat gave a shrug and stretched, extending his claws. "Oh I don't know," he drawled, "I just can." He jumped off the railing, onto a nearby rock.
"Cats don't talk at home." Dick stated.
"Oh no?" The cat asked.
"Nope."
The cat jumped from the rock onto a small, leave-less tree. "Well," he started dryly, "You could know, I am after just a 'big fat wuss puss'." He gave the boy a sharp look.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Dick said apologetically. He took a breath before trying to be polite, "What's your name? I'm Dick."
"Cats don't have names."
"No?"
"No," said the cat. "Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."
"Well, how'd you get here?"
"I've been coming here for a while." The cat twisted around the tree disappearing. Dick peered around the trunk, but the cat was gone. "It's a game between me and him." The cat, now in the branches above, nodded its head towards the house. "He hates cats and tries to keep me out. But he can't of course." He purred proudly. "So, I come and go as I please."
Dick was confused, "Other Bruce hates cats?" He asked skeptically.
"More than any other 'Bruce' I've known." The cat stated with contempt.
"But, this Bruce is amazing!" Dick protested. The cat once again began twisting around the branches, disappearing. Dick looked around and saw it sitting on the roof once again.
"You believe this place is everything you could have ever wished for, but you're wrong! The Other Wally told me so."
"That isn't possible. He can't talk." Dick replied pointedly.
The cat gave him a pitying look. "Maybe not to you, but we cats," he held his head high, "we cats have not only superior intelligence but far superior senses as well. Our senses of sight and smell are-" The cat dropped into a crouch, his ears twitching.
Dick cautiously glanced side to side, blue eyes scanning the moon-lit yard. "What is it?"
"Sshhh," the cat hissed. "I hear something. Right over…" After a quick wiggle, he pounced around the corner, disappearing into the dark.
Dick waited a moment before shrugging and walking to Miss Harley and Ivy's door. The door looked freshly painted with a ring of theatre-type lights lining the archway. Dick felt homesick for the circus for a moment, they used similar lights to line the attractions. Soft light filtered out through the crack between the door and the frame. Dick gave a light push and the door opened easily. He met a dark red, velvet curtain. The boy pulled it to the side and gave a light gasp.
Beyond the curtain was an old-fashioned theater. The ceiling was high, higher than anything in the manor; the height was impossible for the basement flat. Rows of chairs filled the theater, red carpets lined the aisles between the rows. A large stage with a closed curtain was at the far end. Balcony seats were built into the walls. A beam of light flashed in his eyes, Dick looked down to see a slithering plant carrying a flashlight. One of the vine arms nudged the boy's ankle before the plant slithered down the center aisle. Dick followed the plant, passing row after row of seats full of wriggling carnivorous plants. In the front row there was an empty seat next to Other Wally. Dick tapped his shoulder and Wally turned and gave a warm smile.
"Hey Wally," Dick whispered as he sat down. A spotlight swung onto the stage's curtain and the crowd of vegetation fell silent. The curtain parted to reveal a set of a 50's nightclub. Miss Harley rose up in a revealing shimmery, red outfit. It was skintight and was barely made up of anything. Dick's jaw dropped. He nudged Wally, "She's practically naked!" He whispered in shock. This was an image he wasn't getting out of his anytime soon.
Miss Harley attempted to strike a seductive pose, then she began to sing, "I never knew our romance had ended, until you poisoned my food,"
A flat cut out crowd of men in tuxedos slid onto the stage behind her.
"And I thought it was a lark, when you kicked me in the park, but now I think it was rude!" The blonde lowered her head and the plants gave a hiss.
The wooden scenery changed to a flower garden filled with fake roses. A giant rosebud emerged from the middle of the stage. It unfolded to reveal Miss Ivy. She was wearing absolutely nothing except for ivy leaves covering certain areas.
Dick was definitely scarred for life now. "Good gosh," he muttered. Miss Ivy began to sing too.
"I never knew our romance had finished, until that bottle hit my head. Though I tried to be aloof when you pushed me off the roof, when you pushed me off the roof, I feel our romance is dead." She struck a pose, her bosom highly visible.
The plant audience and the boys clapped. Harley looked displeased, she began to sing louder, "It wouldn't have been so bad if you'd told me, told me that someone had taken my place," the scenery switched back to the club setting. "But no, you didn't even scold me, you just tried to disfigure my face!"
Ivy had the scenery switched back to her roses, she too increased her volume. She and Harley's scenery switched back and forth as the two women kept singing louder and louder, trying to outdo one another.
"You'll never know how this heart of mine is breaking!" Harley sang, trying to push Ivy back.
"It looked so hopeless but then life used to be so placid," Ivy screeched.
"Won't you please put down that acid?" The rigging holding the scenery began to sway.
"And say that we're sweethearts again!" The women sang in unison, then the set collapsed, burying the aged performers.
The plants rustled with what could pass as laughter. Dick giggled despite his concern for his neighbors. The curtains closed, shielding the disaster.
A Venus fly trap crawled onto the stage, pulling a large bucket labeled "Pool". The spotlights shined back on, illuminating two tall ladders leading up to diving platforms. The women each posed on a platform.
Dick covered his eyes with his fingers. "I can't watch!" At the circus there was a high diver named Merina the Magnificent. But she was barely twenty not in her late seventies. And the small looking bucket actually had a deeper bottom than the audience could see.
"Ready to break a leg Ivy?" Harley asked in her high voice.
"Our lives for the theater Harley!" Ivy replied. Both ladies began to jump. As they jumped, their wrinkled, liver-spotted bodies unzipped and shed. Underneath, their bodies were thin, smooth, and beautiful. They each leapt to catch a swinging trapeze bar.
Dick laughed in delight and relief. Wally just beamed. Harley and Ivy, now dressed in red and green bathing suits respectively, swung out over the stage.
"What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason!" Said Ivy.
She and Harley flipped through the air and switched trapezes. Dick gripped the arms of his chair tightly. Other Wally noticed and put his hand over Dick's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. A glint of light bounced off of a large ruby ring on the red-headed woman's finger, the red light mixed with the spotlights, casting a tent of shimmers across the ceiling.
"How infinite in faculty!" Intoned Harley, "In form and moving how express and admirable!"
Suddenly, they swung in a different direction, over the audience. Harley bent backwards over the bar and reached out, grabbing Dick's arms.
"Hey!" he shouted, terrified. He clung tightly to Harley as they swung higher into the shimmery red lights. Dick's eyes clenched tightly. Flashbacks of the circus shot into his brain. Ropes snapping, screaming, the crowd gasping. Harley's grip began to loosen slightly, Dick's eyes shot open, his hands gripped tighter.
"Alley oop!" Dick was freefalling through the air. He let out a yell before being scooped up by Ivy.
"In action like an angel!" She tossed him again.
"In apprehension like a god!"
"Ah!" Screamed Dick. There was another feeling slowly etching its way into his head. A familiar feeling. One he hadn't felt in forever. The tossing, falling, soaring, it was familiar, it was fun!
"The beauty of the world!" called Ivy.
"The paragon of animals!" Harley chirped.
Dick swung upside down near one of the balconies, where he received a lick from one of Harley's hyenas. Then he was thrown again, higher. Harley and Ivy let go and dived into the bucket. Dick began to fall, but the women rose up again just in time to catch the boy. They struck a pose and the theater erupted in applause. Other Wally too clapped enthusiastically. Dick climbed off the stage, a familiar adrenaline pounding in his veins. Wally clapped him on the back and as they walked down the aisle to exit; he couldn't stop beaming.
When the boys made it outside and started walking up the stairs, Other Bruce and Alfred were waiting for them at the top.
"Hello there!" Said Alfred with a wave of a white glove.
"How was it fellows?" Bruce asked with a glint in his button eyes.
"I got to fly again! Harley and Ivy pulled me out of my seat and we swung on a trapeze! I was terrified at first, but then it was so familiar and fun! They weren't all old and wrinkly anymore though, those were like disguises or something; they were actually young and it was amazing!" Dick stopped to take a breath.
The boy's excitement caused Other Bruce's smile to widen. "You like it here, don't you chum?"
"Totally!" Dick exclaimed. He turned back to the silent Wally, "Night Wally."
Other Alfred put an arm around Dick and began to lead him back to the house. Dick failed to notice Bruce's sharp glare at silent Wally, who cowered at the bottom of the stairs. Bruce traced a smile from the corners of his mouth. Wally just lowered his head.
Bruce joined Alfred and Dick as they walked down the hallway. "Y'know, you could stay here forever… if you wanted to."
Dick looked at Bruce, "Really?"
Alfred smiled and nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely! We will play your favorite games, sing songs, I'll make all your favorite foods! It will be wonderful!"
Bruce reached and ruffled Dick's hair. "There's just one little thing we'd need to do first."
"What's that?"
"It's a surprise."
The trio went into the dining room, where Dick was nudged towards his seat. He sat down then Bruce nodded, signaling Alfred to set a small box on the table in front of the boy. Dick eagerly yanked the lid off…
"For you, our little Robin." Bruce smiled. In the box were two round black button and a silver needle with a spool of thread.
Dick gasped and jumped out of his chair. He scanned the butler and man's faces, trying to spot if this was a joke. His gut didn't think it was.
"Black is traditional," Other Bruce filled the silence, "But we can do any other color like green, red, blue-"
"NO WAY!" Dick's hands flew up to cover his eyes. "YOU ARE NOT SEWING BUTTONS OVER MY EYES!"
Other Bruce frowned, "But chum, in order to stay here we need to."
Other Alfred tapped the point of the needle, "Besides, it's so sharp you won't feel a- OW!" He dropped the needle back into the box, shaking his hand.
Bruce glared at the butler briefly before turning back to Dick. He smiled and relaxed his shoulders. "It's alright, it's your decision. We only want what's best for you." The man reached over and put a hand on Dick's arm.
Dick hastily pulled away, noting for the first time how cold the hand felt. "I-I think I'm going to go to bed. Right now."
Other Bruce's brow furrowed, "Now?"
"Before dinner?" questioned Alfred.
Dick swallowed before replying, "Uh yeah, I'm really, really tired." He gave a fake yawn. "I think I uh, just need to sleep on things."
Other Bruce looked skeptical. He stood up, he didn't look pleased. "Of course chum. I'll come tuck you in."
"No, no," Dick backed towards the doorway, palms out, "That's alright, you've already done enough!" He turned and almost ran into Other Bruce, who was blocking the doorway.
"You're most welcome," he turned to Other Alfred who had joined them at the doorway, "we aren't worried at all." He paused, then continued softly, "Soon you'll see things our way."
They made their way to the stairs. Dick climbed the stairs and stopped when he reached the landing. He turned and waved to Other Bruce and Alfred standing at the bottom, then continued walking. When he was out of their sight, he darted up the rest of the stairs. He runs into his room and slammed the door.
The pictures on the wall immediately began to talk asking, "What's wrong Dick? Are you alright? Aren't you having fun?" The animal shadows cast from the lamp began to creep closer, Dick swatted them away in panic and clicked the lamp off, leaving the room illuminated by the full moon. As the pictures continued talking, Dick ran up and ripped them off the walls, shoving them into a toy box. He ran and jumped onto the bed. His gaze shifted to the photo of his parents. Their smiles faded, his father leaned closer.
"Where's your buttons păsărică?" he asked, clearly concerned.
His mother looked hurt, "Don't you want to stay?"
With a heavy heart, he threw the picture into the toy box too. After watching the door for a moment, he barricaded it with a dresser. Shaking, he climbed into the bed. He pulled the covers over his head and curled into a ball, still shaking. "I'm going home tonight creeps, and I won't be back!" He tried to take deep breaths to calm the shaking. Calm down, stop shaking, just go to sleep, go to sleep, sleep!
His eyes clenched tighter. Whispering, raspy voices drifted around the room, trying to penetrate his blanket shell. The whispers soon warped into the voices of Other Bruce and Alfred,
"There's just one little thing…"
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep,"
"So sharp, you won't feel a thing…"
"Go to sleep, go to sleep,"
"Soon you'll see things our ways…"
"Go to SLEEP!"
Dick tossed and turned before he finally managed to fall into sleep.