Flashback Chapter 25 The Other Side

Batman swivelled to watch his pacing protégé. "These are antimatter creatures," he mused. "Principles of matter-antimatter interaction?"

"When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other, producing a large amount of energy," Robin answered. "There's speculation that if antimatter could be safely created, contained and controlled, it could be a high-yield energy source. But these things aren't being annihilated, just…consuming all they touch."

"And they're not producing energy," Batman concurred. "But what if they're actually doing both…"

"And using the energy to regenerate themselves," Robin concluded. "Then, in order to destroy them…"

"We'd have to bleed off the energy before they can use it. Let's see, most common energy by-product-"

"Is heat, so if we supercooled them, then they'd annihilate the ice or whatever, then warm up rather than regenerate. Why don't we try Freeze's cold gun?"

Batman smiled at his daughter. "Good work, girl."

Robin grinned, and ran deeper into the cave. When she came back, dragging Mr Freeze's cryogenic weapon behind her, Batman was staring sorrowfully at a purple eye mask that, when worn, would flare up above the scalp. "I miss Mom too, Dad," she said softly.

"I know," Batman said, looking up. "Let's go." He tucked the mask into a pocket in his cape, pulled his cowl up, and they set off.

The fire hydrant exploded around Robin's crossbow bolt. Batman fired the cold gun, and a large block of super-cold ice formed around the antimatter monster. After a minute, the ice dissolved, and the creature emerged – noticeably slimmer.

"Yes!" Robin hissed victoriously.

"Again," Batman growled.

Robin aimed, and pulled the trigger at the next hydrant. The process repeated, and then they started throwing things before freezing them in mid-air. The monsters started to look very scanty, riddled with holes. Finally, Batman blasted one head-on. It fell to the street, and with a blast of heat, annihilated, taking a large chunk of sidewalk with it.

A massive brass machine thing appeared and the remaining antimatter monsters swamped it. "If those beasts don't like the doohickey, should we defend it?" Robin asked. "Enemy of my enemy, you know."

"We'll deal with them, then work out what that thing is," Batman decided. "Try not to damage the machine, just in case."

"Sure," Robin said, and aimed at a large billboard. The first shot sent it swinging loose, and she activated the mechanism to winch back the cord as she pulled out another bolt. Batman prepared the cold gun, and Robin pulled the trigger. The billboard froze, crushed the antimatter monsters, and annihilated them and a swath of street.

"Worked better than I thought it would," smirked Robin.

The next thing she knew was a flash of light, and darkness.

Batman staggered, and collapsed against his daughter in the dark. In this place, there was no time, no light but a strange glow around the inhabitants, no sound but those they made. It was unclear how long they'd been there.

A man calling himself Psycho Pirate had appeared for a while and induced great fear in them. Robin had felt even worse than when she'd got a lungful of Scarecrow's gas. Then a guy in a stupid-looking costume – Psycho Pirate called him Thunderer – had dragged Batman into the darkness. Robin tried to follow, but was thrown back. Her father had just been returned, in a bad way.

He was breathing heavily, shakily. His legs wouldn't support him, and his right arm hung loose and limp. His cowl was pulled back, and half his face was covered in bruises and crusted blood.

"Helena," he whimpered. "He won't let us live. I'm so sorry; I should never have let you-"

"Dad, it was all my choice," she said firmly. It sounded like his ribs were seriously broken, leaving his chest on the verge of caving in. "Even if this is it, what we shared was worth it."

Batman pulled his left glove off with his teeth, and laid his bare hand on Robin's cheek. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered. "I just wish…promise me, if you can, get out of here. Don't let me keep you back."

"If Kal and Kara manage to reach us, we can get you out," Robin insisted, pulling her mask off and absently stored it in her belt. "I'm sure it's not too late."

Batman released a breath of laughter. "I'm gone, I know it," he wheezed. "You have a chance. Don't let sentiment keep you back." His breath rattled in his throat. "Helena…I love…" His hand dropped, and the light in his eyes went out.

"Dad," Helena wept. She gently closed his eyes, and laid his hands on his chest. In doing so, she noticed his wedding ring. After her mother's death, he'd had her ring twisted into an infinity symbol around his own, while Helena started wearing Selina's engagement ring on a chain around her neck. Now, Helena claimed the gold bands as well.

She wiped her tears away, grief warring with rage. The now-orphaned girl would do all she could to avenge her father. Rising, she glanced down, and paused. Her father, the Bat. Her mentor, her role model. Her everything. Tears picking her eyes again, she pulled the cape and cowl from the corpse, clasping it around her own throat, covering her own cape, and pulled up the cowl. Now, she would be the Bat. She set off in the direction her dad had been taken.

A light appeared, and Helena turned, crouching defensively. A portal formed, and Kara, Supergirl, came through. "Helena," she gasped. "We don't have long. Where's Bruce?"

"He's gone." She buckled as she admitted it aloud.

Kara flew forward and caught her. "He's not the only one," she breathed. "I'm so glad you're alive. We have to go." She held Helena tightly, and pulled her through the portal as everything changed.

AN: This chapter is all the work of my own imagination. A lot of details will become significant as time, and the arcs, go on.

Next week will be the final installment of Flashback with the end of the Crisis. (By the way, it's the '85 Crisis on Infinite Earths, the one BEFORE the Infinite Crisis.) In other news, also this week, more LBV and the next installment of Death's Avenger. Also next week, more LBV and the next istallment of Rise of Harry Potter.

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Katara