He never said goodbye, he always just disappeared. And he never talked about anything private. He didn't ask about my day, or my name for that matter, and on the rare occasions I dared to ask about his, I'd be lucky if I got an "it's better if you know as little as possible". Not that he did converse with me about the work we did together. We didn't really talk much at all. And even though I knew I was a great help to him, he never showed his gratitude. He didn't even thank me after I had practically saved his life from the infamous Bane, whose sole purpose was destroying the Batman.
Or so I thought until about a week after the Bane incident. After Batsy had once again disappeared into thin air as soon as the cops had come to pick up Riddler, the villain of the night, I discovered a small black box on the spot I had last seen the Batman. Inside the box, I found a deep purple colored belt with a yellow bat shaped buckle. It was a utility belt, exactly like the one the Bat wore, but in my uniform colors. I immediately put it on, it was a perfect fit. The pouches were filled with battarangs, and other high tech gadgets like a claw shot and something that looked somewhat like a pager. I couldn't believe it, I was finally in the loop!
As I was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, carefully making my way home through the cool night air, I couldn't swipe the grin off my face. And even while brushing my teeth, undressed and ready for bed, I was still wearing the beautiful leather belt. One of the pouches suddenly made a beeping noise. It was the pager thingy. I clicked on the flickering screen saying "One new message". GOOD NIGHT, it read.
'You're still a fan of the Batman, right?' I nodded slowly. 'Because, O-M-G, I saw something on TV about him this morning. Apparently, someone took a couple of pictures of him fighting side by side with someone.' Yeah, me, I thought. 'But it's not that woman who's usually forcing herself into his crime fighting adventures, it seems-' My backpack beeped. It was my personal mini bat signal. GET TO BANK. PENGUIN ON THE LOOSE, the message noted.
'Sorry, Emma, you're going to have to continue your story another time. It sounds very fascinating, but I have to go, I'm late for practice,' I said. And with that, I left her, making my way to the bank. Her words wouldn't leave my mind, though. Forcing myself into his crime fighting adventures, was that really how people viewed me? Like I was forcing myself on him? Was that how he viewed me?
We struck a pose, battarangs in hand. I was ready, he was ready, and Penguin was already planning a counterattack. So why weren't we attacking? Wait for backup, he had said. But even with seven patrol cars, the two of us would still be their best chance of getting this guy round up. And more importantly, there were still no sirens to be heard. This was costing us valuable time!
No sirens, but there was laughing. A little boy in a red suit swung across the room and landed in between the Bat and me, striking our exact pose, battarang in hand. But his was red. The Bat and the little one looked at each other, then simultaneously attacked. All I could do was stand there and watch, as an unknown predator was eating my bunny, or rather, my Penguin.
'Robin, distraction maneuver, like we practiced,' the Dark Knight grumbled in his deep Dark Knight voice. I was flabbergasted. Who was this kid?
'He's had training?' I uttered, my voice skipping a tone.
The little one stopped his doings and turned to me, making a movement like taking off a hat. 'Robin,' he said, 'official partner to the Dark Knight.' After that, the two continued their practiced maneuver. Meanwhile, my ears felt like they were bleeding, my head like it was going to implode, and my eyes like they were going to flood from their sockets.
I knew my next action was probably not the right reaction, but I couldn't stop myself. I simply turned around, and walked away. I forced myself to keep back my tears until I was safely back inside my bedroom, but once the suit was replaced by my blankets and the mask by my soft, soft pillow, I cried. I cried like I had never cried before. The crying didn't really soothe the pain, though, it only numbed my body.
My father came in once to bring me some hot chocolate, and once more to check up on me. I didn't go to school the next day, though it seemed I had run out of tears. My bat beeper beeped a lot, but I ignored it. I ignored it until it got annoying. That's when I filled up the bathtub and drowned the thing.
