Cypher wants revenge against Batman and his former third Robin. What better way to get revenge than to use the Wayne Family to lure everyone to their doom.
Subliminal Death
By
AJ
Part 20: The Sudden Discovery
"No...no no no," Jason was almost in a panic. Tim's in trouble. He was going to head down to the cave when he bumped into Bruce. "Dad...Tim...he's in some sort of trouble."
"Where," Bruce asked, his voice steady. "Can you tell where he's at?"
"No...I can't," Jason's eyes were wide to the point the whites were showing.
"Calm down," Bruce coaxed. "You can do this."
Jason took in a deep breath and tried to locate Tim. He tried to do what Samantha had been trying to teach him, but his mind wasn't reaching that equilibrium. He couldn't do it like last night. "I'm sorry, I can't find him. Maybe Samantha . . ."
In that moment, Samantha hurried into the house and found Jason and Bruce sstanding in the hallway. She could see that Jason looked worried. 'He must know,' she thought. "Jason, he's in a cemetery. Does that help?"
Samantha's words helped to calm him to where he could sense Tim calling out for Dick. "Something was off. It's like the connection to our older brother doesn't exist anymore. Did he cut the connection?"
"That's not possible," Samantha said. "Tim would never do that."
**
The weight of the dirt was pressing down and the amount of air was growing thinner.
'It was getting harder to breath,' Tim had to calm down, but tears kept falling down his face. 'I was going to die, alone, in the dark,' In his mind, Tim was in a full panic. 'DICK I'M SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I can't feel him. I can't feel him. He's closed me off. I'm alone.'
'Daddy? DADDY! Mommy. DADDY. He believes he's alone. He's in the dark!'
"Caine,' Samantha raced to the sunroom to find Caine crying, while Caleb tried to comfort his brother. Samantha picked up Caine and held him.
'Daddy's in the dark! He's going to die!'
"Shhh, Uncle Jay and Grandpa are on it," Samantha said. She carried Caine to where Bruce and Jason still stood. "Jason, the cemetery, the main one in Gotham. He's in the ground, among some trees."
"We have to get to him," Jason said, looking over at Bruce.
'I must get through to Uncle Dick he must know,' Caine said through his tears. 'But he's so far away. UNCLE DICK! DADDY NEEDS YOU!'
Dick was in his Bludhaven apartment. He was lying under the comforters in his bed when he heard Caine's voice. It was faint and far away. 'What Caine?' Dick spoke tiredly in his mind.
Tim calculated about how long he had. 'I've got to conserve my energy. Maybe two or three hours at the most. The air will grow stale. Then I'll start to fall asleep. This isn't like the movies. That box was rigged. I can't fight any more. Should have realized this was all Cypher's doing. He won. I'll never see my family ever again. I'm sorry, Dick. I didn't mean to hurt you.'
'DADDY, he's alone, in the dark. He's been buried alive. He doesn't have much time left. Two, three hours at most.'
'What!?' Dick shot out of bed. Despite how he was feeling, Dick was a hero. "How the hell did he ended up buried alive? Your father doesn't even want me. He doesn't like me. Why would he call out for me?'
'That is HIS fear talking,' Caine explained. 'He's afraid of being alone, afraid of dying alone. Unwanted unloved. Cypher tricked him. Hurry!*
Dick put his shoes and shirt back on. 'Where is he.'
"I'm sorry, Sammie," Tim said out loud and in his head. "I, I screwed up. I'm not going to make it. Please, tell the boys I love them."
'NO!' Samantha cried out loud, tears streaming down. 'Don't you dare give up!' All Samantha felt was silence. She turned to Bruce and Jason. Her face showed it all.
"Where?" Bruce said.
"Gotham Cemetery buried under some trees," Samantha added her voice with her son's. 'Deep. Oh god no. He has resigned himself. He's no longer fighting.'
Dick grabbed hs keys and headed down to his private garage. He should have recognized the truth as well. His brother would never say those words to him. Somehow Cypher gotten to him. 'Just like he got to me. My brother needs me. I will not let him die.' Dick sped off back to Gotham and to Gotham cemetery.
"Come on, Jason," Bruce urged Jason on. "We need to go now!"
Bruce raced to the cave and suited up as quickly as he dared. Jason was right behind him, throwing on his suit and not bothering to put on his helmet.
'Tim, please be okay,' Jason thought to himself. 'Golden boy, where the hell are you!' Jason shouted in his mind. 'He needs to reconnect with us.'
Dick was breaking all of the speed limit laws to get back to Gotham. Twice he almost got into an accident. He had to do some fancy moves to avoid a third. 'Two hours, too slow. I've got to make it.'
Tim's head was starting to hurt. That was the first sign that the air in his make-shift coffin was turning. He was getting sleepy. 'It won't be long now . . . Maybe an hour. I will be with my parents. Maybe . . . Maybe they . . . Will be . . . Proud of me.' Tim closed his eyes.
Dick reached out for that connection, again. 'Tim please, hold on. Big brother is coming!'
It was a few more miles back to gotham.
'Even if they find me . . . . Too late . . . They'll be . . . Too late.'
Continues with Part 21: The Hunt for Timothy Drake-Wayne
