Chapter 3: Survive

"Dick honey, don't gobble so much. You're an acrobat, not one of the circus lions."

Reminding him kindly, his mother looked at him over her slim shoulder before continuing to scrape the pan with the pancake turner.

"But Mom, your pancakes are the best in the world. I just can't help myself there. They taste too good!"

Grinning broadly, the little boy stuffed himself full of the sweet treat again.

"Nevertheless, certain table manners also apply in this caravan. So eat slower, or you'll choke."

"Fine."

The child swallowed briefly before turning to the other person at the small table. His father was busy reading the morning paper when he was addressed:

"Dad, can we try the triple somersault again today? I think I'll finally be able to do it this time."

Grinning, the athletic man put down the printed paper before proudly waving his son through his hair at such ambition:

"Sure, big guy. I'll tell Ray to put up the net for noon today. Then the three of us can practice."

The little boy nodded happily at this answer. He loved swinging on the trapeze with his parents. It made him feel like he could fly.

Gasping for air, Dick awoke, causing his dry lips to crack. He licked them briefly, drunk with sleep, as the taste of the world's best pancakes still lingered on them, but quickly disappeared. Only slowly did his vision clear and confused he wondered where exactly he was right now.

Dick didn't know this rocky floor, the damp walls, the shimmering water in front of him. And he just felt like crap. Every part of his body ached like a torn nerve. He felt sick, his ears were dull and he truly didn't feel the urge to move. The black-haired man just wanted to keep laying down so his body wouldn't hurt much more than it already did. But thirst kept him from doing so.

He groaned painfully as Richard forced his body to overcome the short distance between him and the little pool and he greedily took in the cool water. Dick then lay back down powerlessly on the hard rock and sank into unconsciousness once again.

"What are you doing Damian?"

Dick was walking down the hall with a bottle of water when he saw the little demon on the couch in front of the fireplace. Disinterested, the boy continued to work as he replied:

"I'm drawing pictures of the current criminals in Gotham for my Investigation wall."

Curious now, the taller one stepped closer and peered over the boy's slim shoulders. Surprised, he almost choked on his water when he could effortlessly match all the familiar faces, due to the photo-like quality:

"You drew all these?"

As if this was the most normal thing in the world, the child continued:

"As a detective, you should know the faces of your opponents. Otherwise, it would be too easy for a Joker without makeup to disappear into the crowd."

Still knocked off his feet, Dick took one of the many drawings between his fingers and looked at it more closely. He had never seen anyone produce such detailed portraits at such a young age. It seemed as if the Bane in his hand was standing right in front of him.

"This is incredible!"

"Maybe by your simple standards Grayson. As an assassin, you have to be able to do something like that."

Dick furrowed his brows: "But you're not one."

Damian was just putting the finished drawing to the others when he replied again disinterestedly:

"It was part of my training. Was required before I would meet father. So I can do what assassins can do."

Concerned, Dick looked down at the little boy as he took another sip from his half-empty water bottle. To him, it was incomprehensible how people could raise a small child to be a killing weapon. Even though Damian didn't feel that way himself, he was still deprived of a lot. He seemed more like a programmed robot than a human being.

Again, the boy pulled a white sheet towards him and began to draw. Dick sighed heavily before setting down his bottle, walked around the couch and squat down in front of the little boy with his most charming smile:

"Why don't you draw me for once?"

Scrutinizingly, Damian raised a brow: "Why should I?"

"Because it would make me happy."

Annoyed, the boy turned back to his drawing:

"Don't be ridiculous Grayson. Your hopeless romanticism will drive you to your grave one day."

Dick just started laughing: "You're probably right."

Again he awoke. Was in pain, drank, passed out.

Nightwing just came back from a mission through the window of his apartment. He sighed heavily and pulled his mask off his dusty face.

Why do Criminals always have to blow something up?

Dick briefly ran a hand through his disheveled hair when he found a blank piece of paper on his desk. Interested, he turned the strange paper over.

On it was a drawing of his stupidly smiling face, with the lovely inscription "Hopeless Idiot."

Smirking at the sight, Dick held his hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud before saying:

"Well, at least it's a start."

Shallow splashes reached his ears as his mind snapped back to reality. Accompanied by a slight twitch of his fingers, Dick's eyes gradually opened. Only slowly did his vision and fogged mind clear.

Where was he?

That splashing water, the pool, the rock beyond, he had seen these before.

"Arg!"

He winced violently on the ground as pain plagued him everywhere. Especially his side hurt like hell. Dick let his gaze fall onto it. The skin was almost completely burned. Blisters, as well as crusted wound secretions and blood gathered among all the dirt around it. Not a pretty sight.

When Dick tried to sit up, the real agony began. It felt as if the sensitively burned skin would tear apart again. Even the slightest movement pulled and tugged at it like tension rakes on a sun sail. Still, he managed to move and leaned against a nearby wall, next to the small pool of water. Briefly he paused, trying not to move his body to much. The only thing that filled his head right now was the thought of breathing shallowly and causing as little pain as possible.

A few moments passed before he looked beside him at the clear water. Slowly, his hand slid in and caught some of the liquid. He pulled it shakingly back before the filled bowl came to a stop directly above the burned area. Dick exhaled calmly in preparation for what was about to come and then let the water flow over it. Loud moans and pitifully restrained screams filled the reverberation that was carried out into the tunnels. It just burned so horribly, but Dick couldn't risk being heard right now. That's what his instincts told him.

It was just a pain in the ass, when the adrenaline stopped working.

Again the hand slid into the spring, again water was poured over the sensitive flesh and again he fought against his own sounds of pain. But with each successive pouring, it became more bearable, until eventually only a dull ache remained.

Carefully Dick freed the wound from the crust of dirt, blood and Secret. Then he tore off the left sleeve of his damaged suit, cleaned it with one hand in the water without moving much, and placed the soaked piece of fabric on his irritated skin to cool it down.

Exhausted, Nightwing pulled his broken mask from his face, dropped it on the floor and closed his eyes.

Dick was still confused and tried to reconstruct the events, which he gradually managed, but did not like.

So he was in hell. Without food, but at least now with some water. Whether this was actually drinkable, his body would show with time passing by. No consideration could be given to that now.

Interested, Dick looked up to the mysterious light source of this place, which he could not really make out before. Thousands of small stones occupied the individual stalagmites of the caves ceiling like stars and flooded with their turquoise glow even the tiniest corners of the rocks glistening with moisture. It was a grotesquely beautiful sight, considering what the rest of this hell looked like.

This should be a good shelter for now, until the others got him out of here. So the topic of water and a roof over the head was already settled. Only food was missing. But he would also be able to find some cans and other stuff among the ruins of his world.

The corners of Dick's mouth turned upward, while his eyes became slightly watery with joy when he realized it.

He would live.

However, the black-haired man decided to sit here until his wounds had calmed down a bit. Although the burn was the biggest problem right now, the 2-3 probably broken ribs still made it difficult for him to breathe. Likewise his injured arm demanded rest. He was not hungry yet. Food could wait.

So Dick sat there, alone with his thoughts.

He wondered if the others were worried. Bruce was probably already making a mess out of everyone in the Justice League and played out all the cards he had, to open that weird portal again. Even thought he always acted so cold and calculating, he would never give up anyone. You had to hand it to him. And Damian isn't much better in that regard. The two of them really share the same blood. As they say, the apple doesn't fall far from its tree.

Dick sighed heavily. He hoped in any case that the portal could be opened again. All this time-dimension-travel-whatever stuff had never been his strong field. He didn't have a clue how something like that even worked. Well roughly but not really to the enlightenment level. He preferred to leave that to Tim and Bruce. They always cut the mustard. At least he hoped so.

Well, for him it was now to wait and survive and under no circumstances, think of the worst things that could happen. That only tugged at his already strained nerves.

Some hours later however Dick's stomach drew the attention to itself. Loudly the hungry organ growled at him and he had at present truly no desire to follow the need of food. But it wouldn't helped to sit here and make it worse. You had to work for your meals.

As gently as possible, Richard rose ponderously and ,supporting himself along the cave walls, made his way to the exit, moving his upper body as little as possible. The further he got, the more his wound burned. Not only because of the movement, but also because the air around him was getting warmer and also the cooling factor called damp sleeve, lost its effect.

God he hated this place.

Just before the exit, Dick's foot bumped into something that now clattered metallically across the floor. It was the broken katana and without much thought, it was now reattached to his back. Who knew if these critters wouldn't come back again.

Cautiously, he peeked out at the cave entrance. It took a moment before his eyes adjusted to the brightness and as they did, he was startled. One of those hellhound things was still lying outside the cave. Again, his luck was just phenomenal today.

He was about to turn back around and look for another exit when something caught his eye. Small creatures that looked like naked, winged capuchin monkeys were sitting on top of the huge cattle, tearing small pieces of flesh out of it over and over again. Apparently it died from its injuries after their altercation and now these beasts were fighting over the best pieces.

At least, one problem solved.

Still, Dick wasn't sure how the scavengers would react to him. Decidedly, he stepped out of the cave to see what would happen. But apart from a bit of hissing here and there, they left him alone. Well, at least something that was moderately peaceful.

Dick passed the cadaver and took a look at it. He must have slept longer in this grotto than he thought. From this side, the body was gnawed to the bone and it smelled extremely of decay, which he had not noticed at first with all the sulfur in the air.

However, he was not allowed to concern himself with it further. His body wouldn't last long in this blazing heat and he couldn't push his luck. One wrong decision and Simba over there could duel him again in the afterlife. So off he trudged heading for what little he knew in this world. Junk.

Clacking, stone splintered on stone. Again, and again, and again. And in the middle of it all, Dick, heedlessly tossing them around in search of supplies. He ate a whole-grain bar in addition and was surprised that none of the animals living here haunted in this place. Perhaps the unfamiliar smell had scared them away, but as always, one could not rely on that. Again, the black-haired man found a food can under numerous pieces of concrete.

Ravioli, the dish of festivals.

The can landed skillfully in a small battered shopping cart, away from all the bulky stones. With that, he already had 13 canned goods, 5 intact packages of chips, 3 broken ones and various packaged things that could even be eaten after a nuclear disaster. Long live the preservatives.

There were also fruits and vegetables but the nearly 50 degrees out here had caused them to rot quickly. So the unhealthy stuff had to do for now.

Bottles filled with drinks and various items such as clothes, pocket knives, and cutlery for the canned goods also kept flying into the steel vehicle. Basically everything that he assumed could be important.

Briefly, the Dick paused and put his head in the neck with closed eyes. It was so unbearably hot and the exertion coupled with his physical ailments was tugging at his strength. He better come back tomorrow before his fatigue became his undoing. Speaking of tomorrow, somehow the sky had not changed since he landed here. It was always the same scarlet hue behind the sooty black clouds. Normally, you should have been able to tell the progress of the day by the change in color.

Dick was looking more closely at the strange sky when something struck him.

There was no sun. So no day and night times? After all, it had always been bright outside until now. How was he supposed to know what time it was, let alone how long he had been trapped in this world?

Furious, Dick stuck out his two middle fingers at the scarlet sky: "FUCK YOU! You and this goddamn hell!"

He had simply blown a fuse at that moment, given to the unknown sense of time. While he still knew now that it was a day or two at most, how much longer will it take until he doesn't know anymore. Things like day and night provided a kind of structure according to which both body and mind operate. This world had no structure and coupled with the fact that he was the only person here, it would quickly drive him insane should the gate fail to open in time.

Dejected, Dick hung his head before he began to smirk: "Well Jason, I bet you'd be proud of me right now. Not even a day walking around in this godforsaken wasteland and I start cussing like you. Man...this whole thing really drains you."

The nostalgia for his brother didn't last long as nearby shrieks reached his ears. Richard was startled to see a new species of this hell just rising from behind one of the pointed mountains of this rocky landscape and heading straight for him. It looked like one of those flying vampires from the ancient Nosferatu movies, only bigger. Three times as big, to be exact. Why did he have to swear so loudly into the sky?

Gosh, what an idiot he was.

Briefly, Dick weighed his options. Considering his weak condition and the sharp-clawed monster in front of him, he saw only one option.

Going for the run.

However, Dick didn't even get to run at all. In the moment he turned around and wanted to take the first step, a piece of flying fabric got tangled between his legs. Losing his balance, he landed ungently among the sharp debris. Although Dick was able to catch himself to some extent, the unintentional hasty movement still tore badly at his burn. It was the kind of injury he hated the most, because unlike cuts or puncture wounds, burns felt as if the skin was like tissue paper that was permanently on the verge of tearing. Especially when something touched it, even if it was only very thin fabric. Burns hurt almost always and at the moment, more than that.

Groaning, Dick lay on the floor. Right now he regretted so much having acted rashly and just used the katana to burn the shreds of his side together.

Idiot Dick! You are such an idiot!

Rapidly the creature came closer, but Richard could not move because of the pain.

Just before it reached him, however, a massive mouth passed over him and grabbed the vampire-like creature between its teeth. Dick braced himself as abruptly, an extreme wind suction nearly swept him away. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Dick looked up in panic and only saw the alien like dragon-beast, nearly 50 meters long, disappear into the dark clouds with whale-like calls and it's prey.

Faced by another close meeting with death, Dick began to lose his nerve and panic set in. All he could think about was getting to the cave as quickly as possible and reaching safety before another creature tried to eat him. Because the confrontation just now showed him that, in his current state, he couldn't even really fight back if it came to that. Trembling all over his body, Dick began to frantically kick his knotted legs free.

Away, away, he just had to get out of here now!

But when he dropped a glance at the fabric in desperation, Richard paused in his kicking. Black, yellow and soaked with blood. He would be able to recognize it anywhere. It was Robin's cape.

Slowly, Dick grasped the familiar fabric and examined it more closely before placing a hand on the bridge of his nose and beginning to reprimand himself:

"Oh Nightwing, all that training about strengthening your mind and then you sit here, for the first time in years, losing your nerves. The heat is really making your brain soft."

Briefly, he rubbed the back of his neck, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He needed to calm down. It was no good at all if he allowed all these new impressions to upset him right now.

Somewhat relaxed again, Nightwing sighed and looked around for a moment. He grabbed a blank piece of paper, wrote data about his whereabouts on it with a ballpoint pen lying around, and rose with a groan. Straining, Dick jammed a long piece of wood into the ground and leaned on it for a moment to catch his breath before attaching the note to it. If the gate opened again, it would let Batman and the others know where they could find him.

With that, he no longer had to worry about the issue of being found.

Dick walked with Damian's cloak to the wind-turned basket, set it up, put all the things back in it, and leaning on the vehicle, started his way back to the cave. Exhausted and hoping not to run into another creature.