Chapter 19: No longer your shadow

The days in the Batcave had become very monotonous for Bruce. For almost two weeks now, the tall man had been sitting down here every free hour, meticulously searching for a solution that could help Dick in some way.

Deep circles under his eyes and unkempt stubble adorned the tired billionaire's face. He just couldn't find any peace at the moment. Too much gnawed at him the guilt that he had simply given up on his son and that he literally had to live through hell because of it. Every night Bruce listened to the desperate recordings of Dick again to find any clues, to spur himself on and to punish himself.

He wanted his old partner back as soon as possible and to make amends for a lot of what he had screwed up. Because it was clear to Bruce that Dick was right about all the things he had said in his last recording, except for one thing. It wasn't Richard who should have apologized to Bruce, but Bruce to him. After all, he had never been the one to make the first move once an argument tipped the scales, nor had he been the one who had cared the most about their family, even though Batman in particular was their founder.

And that's where the mistake lay. It was Batman, not Bruce Wayne, and it was supposed to be the other way around. Accordingly, it always went like this: Batman's word was law, who did not heed this, had to expect consequences, which led to constant conflicts within their family.

After all, he had lost his first Robin because of it and Damian was slipping out of his hands at the moment as well.

On the other hand, Bruce held Jason as his new Robin on a loose line, to avoid the same mistake he did with Dick and so he didn't see how his second son was running into his own doom, as well as his own.

Batman wasn't sure anymore if this way of following orders was still the right one or if he shouldn't start to be Bruce Wayne, who first and foremost wanted to give these kids a family.

In addition, he now had Selina by his side, which made the human Bruce Wayne climbing more and more to the surface and fueled this conflict stronger than ever.

Tired, Batman's gloved hands, on the keyboard, paused for a moment and he leaned deeper into the large chair with strain, before his fingers massaged the deep wrinkles at the root of his nose.

There was no use worrying about these things now. Dick's healing was top priority and if he still wanted to get the best out of their family, he needed the help of the person who knew their members best and was able to do things Batman couldn't do.

Suddenly, a calm voice startled the drained man:

"Batman, I'm going to call it a day. Here's the blood sample you wanted."

Raven approached the bat from behind and handed him a small vial of red blood that adorned a slight purple tint. It had become a routine that she now went in and out of the Batcave every day, always trying to make old Dick appear. But the successes were missing. Only the regular samples, which she could take thanks to her magic, brought a little more information about his condition, even if Batman could not yet determine a cure from them. This was not some virus that could be cured with a simple injection. It was a mutation that had turned 30% of Dick's DNA into strands that did not exist in their world. On top of that, Batman had found minimal variations among all the blood samples, which meant that Richard was still evolving.

And Bruce did not believe that it would be for the good.

With a serious face, he took the sample and replied:

"Thank you Raven. Were you able to find any memories this time?"

The witch closed her eyes in shame and shook her cloaked head before adding:

"No, nothing. Also, I'm not sure how much longer I can help you with this." Her graceful fingers wandered to the center of her forehead before she continued anxiously:

"Though my father is sealed inside the crystal, I can feel Nightwing's very existence infuriating Him. For demons to share their power is the greatest dishonor, and he senses his powers in him. My father resists his prison more and more because of it, which urges me to be more careful."

"Try as long as you can. You can call it a day and return to the Tower."

Raven answered this only with an occupied nod before opening a portal and leaving the weary man alone in his cave.

Silence returned to the Batcave, which was broken only by Dick's angry snarl. Bruce spun around in his chair and thoughtfully contemplated what was left of his foster son.

Finally, after a few moments of Richard trying to stab him with his raging glare, he rose and stepped firmly toward the cage. With every meter that Batman came closer, Dick's rage also spiraled further, trying to intimidate his opponent with threatening blows against the iron bars.

At some distance Bruce finally came to a halt. He now surveyed Dick's estranged form even more closely before sighing sadly and simply beginning to talk to him:

"You hate me, don't you? You don't like these experiments we do on you every day."

In response, Richard just screeched at him out of deepest hostility, causing a few drops of saliva to find their way onto the floor.

Calm but occupied, Bruce continued to speak as he casually pulled back his cowl:

"Just understand that I'm only trying to help you with this Dick. You're not this monster, you're one of us. A hero."

Batman had taken a step closer, but this was enough to send Richard into a frenzy. Snarling, he leapt against the thick iron bars, trying desperately to bite through them with his teeth, while his tail and wings beat wildly against the remaining sides of the cage.

There was no mistaking that Dick despised this puny prison most of all, and Bruce knew it. Richard couldn't even stretch his wings properly without bumping against the unyielding bars, let alone pursue his actual rank of movement even minimally.

Each time, Bruce was pained by the sight, but there was nothing he could do at the moment but keep him inside. Dick was just too dangerous.

Dejectedly, Batman averted his gaze. Fatigue was eating away at his mind more and more, making it difficult to think clearly. Wistfully, he sighed deeply and looked around the Cave, lost in thought. Everywhere various absurd objects, testified to heroic deeds from bygone days. A big Joker card, a huge penny, old costumes. They were all trophies that reflected their history.

Finally, Bruce's gaze lingered on one particular piece. A gentle smile graced his face as he looked at it:

"Do you remember that mission with that robot T-Rex? It was one of your first patrols and when we took him out together, you were eager to take this Dino home. I told you it wouldn't work because he was way too big and flashy. The whole way home you were upset about it and I finally relented.

It was the first trophy of many to come and the beginning, of the testament of our successes...your successes. After all, they're not Batman's trophies, they're the trophies of the Robins." *

Bruce let out an amused snort as he looked around the Cave again:

"It's hard to believe how many there are now. And it's all because you wanted that dino so badly."

Again Batman's now warm-hearted gaze fell on his former partner. However, the latter didn't seem to share his mood. Instead, Dick now moved away from the steel bars again and fixed Bruce menacingly, with his scowls. His tail flashed in mistrust of this man, with whom he currently associated only pricking needles and this confining prison.

Resignedly, the billionaire closed his tired eyes and ran a hand through his face in exertion. This whole situation was really tugging at his nerves.

Suddenly slender fingers nestled on Bruce's broad shoulder blades and a very familiar body pressed seductively against his back:

"Don't you think you should finish for Today Bat?"

He heard Selina's calm voice purring smoothly against his ear before he answered her over his shoulder:

"I have a few more tests to run, and then I'll be upstairs in about five minutes."

However, this only caused the cat's features to turn to concern:

"We both know that's not true. I know it's important to you, and I respect that. But you can't forget yourself in the process. Give the both of you a break."

Immediately, warmth entered his tormented mind, causing Batman's grim features to take on a gentle tone once again. Slowly he turned and looked into the worried green eyes of his beloved cat, who said:

"You look terrible Bat."

"It's nothing."

Selina, however, was not fazed by this. One of her hands moved on to her Bat's unkempt face and Bruce immediately leaned against the pleasantly cool skin as he wearily closed his eyes. It soothed his mind immensely.

"You can't fool me Bruce. I know you haven't slept for nights because this thing has you firmly in its claws. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. You can't help anyone like that, let alone even form a clear thought."

The tall man was about to protest, exhausted, when one of the slender thieves' fingers came to rest on his lips:

"Well now, you're off the air Bat. Come on, I think the little birdie would love to have a rest too, don't you agree? After all, you've been teasing him all day. It's only fair that I have the night with you. Besides, we don't want all that stress to put more wrinkles on that pretty face."

In the end, Bruce just couldn't fight the charm of this woman. So a smile conjured itself on his lips and let also his own charm out:

"Do I get a massage too if I'm good, dear lady?"

Selina playfully put her arms around the neck of her beloved bat, giving the feeling of a clear invitation:

"Only if you are good and leave work for now."

Lovingly, he took one of her hands in his and kissed it once:

"Milady, we have a deal."

Thereupon a passionate kiss broke out between them, which captivated both of them for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, the cat interrupted their love game to be able to continue it elsewhere. Seductively she purred:

"Well, come on Bat and let's loosen up those tense muscles a bit."

Selina grabbed her lover's hand and pulled him with her toward the Manor. Just before the pair finally left the cave, the cat, with a knowing grin, let her gaze slide once more to a small inconspicuous crevice at the other end of the Batcave, before she happily disappeared with her lover through the hidden door.

Shortly thereafter, a completely different scene took place on the other side of the cave. The two burglars who came in and out of here every day had been peeking out of their little crevice for some time, and since Bruce had already disappeared into the Manor with that cat, Jon now quietly inquired:

"Are they gone?"

Damian checked one last time before replying: "Yes, the coast is clear."

They emerged from their hiding place, causing Jonathan to stretch himself once:

"Man, I thought they'd never leave. My limbs are already getting stiff from monotonous standing."

"So much for Kryptonians being superhumans."

"Actually, I'm only half Kryptonian."

"Whatever."

A few feet away, Damian stopped suddenly and looked thoughtfully at the large green dinosaur, Which protruded to below the cave ceiling with its mouth wide open. He had never really cared about what it had to do with all these trophies and usually considered them rather as a kind of dust collector.

Jonathan, on the other hand, had already gone a few steps further when he noticed his friend pause:

"What is it?" he asked in surprise. But his partner only answered dryly:

"Nothing." And caught up with him.

Even from a distance, both junior heroes saw Dick joyfully awaiting them. Two weeks ago there had been mistrust and fear, but now a different picture had emerged. He sat patiently like a dog on all fours behind the thick bars, while the tip of his tail wagged excitedly back and forth.

"Hey Richard. We brought you some yummy stuff again."

Jon was the first to greet him cheerfully and also immediately had a little snack ready. Even before they were directly in front of the cage, he threw a raw egg at Dich, which he immediately caught with his sharp teeth and devoured it together with its shell.

Again and again the two burglars had put Richard in the past days before a selection of different vegetarian foods and had determined that raw eggs were the half-bird's favorite. Damian thought this was probably related to the high protein and calcium content they had, since Dick's energy requirement had to be extremely high with this many limbs. So it was no surprise that protein bars were a close second. It was important to establish this so they could reward him once he did something right. While not the most humanly dignified method, for starters this way of education worked best.

Food was the number one thing to gain trust.

Robin took off his mask and got down on his knees in front of the cage. Expectantly, he extended his fingers in front of Richard and dryly gave the command: "Hand."

Obediently, the instruction was followed, so that blue skin met green leather. Damian's hand seemed tiny in direct comparison to Richard's huge hand. Analyzing, the boy eyed the pointed nails of the winged one before giving a first feedback:

"The nail we trimmed yesterday has already grown back completely. It's amazing that even cell-free components of his body regenerate."

Damian let go of the hand again and gave Dick another egg as a reward, which he happily ate before excitedly wagging his tail again. Richard seemed to like to be challenged and to use his brain a little, especially since it seemed to have lost none of its intelligence. He understood quickly and made great progress in a very short time. Just a week ago, he would have been ready to kill them and now he was even happy to be dealt with and trained like a little poodle.

While Damian rose again to document the newly gained knowledge in his computer, Jon, with childlike anticipation, immediately gave Dick the next instruction: "Come here Richard."

The latter knew what would now follow and therefore cooed cheerfully before pressing himself right next to Jonathan against the bars. The Kryptonian's hands wandered behind the hard bars and moved between the many feathers on Dick's back. He blithely began meticulously scratching the spot in the center of his wing roots:

"I bet you've been waiting for that all day, haven't you? Yes such a fine one you are."

Richard happily reached out to the benevolent hands to underscore how much he enjoyed these caresses. However, Damian didn't like this whole thing so much. Annoyed, he ran a hand strained over his face before lecturing this child-head:

"Damn it Jon, he's not a dog, so stop treating him like one. It makes me sick to watch."

Jonathan, however, just gave an offended snort in response: "But he likes it so much and he acts just like a dog anyway."

"We want to make him human again, not our pet."

Offended, Jon let go of Richard, but not without adding another "Spoilsport."

A sneeze followed and the two boys' gazes drifted synchronously to the cage. Dick had sneezed and was now shaking himself so that all his feathers stood up, making him look like a plushy soft ball.

Jon snorted in amusement: "If there's one thing I know about your brother now, it's that he's a real softy."

But Damian did not share his amusement. On the contrary, the wrinkles on his forehead became deep furrows as he carefully analyzed Richard's behavior. He removed one of his gloves and then gently placed his warm hand on Dick's forehead. The latter seemed to visibly enjoy the warmth, and the youngster shared his findings with Jon:

"He's gotten colder."

He then analyzed the exact body temperature with the help of his computer:

"42 degrees. The first time I measured it, it was still 44." Damian took another closer look at Dick. He could tell something was wrong. He wasn't as fit as he had been the last few days and was sneezing more and more often. Finally, it hit him. God, had he really been that stupid?

"It's much too cold for him in here. In his original habitat, the temperature was about 60 degrees and above. That's why he keeps curling himself into a ball and putting his feathers up. He's freezing."

Alarmed, Damian closed his computer and moved away from the cage, much to Jon's amazement. But before he could say anything, his partner added:

"We still have several heaters in storage. Help me get them in before Grayson gets sick."

As said, so done. About half an hour later, the two boys had placed all the fan heaters they could find around Dick's cage and set them to just under 60 degrees before both sat down on the floor a few feet away from the uncomfortable heat, watching as Dick became visibly more comfortable in his skin. The feathers no longer puffed up, but lay close to his body, nor did he huddle into a dense pile.

In fact, he seemed to have even understood that the two boys had just helped him. He made this clear by making strange cooing noises in his throat and rubbing his head against the bars like a cat while he wandered up and down.

Jon was not unaware of this behavior and raised a brow thoughtfully:

"I wonder what he actually embodies. He looks like a bird, a moment ago he was acting like a dog, and now you'd think he was trying to imitate a purring cat. Who would be able to figure that one out."

Damian, on the other hand, had completely different worries right now: "What's most important right now is how much bird is in him. Birds naturally have a high body temperature, so they don't get a fever. When they get sick, it just drops, which is currently the case with Grayson. However, I am not sure if he is already at the beginning of an illness or if we could still avert this in time. It could be very dangerous for him otherwise, as his body may react negatively to medication and viruses of our world."

Jon's face took on a serious tone. Damian's words visibly concerned him. He had actually grown quite fond of Dick over the past few days and found it fun to deal with the bird, as he always conveyed a great deal of gratitude back. It was important to Jonathan that the big guy continued to do well.

Suddenly Dick started biting the bars and making almost pleading sounds. The two boys were no strangers to this behavior. The sight of Richard desperately begging to leave this agonizingly small cage made both Jon and Damian sad and weighed heavily on their chests.

It triggered guilt in them, but as much as they wanted to, they couldn't let him out yet. He would probably attack Batman first, since he hadn't exactly treated Dick with kid gloves.

Jonathan gritted his teeth in annoyance at this and concluded:

"Your dad is really an ass."

Astonished, Damian looked at the half kryptonian boy: "What?"

Upset, the latter also immediately explained himself:

"Well, for real! Not only that he excludes you from this whole thing and deports you to Metropolis, no, he also pesters Richard with all these experiments and doesn't even bother to understand him properly. I mean what would have happened to him if we didn't keep coming in here to help him? I don't understand how you can stand being in such an emotionally dead environment."

Jon looked at Damian for an answer to that. The latter, however, blinked at him, visibly surprised at this evaluation of his father, only puzzled. Jonathan groaned strained as he gave himself the answer:

"Actually, that's a stupid question. After all, you both have the emotional range of a dried sardine. Unless you can brag about your rich-kid egos. But Batman is still the bigger sap of the two of you."

Damian was about to protest angrily and not let these insults pass without a word, when out of the corner of his eye he saw Dick suddenly hissing his way to the back of the cage.

A shadow settled over the two boys as a unmistakably deep voice sounded behind them:

"So I'm a sap, huh?"

Synchronously, the two junior heroes looked over their shoulders as if in slow motion, and while Jon was already inwardly finishing with his life, Damian was mentally punishing himself. He couldn't believe he had made that mistake and just grabbed the root of his own nose before saying annoyed:

"-tt-, shit. I forgot the heat sensors."

Batman was visibly annoyed to find these two runaways here and punctuated this with his reprimanding look. That these kids couldn't even do once what they were told:

"What do you think you're doing here? Your orders were more than clear, weren't they?"

The Two Boys stood up to face their judge respectfully. In doing so, Jonathan avoided the bat's dreaded gaze and began to stammer to himself: "Um, w-we're...I-I mean w-we just wanted...j-just..."

Jon just couldn't find the words to steer this situation in their favor. The fact that they were both screwed completely threw him for a loop. But Damian already took over the talking and was amazingly annoyed. So much anger had accumulated inside the boy that he now just let it out and hurled everything at his father:

"I so don't give a damn about your orders now, father! Do you really want to know what we are doing here? Making sure Richard doesn't bite the dust, because you seem to be so busy doing these stupid studies on him that you don't even notice how you're slowly killing him! If Jon and I hadn't been here every day making sure he ate something, he might have died a long time ago! You didn't even notice that it is much too cold for him inside the cage and he is threatening to get sick! You're not helping him, you're killing him!"

Both Jon and Bruce were visibly surprised at this sudden outburst of emotion on Damian's part. Batman looked scrutinizingly over his son's shoulders to the cage, where various fan heaters warmed the interior. In fact, what the boy had thrown at him even made sense, for Bruce hadn't even seen Dick touch his food and still keep his strength up.

This realization left him with a bitter feeling. Nevertheless, he could not ignore the danger behind this action, and so he answered in a threateningly serious voice:

"And what would have happened if he had killed you or Jonathan? My orders are not without reason Damian. They are there to protect you. What you did was selfish, reckless and highly dangerous and the worst part of it is that you again put Jonathan in danger. What do you think Clark would say if something had happened to him. You two were damn lucky it didn't come to that in the first place, and I'm personally going to make sure there's no more chance of that happening."

Damian's eyes narrowed menacingly into slits as he growled back:

"What are you implying?"

Bruce returned the look before turning bluntly to his AI:

"Computer, set the security status for Damian Wayne to alpha and reboot the system with new encryptions. Deny him all access to the new one. Begin with that in one hour."

Tinny replied the female voice: "Understood. Orders will be executed in one hour."

Damian couldn't believe it. The Alpha security protocol, was actually programmed only to keep out serious criminals, like the Joker in an emergency by any means necessary. That he now received this status, brought the barrel for Damian to overflow. His teeth clenched hard and he was about to protest when he stopped himself. Damian closed his eyes and let the boiled up hatred give way to resignation. He exhaled in control before the eyelids lifted again and the boy's quiet disappointed voice echoed off the cave walls:

"I know now why Richard left you then. In the end, no matter how much you scream, the word of a Robin will never be heard by you."

Damian looked down at himself and grabbed his top with one hand:

"This uniform never symbolized your partner, who should be your equal, but only Batman's personal servant, whose only job is to carry out orders to your satisfaction, even if they are total bullshit and not question your actions. But I'm tired of this crap."

Damian started to take off his belt and cape when Bruce's eyes narrowed to slits and he asked suspiciously:

"What are you doing?"

The boy just took off his gloves, shoes and top so that he was now standing in front of the bat in his all-black undergarments before calmly replying:

"I quit. I'm no longer the lackey of your Batman. I am the Robin of the Batman in the cage behind us, who knows what a partner is and who has earned my respect. For you, I feel only regret, because you will never listen to the reason of others and do not know what trust means. Oh, and let me tell you this."

Damian stepped closer to Bruce now, adding menace to his voice as he engaged in a brief eye duel with his father:

"I will not let you harm Richard any further. I promise you that."

Jonathan was visibly uncomfortable right now considering the thick air that existed between father and son. When then Damian said:

"Jonathan, we're leaving. I'm up to my neck in this cave.", he was absolutely not sure what to do now.

The Half-kryptonian saw his friend passing Batman and heading for the exit. Jon did the only thing that seemed right to him. He closed in on Damian and followed him.

Bruce was fighting with himself inside right now. He was losing control of this whole situation and the father inside him was screaming to hold his son in place and admit that it was wrong to have so little faith in him. But Batman did not let him, but moved forward with new orders:

"Damian stay here."

However, his words no longer seemed to reach the boy. So this time he called out more specifically:

"Damian!"

Damian was just opening the door to the exit when he paused. He gave his father one last look of disdain that made even Jon's skin crawl:

"Find yourself another lapdog. If there's one thing I've learned within these walls, it's that I can make my own decisions, and that's exactly what I'm doing now."

After that, both boys disappeared to the outside.

Once again Bruce found himself alone in this great Cave. Exhausted, the tired man ran a hand over his face, trying to think clearly.

The whole thing was more than just out of hand. It was like Dick all over again. He no longer wanted to be just his shadow.

Bruce heard a kind of whimpering beside him and looked dejectedly toward the cage. Dick had started scratching against the metal bars and seemed to keep calling desperately to the locked manor door where just a few seconds ago Damian and Jon had left the cave.

Batman stepped closer to the cage, whereupon Richard interrupted his pleading and became aggressive towards him again.

Bruce just smirked sadly: "What am I going to do with you two. I can't risk you hurting him. Even if it means you both hate me now."

Sighing heavily, the exhausted man added: "Damn it, I need you here Dick."

But the only thing he reaped was angry hissing triads.

At the same time, Selina was just coming lithely down the stairs to the Manor. She was not unaware of the argument and already on the last few steps, she pointed out:

"Since Damian just approached me and greeted me with a 'get out of my way, cheap bed kitty,' I'm going to assume that your conversation didn't go particularly brilliantly."

The woman came to a stop next to him, so now they were both staring down at Richard, before adding:

"That a single person can cause someone like you so much grief makes even me wonder."

"He just understood the boy better than I do, and I should have seen this escalation coming. Their relationship has always been very close, but I'm tired of digging graves for my own sons. No father should be forced to do that even once and I don't want to risk it anymore. I just can't do it anymore."

Depressed, Selina looked at her lover. He really seemed to have reached the end of his rope. She pulled the unkempt face in her direction and looked lovingly into his tired eyes:

"Understandable, but remember that no bird likes a cage, no matter how big it is. Just let the matter rest for today. There's nothing you can do about it anyway."

"I just hope Damian won't do anything stupid."

A smirk befell the cat's face:

"He's your son, and if there's one thing I know about him, it's that he's inherited your stubbornness."

A few hundred yards from the Manor, Damian and Jon stood at the edge of a meadow. Damian spun a gold bracelet around in his hand and thought about what had happened. He was so mad at his father and just had to break something now.

Jonathan looked at his friend with concern in his eyes. He didn't really know what to say now, so he just sheepishly asked:

"What are you going to do now?"

This seemed to snap Damian out of his thoughts. Diabolically, a nasty grin crept onto the boy's face before he said:

"Jonathan, I think I'm going to do something really stupid for the first time in my life."

Jon gulped at his friend's look of anticipation and was beginning to worry that he was still in his right mind.

Serenely, Damian pocketed the hoop again and raised a sledgehammer, stolen from the garden shed, above his head:

"But first I'm going to smash this damn rock to pieces!"

Crashing, the metal collided with the hard granite, causing the Richard John Grayson inscription to slowly disappear. Small pieces of the hard material flew wildly and Damian felt better and better with each blow before pausing briefly and turning to Jon:

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to join in?"

Indeed, smashing a tombstone felt wrong somehow in Jonathan's eyes. But in the end, this granite block had no meaning after all. So he pounded out a big chunk with his fist and had to admit to himself that it had felt really good, much to Damian's delight.

So the sounds of breaking stone filled the nighttime idyll of the secluded cemetery on the Wayne estate, and Dick's primary witness to his supposed death came to its final end with each successive blow.