Interlude: Shine
Robin, Nightwing, Batman, and all related DC characters are precisely that; DC characters. They belong not to me, but to DC, Warner Bros., and whomever else.
They are used without permission, solely for the purposes of entertainment. No profit is being made from this work.
The song 'Shine' is the work of Riche Kotzen and Rchie Zito of east west Japan, and hence is their property. It also belongs to (I think) Pioneer LDC, as well as whomever else. The TV edit is used here as I've never heard the full version.
NOTES:
This fic is set after the events chronicled in Twenty and Wind and the Snow. You can, of course, read it without having read either of the aforementioned, but I rather doubt it'll make much sense if you do. A brief summary is provided anyway, though I sincerely hope you'll go and read the prequels and write me lots of comments! **grin** A special thanks to Lockheed, whose passion for happy endings rivals my own, but who tends to indulge in somewhat less Timmy-torture to get there. Lockheed's encouragements, as well as a few well-placed kicks from my muse, are what bring you this fic. Thanks! Part of this fic is my first attempt to use a song in a fanfic (calling this a songfic would probably be really stretching the definition). I'm not sure how well it worked, so please write me and let me know. As always, comments and criticisms are eagerly sought after, treasured when obtained, and form a large part of the motivation to write more, so PLEASE C&C!WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE (SUMMARY)
As should be blatantly obvious, this is a SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!
Please bear in mind that this is a summary only. For details, whys, hows, and where-to-fors, please go read the fics.
Twenty: After Batman betrays his identity to Spoiler, Robin is kidnapped by the sinister Doctor, who uses him as a subject. The aims of the Doctor's experiments are twofold; one, to erase a mind completely - personality, memories, the very substance of self – gone. The second is to implant another mind, a new one crafted specially by the Doctor for a particular purpose. This new mind is that of an assassin, perfectly trained, utterly lethal and totally obedient to the Doctor. Robin is joined in his ordeal by the mysterious boy Kaze, whose own reprogramming is nearly finished, and with whom he develops a strong bond. Kaze escapes to seek help, but in the interim Robin's reprogramming is completed. To test his finished subject – called Vingt - the Doctor choses a very specific target, the Batman. The first assassination attempt on Batman fails, and in the second Vingt is revealed to be Robin. The Doctor is captured by the vigilantes, and orders Vingt to self-destruct, which he does, almost taking the nearly subsumed Robin/Tim personality with him. However, Robin survives the ordeal physically, though mentally he remains severely . . . injured, for want of a better term. The Doctor and Kaze die in a showdown in Gotham Police Station, leaving Robin with more questions than answers, a few hazy memories, and thoughts that may or may not be entirely his own. Robin changes his identity and starts at a new school, with Alfred's assistance.
Wind and the Snow: at his new school, Robin becomes friends with Kaze's cousin, Yuki. Through her he is introduced to Kaze and Yukis' mentors, Kaguya and the Shishou, who begin training him as they trained Kaze. Nightwing, desperate to get his 'little brother' back, takes Robin to meet up with Young Justice at Titans Tower. In the interim, Yuki is kidnapped. Robin discovers her likely location with his usual detective ability, and after some conflict he and the rest of Young Justice set off in the Supercycle to find and rescue her. All does NOT go to plan, and Yuki dies. Secret, Nightwing, and Robin himself are left to pick up the shattered pieces.
Phew! Now, on with the fic, ne! (will somebody let me know if people are actually reading these summaries/finding them useful? Otherwise I'll stop bothering to write them).
Italics = thought
::Italics in colons:: = song lyrics
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NIGHTWING
He hadn't meant to follow his little brother. He really hadn't. It was happenstance, not intention that had sent him ghosting along after the lone figure as it wended its way through the Gotham crowds, strangely untouched by all around it. Happenstance and curiosity.
He'd wanted to visit the Cave that weekend. Or specifically, the manor above it. Do a little father-son bonding, and hopefully catch up with his 'kid brother'. I'm going to entice you back to your Young Justice pals, Tim. I am. Soon as I figure out how. You need friends among the living, little brother, and I won't let a tragedy tear you from them. Especially not since you were starting to heal.
Unfortunately, a melted tangle of wires protruding from the sleek chrome underbelly of his bike had other ideas. A muttered snarl, a glance at a watch, and Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Nightwing, was on his way to Gotham on the commuter express. The train was slightly slower, and a lot less personal, than the blissful roar of the bike on a freeway, but it was still more than adequate.
He'd disembarked at the newly rebuilt Gotham Station, intent on grabbing a cab and heading out to Wayne Manor. He'd gotten as far as the turnstile when his plans had been irrevocably changed.
Dick started as, for an instant in his peripheral vision, he saw his little brother. What the? What's with the skirt?! And hey . . .He's not wearing the short-haired wig! Something's up. Curiosity piqued, he turned on his heel, smiled charmingly at the annoyed commuters queuing behind him, and followed the rapidly vanishing smaller figure. Noting the number of the bus his little brother boarded, he flung himself into a waiting taxi, and – in true old movie style – ordered the driver to follow the slow-moving vehicle.
Upon arriving at their destination, Nightwing was forced to revise his opinion. What he'd initially mistaken for an ankle-length pleated skirt under his little brother's jacket was in fact a set of neatly pressed dark blue hakama. As the third Robin shed his jacket, Dick caught sight of the clean, white gi over the top of it. Sombre-faced, his long hair pulled back from his face in a neat high pony-tail, Robin joined a cohort of five of what appeared to be his peers, similarly dressed.
So whatever scene you've gotten yourself into, little brother, it has a uniform. But why a martial arts outfit? Particularly at this joint. Glancing at the house, Dick's trained eyes assessed the building. A stately mansion, at least on par with Wayne Manor in terms of real estate, this place was none-the-less much newer. But this is an old-money district, or used to be, so whomever this house belongs to, they've got a lot of clout to get a place here. Detective training kicking in, Dick made a note to look into it later.
His attention was recaptured as the group of six made their grim-faced way into the manor. Hn. There's enough of a secure set-up around this place to make getting in difficult. I'm not too worried about the guards, but getting past Little Brother without being noticed? Unlikely. Fortunately, he pulled open his travel bag, I came equipped. High powered binoculars. Don't leave home without 'em. With practiced ease, he focussed them on – and then through – the large bay window situated conveniently perpendicular to the tree he'd climbed some way over the other side of the street, up the wooded slope.
There was, he noted, an old man in front of a room of people, giving what appeared to be a moving oration. Robin, like the others he'd joined outside, sat with his head bowed. Some sort of cult he's infiltrating? A political or terrorist movement? Oh, little brother, I hope you're not in too deep. Not that I couldn't pull you out. And then kick your butt for getting **me** into the same mess!
Forced to give up his attempt at lip-reading due to the speaker's unruly beard, Nightwing settled for waiting, a still watchfulness in his pose.
It was one of the shortest stakeouts he'd ever done.
A mere hour or so after their arrival, the people within the room began to move, an action that coincided with the arrival of a large black car. Nightwing shivered. He had a suspicion of what that meant.
His fears were realised as the Robin came out, grouped with five of his peers.
::I never really feel quite rightAnd I don't know why,
All I know is, something's wrong.::
Robin gave no sign he'd seen his brother, that he was aware of his presence at all. Indeed, his entire concentration was on his current activity, on the load he carried.
Balanced on his shoulders, the weight distributed across him and the five others, was a coffin.
Dick could only hold his breath, as with all due solemnity, Robin and the others slid the coffin into the hearse. Well, I guess that answers that. Oh, little brother, I'm sorry!
Turning from his task, Robin appeared to converse deeply for a few minutes with a middle-aged couple. Around him people were dispersing, some stopping to speak to the male of the pair, hindering Nightwing's view of the proceedings. The woman continued to speak to Robin, a focussed intensity evident even through the fragile strength with which she was holding her brittle composure together.
Walking her to her car, Robin held the door open for her, helped her inside. Nighwing couldn't be sure, but he thought she handed the boy something. Before Robin could protest, the man had climbed in the other side, and the car had driven off, leaving Robin turning a small white box over in his hands in the rapidly emptying street.
When the avenue was fully deserted, Robin turned toward the wooded area Nightwing had taken refuge in.
"You can come out now," he said, in a voice hoarse with suppressed emotion. "Everyone's gone."
::Every time I look at you,
You seem so alive,::
A short while later, and the pair had decamped to a booth in Dick's favourite Gotham diner. The staff here knew the two on sight, and knew well enough when to leave them alone. This, it seemed, was one of those times.
Dick glanced across the chipped plastic table at his little brother. The boy had remained silent since his acknowledgement of the other's presence, his face schooled into a carefully neutral expression. Anyone glancing casually at him would have seen only pleasant blandness. Dick knew better. The slight tightness around eyes forbidden to leak tears, the tension of lips trying not to quiver, all indicated a soul-deep hurt.
He had thought his little brother recovered. He had thought wrong.
Now it's time to see if I can help. Squaring his jaw, he bent to the seemingly impossible task.
"You wanna talk about it?"
". . ."
"It's okay if you don't. I'm here either way, whether you want to talk or just want to eat." He fixed his kid brother with a severe look, noting that the boy seemed even paler and more fragile than usual. First things first, I guess. "Speaking of which, when's the last time you ate?"
The bland mask cracked a little, confusion peeping through. Clearly, this was not a turn of events the current boy wonder had been expecting. What'd you think I was going to do? Interrogate you about that funeral? Irrationally, Dick felt hurt. That's Batman's style, not mine.
"Uh. . ."
"If you can't remember, then it's been too long." Flagging down a waitress and placing a priority order was no problem (part of the reason Dick was known by sight here was his largesse with tips: rapid service, as well as knowing when to say nothing and leave him alone, were well rewarded by this particular customer.)
"Day before yesterday."
"Eh?"
"Last time I ate was the day before yesterday. That was when . . . when they. . ."
Dick was silent as the boy opposite him trailed off, obviously struggling with his thoughts. He had time, all the time he needed, to give the other the space to speak.
::Tell me, how do you do it?
Walk me through it.
I follow in every footstep,::
"Her body arrived back. I don't know who or how it got there, but it did. Her mother and father identified it. They . . . they had to . . ." He broke off, the mask cracking more as his lower lip trembled.
"They asked me . . . asked a bunch of us, actually, but they asked for me specifically, to . . . carry the coffin. They're taking her back to Japan. They've got a family site in Koya-san, and she'll. . . they'll . . .I guess I just didn't really feel like eating." He finished lamely as the threatened tears began to spill, much as they had on a night nearly a week earlier, when a small boy had tumbled out of a shower, sobbing. That had been the first show of emotion in months, and now this second followed hot on it's heels. Oh, little brother, I wish it was smiles, I wish it was laughter. You deserve it. Not this constant misery. You deserve to rediscover yourself with joy.
"She's . . . they're both . . . they're both really gone, aren't they? I know I told Secret it was okay, but . . . But it's not. They're my friends and I want them back! I don't want them to be gone!" The boy was crying openly now, his breath coming in hiccoughing pauses. Thanking the heavens that they'd managed to get a booth, Dick slid around the bench to sit next to his little brother.
"I want them back! We . . . Kaze and I . . . we never got to . . . and then Yuki . . ." Hoarse whispers muffled by choking sobs, Robin buried his face in his big brother's shoulder. Dick was oddly comforted by this, a few mere weeks ago he'd have fled, not sought out a shoulder to cry on. Now I have to make sure he doesn't regret it.
"They're dead, yeah. But they're not gone." He whispered softly into the dark hair under his chin. "Shh. It's okay. They're not gone. They'll never be gone." Dick's own throat constricted as he thought of friends loved and lost, of his parents, of Jericho . . . of Tim himself, missing and feared dead for so many months. "As long as you remember them, they'll never be gone. And someday, maybe not soon, but someday, you'll stop thinking of how much it hurts to not see them, and remember all the good things you did with them."
At his side, the current Robin just cried harder.
::Maybe on your own
You take a conscious step
Do you wanna give it up?::
It was nearly an hour before the sobs subsided, and Dick could only tell because Robin's shoulders stopped shaking. Throughout it all, the boy had cried silently. A fortunate thing, since it meant that only the diner staff, and not the other patrons, were alerted to his emotional state.
As the younger boy looked up, and snagged a paper napkin to blow his swollen nose, their food arrived, the timing impeccable. Another reason to love this diner. They'd probably remade it specially when they saw the boy's tears ease. Dick smiled and handed his little brother the shake he'd ordered for him. A crying jag like that, and you'll have the mother of all headaches. A drink will help. The boy looked up in gratitude as he wiped the cold glass across his forehead, confirming Dick's guess.
"Go wash your face, and then we'll eat." Nodding Robin rose.
When he returned a few minutes later, it was to pick at the mound of fries lying next to the burger on his plate. Dick said nothing, merely opting to lead by example, and demolish his own meal.
"What'd that lady give you?" He asked a short while later, when it became obvious that all his brother was planning on doing was to push the fries around the plate.
"Huh?"
"She gave you a box, didn't
she? What was in it?" Robin looked startled at that.
"I'd forgotten about it." Reaching into his jacket pocket, Robin pulled out the small white box. "She said . . . she said it was Yuki's. But that when she saw it, she knew I should have it." She said it was given to Yuki by Kaguya, with the instructions to open it and use the information she would derive from it, if she was ever in trouble and needed extra help, help she could trust completely. But I'm not going to tell you that, Big Brother. It would take too much explaining. Mireba-san also said it was the last gift her daughter had received, that it was found on the floor in her room in Bryleaf after she was attacked, overlooked by the kidnappers. I wonder what it is.
Gently, he pulled open the white wrapping paper to expose a simple jewellery case within. Opening the box, his eyes widened.
Nestled into the velvet cushion was a simple locket on a fine chain. Pulling it out for closer inspection, Robin saw that it seemed to be patterned with snowflakes, or was that a bird swirling on a breeze? Turn it this way and it seemed like a fox peeking out of tall grass . . . or. . . . Robin shook his head, flipping it to the side to look for a catch. He found it eventually, cleverly hidden in the design on the front. As his fingers massaged it, the locket sprung open.
There were two panels on the inside. On one, Yuki grinned out, miniature but perfect. The tiny portrait captured her vibrancy and life, frozen for an instant. Robin could almost hear her call out to him, "Hey, Van! Why so sad?"
The other . . . the other held Robin spellbound. It was only when he felt Dick, concerned, nudge his shoulder that he remembered to breathe. The other panel held a photo.
Not a portrait like the first image had been, this one was a shot, shrunken but still exquisitely detailed. From a security camera. It must have been from a security camera! It showed Kaze, leaning back to back with . . . Robin himself. Battered and filthy, the two were sitting in what could only have been their cell at the Doctor's headquarters. And they were laughing. Heads thrown back, shoulders shaking, the pair of them were laughing with all the desperate abandon they could muster to their disposal. I remember that. Kaze said something. It wasn't even particularly funny, but we laughed. Oh, how we laughed. It was our armour against the Doctor, against the world!
Armour against the world . . . against all the pain life could throw at us. Robin was conscious of a smile cracking his lips, though tears once again blurred his vision.
I survived, Kaze, like I promised. And I promise you now, I will continue to survive! I'll continue to be me, and I'll take my joy at finding out who that is, wherever and whenever I can get it!
::But all I want is for you to
Shine
Shine down on me
Shine on this life that's burning out
(You give me Heaven that I've ever known)
I want you to
Shine
Shine down on me::
End interlude 1: Nightwing.
NOTES:
This is the first of four planned 'interlude' fics. These are designed to give Robin (and me) a wee bit of a break (and some character development/interactions) before the action/adventure stuff begins up again.
I don't know if the others will include songs yet. Let me know if you think this one worked – I love getting C&C, and especially as this is a new writing technique for me, I want to hear your opinions!