Chapter 1: To Meet A Falling Bird.

An elegant bird flew through the sky, soaring as high as it dared. The little bird saw many colours and many things. The blue of the sky and sea, the green of nature, the red of blood, the purple of a poison, the gold of murdering eyes, the yellow of a flower, the black of darkness, the white of death, the brown of the ground, the silver of a sword, and the grey of the sky. In the limited time the bird had, it flew as far as it could and saw as much as it could. The bird was free, refusing to be chained down by anything.

The little bird occasionally landed to rest and see the world from a personal perspective before once more taking flight. The bird was a survivor, a warrior, a fighter.  The beautiful bird saw many things, pain, suffering, death, life, happiness. But the small beautiful bird refused to just survive - the bird decided to live.

After all, living was the most beautiful thing to the bird.

Living was an unusual thing. It held no real purpose and was rather trivial, but even the most mundane thing was something so complicated and full of drama. It made no sense to the bird but he wanted to try it. Something so simple was something so complicated to those who lived a normal live. It was weird and unusual to the bird. Why was something he deemed personally stupid capable of ruining one's life? He didn't know but he was interested in finding out. Why was that the way of life and why was it so different from survival? What made the difference so big?

He wanted to try everything. Living, surviving, fighting, saving, flying. He wanted to do it all in his limited time. He wanted to try it all.

~~~A Robin's Life Span~~~

Richard Grayson walked through the streets calmly, his heads behind his head. He was on a midnight stroll, simply enjoying the quiet night and polluted air. He walked through the dark streets of Gotham, enjoying the air despite how polluted it was. Dick took a deep breath, sucking in the pollution and all its poison straight into his lungs. He released a breath, all tension leaving his body. He felt great.

The sky was oddly clear today, allowing the stars to twinkle through and show their brilliance to those who searched for them. It was a bit of a chilly night but Dick found it okay. A bit of exercise to warm himself up was all he really needed to be at an okay temperature.

A shadow flittered above him quickly and Dick curiously looked up to the rooftops, spotting Batman's cape. Dick looked up at him, both surprised and curious to see that the Dark Knight wasn't continuing on his way. Was Dick suspicious or something? He was literally only taking a walk. Surely not even the Bat would be suspicious of him for doing so? Dick was more than aware that no one sane would take a midnight stroll in Gotham, but honestly, Dick wasn't too worried about anything happening to him. If something happened, it happened. Dick wasn't going to be too worried about it.

"You shouldn't be out here at this time of night," Batman spoke, looking down at him. His eyes were narrowed and his body was slightly rigid - although Dick couldn't be too sure. His cape covered most of his body. Dick gave Batman a soft, friendly and carefree smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay. And if anything happens, I'll take full responsibility," Dick replied, his small smile remaining. Batman frowned, clearly not liking his answer.

"It's dangerous out here. You won't be able to defend yourself if you're attacked," Batman tried again but Dick's smile just remained the same, his resolve not changing. If someone happened, Dick would deal with it and if he couldn't; then he only had himself to blame.

"I'm pretty adamant on this walk, so if I do get attacked, it's my own fault. Thank you anyway, Batman. Goodnight," Dick gave the Dark Knight a wave and continued in the direction he was going. He could feel Batman watching him, but he didn't mind. Dick continued on his way.

Two blocks later and Dick could still feel eyes on him. Batman had been following him and while he was very good at it and staying out of Dick's sight at all times, Dick had an almost sixth sense for this kind of thing that allowed him to sense the Dark Knight. Regardless, Dick continued on his way, simply enjoying his walk and the sense of peace it brought him. He took a deep breath, just enjoying being alive. It wasn't something to be taken for granted after all.

Dick eyed the alley ahead of him and decided he would go down there. He was probably going to be attacked but that was okay; he could use a bit of practice after all. It would do no good to get rusty. He suspected the Dark Knight would probably join if he was attacked but again, Dick was fine with that. He didn't mind. The more, the merrier, right? Besides, Dick had always wanted to see Batman and his clan fight up close. Though he couldn't see the rest of the Bat clan in action, Dick would take what he could get.

Dick wandered right into the alley, his eyes searching for the shadows for any sign of a threat. While he was more than ready to be attacked, he was still aware that he could get in way over his head and he really didn't want to die simply because he left his pride get the best of him. That would be the worst way to die. Dick wouldn't mind dying another way, though.

Lo and behold, from the shadows, came a group of idiots. Dick looked at them with a friendly smile, giving them all a wave before returning the hand back to behind his head. From above him, he could make out the distinct sound of Batman on the roof and could tell from the eyes burning into him that he was most definitely being watched.

"Hi there!" Dick chirped happily, as friendly as could be, no trace of any negative emotion on his face or in his voice. "A nice night, don't you think?" Dick offered, pulling both his hands down from behind his head to his side. The men snickered, pulling out their little knives they carried with them, clearly thinking they could intimidate him.

Well, newsflash; Dick wasn't afraid of death and he certainly wasn't afraid of fuckwads like them.

"Would you look at that, boys?" One of the men sneered, waving his knife about as the other men began to form a circle around Dick, who wasn't bothered in the slightest. "Looks like we got a good one!" The man laughed and man, if it wasn't the ugliest thing Dick had ever heard. Usually Dick thought that a laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds a person can make but this man's laugh was just purely ugly. It was some sort of snorting, breathless wheeze that didn't even sound like a laugh. Regardless, Dick tilted his head and gave the man an even bigger smile. His mother taught him to be nice, after all. If you had nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Dick certainly didn't have anything nice to say right now.

"Ain't he a pretty one?" Another man chortled, poking Dick with his knife. Dick jumped slightly, not expecting to be poked with a knife. He turned around to look at low life #2. Dick spared him a quick glance to look over his brown hair and eyes, before speaking.

"Please don't poke me with your knife," Dick asked nicely, his polite smile remaining on his face. Honestly, there was no need for the man to poke him with it. It was just rude, especially when Dick hadn't done anything. Yet, anyway. Dick would completely understand him using it after Dick made a stupid retort but Dick had remained mostly quiet since arriving before the group. The men burst out into laughter.

"Did you hear that, Matty? 'Please don't poke me with your knife', he said!" The man boomed, howling with laughter as he repeated Dick's sentence. Dick frowned, not liking their attitude. He had been polite, they should do the same. "What?" The man chuckled, poking Dick with his knife again, considerably harder, although not enough to draw blood. "You sum rich kid or sumthing?" The smile was quick to turn to a sneer.

"Do you mean 'something'?" Dick politely suggested, a bit irked at this man's slang or whatever he considered it. Although Dick felt a bit rude; what if that was just his accent? Dick would feel a bit guilty if that was the case. Dick did a quick count of how many men were surrounding him for when he needed to defend himself; he counted five. That was tolerable. Dick double checked everything and sure enough, he counted five and he could still sense Batman watching, obviously keeping a close eye on the situation in case he needed to step in.

"Huh? The fuck did you just say, you spoiled brat? You mocking me?" Low life #2 hissed angrily, taking a threatening step forward. While Dick wasn't intimidated by the threat level of the man, he most certainly was by his breath and took a step back. Did they even know what a mint was? Dick would absolutely love to introduce them to a breath mint. In fact, Dick was pretty sure he had some on him...

Dick dug around in his pockets, and sure enough; he had a pack of mints on him. Wordlessly, Dick offered the man the mints. The man looked down at it confusion, then realisation and then anger. Needless to say, Low life #2's brain only had one response to Dick's kindness; slicing his knife at Dick. Dick easily sidestepped, avoiding the knife with grace.

"You only had to say 'no'," Dick sighed in annoyance, hesitantly putting the mints back in his pocket. He had really hoped the man would take one. He certainly needed one.

"Maybe we should teach this brat a lesson," Low life #4 sneered, pulling out his own blade. Dick eyed it, not at all threatened by the little blade. Dick didn't actually have any weapons of his own to defend himself with but he didn't really think he needed anything against guys like these. He could take them down with his fists and a few well practiced acrobatic moves - as long as he took it seriously enough and didn't get too careless. All it took was one wrong move and it all ended quicker than it should.

"I really don't think there's much you can teach me. I'm very good at my subjects and quite frankly, you give me the vibes of 'high school dropout', so I'm really not sure I have all too much to learn from you, unless we're talking life advice," Dick replied, unable to help the last bit. It just came to him naturally. He knew he had to be polite but at the same time, being sassy was so great. He just didn't want to ruin any potential friendships by being too sarcastic or sassy - that's a regret he'd rather do without. Not that he was going to be making friends with these guys but it was a matter of principle.

Dick jumped up as low life #4 moved to stabbed him. Dick used Low life #1 as a springboard to jump upwards, flying above all their heads. As they turned their heads up to gape at him, Dick used Low life #4's face to land. The man shrieked under his feet and Dick once again jumped up, kicking off the wall to send himself higher. As he did so, the Dark Knight came into view, who had narrowed eyes and was basically glaring at him. Dick waved cheerily at him, singing a "I told you so~" as he fell downwards. Dick kicked a random man in the face, launching himself at another simultaneously. Dick heard a scream from behind him as he punched a man in the face and guessed that by the descending shadow he could see on the wall, Batman had decided to join. Dick hoped his comment hadn't bothered the Bat too much - Dick was more than aware he was no match for him or any of his...partners? Kids? He was unsure what they actually were.

Dick elbowed the man who poked him with his knife in the face. Dick could feel his nose breaking; he couldn't help but feel a little smug. Dick swiped at the man's feet, knocking him over and simultaneously snatching his knife out of his hand. Dick peered down at the man, trusting Batman to take care of the other four men while he dealt with this.

Dick held the knife up smugly, an odd look of blood lust, amusement and smugness in his eyes. "How about I teach you a lesson about poking people with knives?" Dick sneered. He could practically feel Batman's eyes piercing him, obviously waiting to see what he would do before acting. Dick kneeled down, his skin crawling from Batman's stare. The blood lust faded. Dick made sure to make sure his movements were slow - hoping the Bat would understand that he had to real intention to hurt the man before him.

Dick picked up the man's wrist, the man whimpering from beneath him. Still, Dick moved slowly as he gently poked the back of the man's hand with the knife. The fear was replaced with confusion as Dick sat down, crossing his legs and poking the man again, this time his wrist and then continued up the man's arm, repeatedly poking him.

"See? It's not a very fun sensation, is it?" Dick had moved to the man's chest. He was using more force to poke him, but not enough to draw blood. The sound of footsteps drew his attention. Dick peered over his shoulder, seeing the Dark Knight stroll towards him. He wasn't at all intimidated and instead smiled, holding up the knife for him to take when the vigilante was close enough. The Dark Knight stared down at him, clearly judging him. The Bat-themed vigilante took the knife away roughly, but Dick's smile remained.

"Well," Dick started, standing up and brushing any dirt off his jeans. He gave another smile to the man underneath him before dealing a quick kick to the man's head. The move was quick, powerful, ruthless and cruel but it worked. Other than the man's steadily rising chest, Dick had no signs that he hadn't killed the man. After all, it only really took a hit to the head to be killed, didn't it? The man's chest moved though, so Dick assumed he was still alive. "That's that. Thank you for the help, Batman, but I really must be going."  Dick turned to continue his trek down the alley, intent on going back to his nightly stroll.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" The Dark Knight's voice stopped him. Dick turned his head around so he eye the blob of darkness.

"It's acrobatics mixed in with some martial arts," Dick stated truthfully. It was exactly that. Of course, Dick was capable of so much more, but the Bat didn't need to know that. Dick could practically feel Batman analyzing him in every way. In a few seconds, the Bat seemed to have come to a conclusion.

"Go home. The streets are no place for you. Next time you get attacked, you may not be able to defend yourself," Batman advised. Dick gave him another friendly smile before continuing his trek through the alley. Once he reached the end, he stopped, and shot another look behind him. Batman was gone but Dick had a feeling the man could most likely still hear him if he were to speak.

Dick stared directly ahead of him, frowning intently. "A life lived in fear isn't much of a life. Or at least, it's not a life I want to live. If I'm to die by the hands of one of these criminals, that's no one's fault but my own. But until then, my life is mine to live and mine alone. It won't be lived in fear." Dick spoke confidently. He had no guarantee Batman heard him, but it's not like the hero needed to.

Dick walked out of the alley and took back to the streets, his gaze going to the starry night, which was still free of clouds. It was a rare sight indeed. Dick shoved his hands into his hoodie, protecting them from the cold air as best as he could.

"What a nice night," Dick Grayson whispered, walking straight through the shadows and disappearing.

~~~A Robin's Life Span~~~

"The damn sun is too bright. How were we supposed to fight a hero from a height if we couldn't even look up without our eyes being burnt out? " One of the guards growled in annoyance, throwing a dice. Three men were on guard, playing a game of dice or cards or something, Dick didn't really care to remember. He just knew these men were another obstacle if Dick was to ever escape from his horrible place. In his current condition, he wouldn't be able to escape, despite how he wished otherwise. 

He wanted so desperately to be free from this place. He wailed, he screamed, he muttered, he cried and begged, wishing desperately for a hero of some sort to come and take him for this horrendous place. Nothing ever changed. He was too weak to fend for himself and anything he ever did was never enough. Dick didn't want to be here, chained to the wall and trapped in this dark cell. He hadn't seen the sky in so long, he was beginning to forget what it looked like. His memory was somewhat vague of the outside world now. But he wanted, so desperately, to go outside and see the sun again. He begged silently, wishing for someone to save him, or at the very least; give him an honest chance at escape.

(Wishing every day for a change will do nothing for you.)

"Who was it this time? Green Arrow?"  One of the men asked, throwing something down on the table. Dick watched their movements dully, his mind focused only on them, trying to ignore the stinging and burning and cold and paIN EVERYWHERE-.

(It wouldn't stop. It will never stop.)

"Yeah and the sidekick, Speed or whatever he calls himself," The first one replied, cursing softly when the other guard put down another card. "Had to be a three, didn't it?" The other men laughed at him.

"Give it up, Brian, you've lost this round,"  the third one laughed. Brian scowled, throwing whatever was in his hand onto the table.

"Whatever," Brian scoffed. "Least I'm not a sore loser, Louis."

The third guard, Louis, scoffed. "I'm not a sore loser. You're the one complaining about losing to Arrow!"

"Only because I barely managed to escape and if Arrow traces us back here, he'll kill us for exposing the location of his precious bird," Brian hissed angrily, glaring at Louis. The three guards turned to look at Dick who still remained quiet and just watched them quietly. He didn't dare move out of fear of causing more pain to his already bloodied and bruised body. He couldn't take anymore. He wouldn't be able to escape, especially not with the heavy chains weighing down his entire body. The trio were quiet for a few seconds, obviously thinking it over. Dick only watched, not having any strength as to so much as turn his head.

"...It'll be fine. Arrow or any other superhero won't find us here. Besides, he's only here temporarily, they're going to move him again sometime soon. He wants him somewhere closer or something," The second guard reassured. The other two looked unsure but seemed to decide that they either didn't care or couldn't do anything about it, and went back to their game.

(Just leave me be.)

Dick closed his eyes, finding his eyes too heavy to keep up.

~~~A Robin's Life Span~~~

Dick had always wanted to visit Star City. He had been here before, albeit briefly. He had been out since morning, strolling through the city and viewing the sights. It was a nice city. The civilians certainly seemed to like their local hero, which was a bonus. Dick had looked around the mall, visited an ice cream parlor, spent an hour or two relaxing in the park and feeding the ducks, before wandering down to the part of the city where the big businesses were located. Dick had found a nice little cafe and had spent several hours people watching, making up stories in his mind for the people that passed. It had become somewhat of a hobby for him.

Dick had always been fascinated by it. That every person you passed on the street had a life as complex and interesting as your own, but in their life, you would only appear as an extra, never to be seen again. You could be someone driving in a car or walking past them on the sidewalk, or you could be sitting in a cafe. While that person lived an interesting and complex life, yours also continued but in a totally different way and place. Dick had always loved the thought. The possibilities. Although he doubted anyone he passed on the street would have a life like his, he could never be too sure and that's what he loved. He could be unknowingly passing a hero in their civilian identity or a future friend, villain, hero or enemy. It was such an interesting thought.

There was also the thought of what your future friends could be doing right now. Dick doubted the likelihood of him making any friends given his life style but it wasn't entirely impossible. There was a chance he could make a friend in the future and, if that was the case, what were they doing at this very second? Are they happy? Are they lonely? Are they going through something tough right now? Are they having the time of their life? Dick wouldn't know, and by the time he meets them, what they're doing at this very second would be the past and merely just a story to tell and not something Dick was capable of witnessing. It was such an intriguing thought though and Dick absolutely loved all the possibilities of it. There was so many unknown factors that he couldn't possibly imagine them all and there was even a chance that he wouldn't even have the slightest idea of it, that he could be completely wrong and he wouldn't even know until he met them.

Dick took another sip of herbal tea, contemplating his thoughts some more. He loved doing this. Just, living. Living how he pleased and doing what he wanted and thinking as he pleased for as long as he pleased without any interruptions. Although, Dick was no fool. He knew the peace wouldn't last. He was more than aware of that. However, instead of being constantly on edge and waiting for something to go wrong and disturb the peace, he relaxed and enjoyed every single second he was given peace.

Dick went for another sip of his tea, only to realise he was out. Dick pouted, upset. He waved a nearby worker over and waited calmly for her to finish her business before she came over. She gave a friendly smile, clearly a bit stressed underneath the smile. Dick looked around the cafe, once again taking notice of how busy the whole place was. The poor employee. Dick made a mental note to leave a good tip for her to make her troubles worthwhile.

Dick gave the woman a friendly smile, standing up. "Sorry, can you save my seat? I'm just going to order another tea," Dick politely requested. The woman's smile seemed a little more genuine as his polite attitude.

"Of course! If you want, I can order it and bring it back for you?" The waitress offered.

"No, it's fine. You seem busy enough," Dick turned and walked over to the counter, waiting in line as examined the cafe interior and engraving every detail in his mind. The walls and carpet were all dark brown with beautiful designs. There were several plants scattered about, some hanging from the ceiling. It was very calming and pretty, despite how busy the cafe was. Dick reached the front of the queue and gave his order, ordering the same herbal tea from before.

His tea took a few minutes before it was ready and Dick walked back to his table, thanking the waitress as he did so. Dick sat down and went back to contemplating, retreating into the world he made in his mind. Although, admittedly, all he ever really did was think about the world before him. It was a bad place, but there were many people doing their best to make it a better place. Their effort sometimes went unnoticed but they were appreciated, at least, they were appreciated by Dick. Dick smiled to himself, soaking in the sun, enjoying the peace while it lasted and the great feeling of simply being alive.

(You don't deserve it.)

Living was a wonderful thing, Dick concluded. He was glad he got the chance to do so. After all, his parent's chance had been taken away. Their lives had been cruelly taken away that fateful night. Dick let his mind drift to that night before turning to the world before him.

For now, Dick was just going to live, for his parents and most importantly, for himself. Because that's what they would have wanted.

(Join them.)

(You will be joining them. You have no choice.)

~~~A Robin's Life Span~~~

"Do you know what the life span of a Robin is? From my studies, they say 13 months in captivity and two years when free. Do you want to test this?" He asked, pacing slowly in front of Dick. Dick looked up slowly, staring at him with dull, dead eyes. He didn't care. It's not it mattered to him either way. He just liked to ramble and rant about random things all the time.

It used to be unnerving whenever he spoke of Robins because Dick always knew, without the man having to say it, that he was referring to him in some way or another. And that always meant something bad.

(Don't ruin that name with your disgusting voice.)

"I'm more of a hands-on kinda learner, you know? And I want to see how true this is. Hey, are you listening?" He asked, kicking Dick harshly in the stomach. Dick grunted, closing his eyes at the flare of pain that shot through his body, his injuries all being aggravated at once. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and opened his eyes and looked up to him.

"Y-es," Dick grit out, his voice hoarse and weak. He smiled and nodded, going back to his pacing, probably about to continue his one sided conversation.

"Good. So, as I was saying... To test this, I'm going to keep you in captivity for 13 months, which... Isn't that far away, if we're being honest. It's been about... I'd, say, 9 months? And if you get close to death when the time is almost, then that'll prove that theory to be right! And after that, I'll release you into the world and see how long you survive for," He smiled, as if all was right in the world and this was perfectly accepted.

Dick hated it. He hated it so much. He hated this man so much. He made his life a living hell and despite how Dick did everything he could to fight against him, he could never win. This man controlled every aspect of his life simply for his own amusement and Dick absolutely despised him. He was treated as a tool, a toy for his amusement, a pet at his beckon and call.

"What do you think? Hmm, Dick?" The man called, leaning down so he was face to face with the boy. Dick weakly glared at him. "In four months, if you come close death, I'll release you into the world. And from that date, you will have two years to live. If you die before then, then robins do not live for two years in the wilderness and I will have learnt something new. And if you do live for two years... I'll set a date for you to die. Deal?"

(Everything is so simple.)

(It drives him crazy.)

"Al...l. I wa-want... is to s-s... see the su-sun, I don't car-care for yo... your deal," Dick whispered, putting as much anger and hatred into his voice as he could. The man waited patiently for him to finish what he was saying before tilting his head curiously, clearly looking for a lie of some sort.

(You look for lies that aren't there.)

He smiled. "That can't be true, surely. No one just wants to see the sun and then die. That isn't how life works. And that certainly isn't how our deal is going to be. If need be, I'll make sure you survive until you understand," the man explained. Dick scowled and just continued to glare at him. Why did this man always have to toy with his life? With his freedom?

"Deal, Dick?" When Dick didn't respond, the man roughly grabbed his chin and yanked his head up to so they were completely face to face. Dick cried out at the sudden movement, causing him to jostle his body. His arms, chained above his head twitched and the chains make the normal sound Dick had become accustomed to. 

Realising that Dick really didn't have a choice in the matter and the man would probably make him do it anyway, or perhaps something worse, Dick cursed inwardly. He didn't dare consider it a chance as actual freedom. He would never be given that, ever. But... It would allow him to see the outside world again, wouldn't it?

"Deal," Dick ground out.

~~~A Robin's Life Span~~~

Hiya, welcome to this short story. It was written by an original member, Lilly.