FOUR: Taking Flight

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Our entire plan depended on Harley Quinn and Beast Boy managing to infiltrate the evil empire of a literal genius without him catching on.

"They'll be okay, Dick," Kara tried to reassure me as our teammates walked off on their mission. "They'll get in, and as soon as he can, Gar will sneak away and tell us everything we need to know."

"Right," I replied in what I hoped was a tone that masked how worried I was. "It's going to be fine... They've got this."

"Have some faith in your people, Grayson," Damian said. "They both seem moderately competent, and Harley is definitely smarter than she leads people to believe. I'm certain she can pull this off."

"I hate that we're just standing around doing nothing while Gar is out there risking his life... Hell, I don't even want Harley doing that. We were enemies before, but I believe that she wants to help us. She may be insane, but she loved the Joker. A loss like that can change a person."

"Who said we'll do nothing?" Damian demanded. "We will focus on physically preparing for battle. I can train the two of you-"

"You're eight, Damian."

"And I have spent my entire life training for situations like this. I'm the most qualified-"

"I was trained by Batman. I don't need you to get my skills up to par. And Kara is from Krypton. She has an entire skill set you probably know nothing about."

"I think we should train each other," Kara said. "Each of us brings something unique to the table. We can train each other in whatever area we each specialize in."

As she smiled, I couldn't help but believe in the impossible for just a moment. "Kara's right," I said. "We need to work together. Let's go to the training room."

I led the way to the place where Bruce had taught me how to fight. Damian immediately began examining the weapons.

"Normally, I'd try to keep a kid away from the sharp things, but I'm pretty sure the League of Assassins gives kids swords before stuffed animals, so maybe this will calm him down like giving a toddler a pacifier," I mumbled to Kara.

Kara laughed softly to herself as Damian said, "I heard that, Grayson."

After a few minutes, we each chose a training station to focus on. The idea was to warm up with something familiar and build to new challenges. It didn't take me long to lose myself in the familiar rhythm of training.

As I moved with ease and my natural agility, the weight of everything lessened a bit. I shot a grappling line toward the rafters and used it to swing through the air from one beam to another. Moving like that made me feel free, like I was back in the circus with my family. For just that brief moment, I was at peace.

Damian tossed a spear through the air toward me. "Look out!" Kara cried, but I easily avoided the weapon.

"You're going to have to try harder than that, Damian," I informed him as I dangled from the next beam.

Damian shrugged. "I just wanted to test your reflexes," he replied. "Surprisingly, they appear to be sufficient."

Kara flew toward me. "You seem pretty comfortable up here," she said as Damian resumed slashing at targets with his sword.

"I spent a lot of time doing stuff like this as a kid," I replied.

"Really? Why?"

"My family was known as the Flying Graysons. We were trapeze artists."

"That sounds exciting!"

"It was great... We traveled from place to place, flying through the air, and we trusted each other completely. You have to when your safety depends on the person who's supposed to catch you. I was never afraid of anything, because I knew my family would be there for me."

"What happened to them, Dick?" Kara asked softly.

"This guy named Tony Zucco sabotaged the ropes... I watched my parents fall to their deaths. There was nothing I could do." I shook my head. "I still blame myself."

"You were just a kid, Dick. You couldn't have saved them."

"I overheard Zucco threatening the owner of the circus. He told him accidents could happen if he didn't pay him off. I didn't warn my parents, and..." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter now. That was a lifetime ago."

Kara sat beside me on the beam and hugged me. I wanted to push her away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Her touch was comforting, and I needed it.

"I'll be okay," I finally said as I pulled away. "Sometimes, it hits me like it just happened, and I break down all over again, but I always get back up."

"I get it," Kara replied. "I miss my parents every single day. It doesn't seem fair that I got to live, but they had to die. I wanted to stay with them, but Clark was just a baby, and he needed me."

"Wait... You're older than Clark?" I asked in confusion.

"It's a long story, but by the time I made it to Earth, Clark was an adult and I hadn't aged. I was originally older, but now he is. When he found me, he decided he'd be here for me... Clark sent me off-planet on a peacekeeping mission three months ago, right before everything happened..." She paused. "Dick... I think he knew. I think he sent me away so I'd be safe. If he'd just let me stay, maybe I could have helped..."

"Don't do that to yourself, Kara," I replied quickly. "Trust me, it's a path you don't want to travel down."

Damian suddenly cut the head off of a sparring dummy. He laughed darkly and I decided it was time to intervene. I dropped down and landed behind him, pulling the sword from his hands.

"Hey!" Damian protested.

"Sorry, but you're not tall enough to ride this ride," I replied. "No decapitation until you're at least ten."

Damian glared at me. I struggled not to laugh. Kara broke the tension by saying, "I think it's a good time to take a lunch break."

I couldn't have agreed with her more.

***

That night, I fell asleep in my favorite spot in the Bat Cave. As usual, it didn't take long for the nightmares to start.

Bruce and I were trapped. We weren't alone. Apophis had also cornered Aqualad, Green Lantern, and Black Canary. Green Arrow was already missing at that point.

Apophis had been smart enough to take Hal's ring, leaving him powerless. He'd been beaten half to death. Aqualad was staying close to Canary while Bruce and I fought side by side against the mindless minions Lex had built to accompany his abomination. We were all trying to reach Hal, but it was impossible.

As Apophis delivered the killing blow, Canary let out a powerful scream. Before it could do much, Apophis slashed her throat, silencing her forever.

As Canary's corpse hit the ground, Aqualad attacked Apophis before I could stop him. I ran to help him. "Robin, get him out of here! Find Superman," Bruce said to me.

Apophis shoved a trident through Aqualad's chest. "Kaldur!" I screamed in horror as he looked at me with pain in his eyes. He sank to his knees as Apophis pulled the trident out.

"I'm sorry..." Kaldur managed to say as I pulled him into my arms. I watched my friend bleed out in seconds.

I held him for a moment as I tried to register what had just happened. I forced myself to start moving again as Apophis rounded on Bruce.

"Stay away from him!" I shouted.

Apophis laughed in my face. I joined Bruce in battling against him, determined to make him pay for what he'd done.

"Robin, go!" Bruce insisted.

"I'm not leaving you," I replied stubbornly.

After a couple of minutes, Apophis hit me with such force I stopped breathing for a few seconds. I hit the wall hard and cracked my head open. As I tried to focus, everything blurred. My vision eventually cleared, but my body was still in bad shape. I couldn't move.

I watched in horror as Apophis tore Bruce's left arm off like it was the easiest act in the world. Bruce tried to stay strong, but as Apophis continued ripping his limbs off one at a time, he screamed in pain, and he couldn't seem to stop.

"Batman!" I cried.

Bruce looked at me with pain and grief in his eyes. "Run, Robin... Run!" He shouted.

I started getting to my feet just as Apophis tore Bruce's head from his body. I heard screaming. I didn't realize that I was the one who was doing it.

"Batman! Batman!" I screamed aloud. I was thrashing and attacking the air around me.

"Dick... Dick, wake up," Kara said soothingly. "It's just a nightmare."

It took me a few moments to realize where I was. I took several deep breaths and tried to calm myself down.

Kara's arm was slightly red. "Did I hurt you?" I asked in horror.

"It's nothing," Kara replied.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to-"

"I'm fine, Dick. My skin is impenetrable. You scratched at me, but it didn't even hurt." She smiled at me reassuringly. "Are you okay? That nightmare looked intense."

"It wasn't just a nightmare... It was a flashback," I admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No... Not really." I offered her a sad smile. "Talking won't change anything."

"It might help you feel a little better, though. And I'm a really good listener."

"I believe that." I paused. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, actually... Gar did. He's upstairs."

"He's back already?"

"Yeah... He said he had something major to tell us."

I stood up and immediately headed upstairs with Kara right behind me. "Are you okay, Gar?" I asked as I spotted the green kitten sitting on the kitchen table.

"I'm fine," Gar replied. He hopped off of the table and shifted back into his human form. "Everything went great. Lex didn't question Harley wanting to join him. He seemed to think it was the only logical reaction. He was a little more suspicious of me, but Harley and I convinced him that she rescued me and I was loyal to her. He bought it."

"That's great," Kara said enthusiastically.

"Did you find anything out?" I asked.

"Yeah, we did," Gar said. He hesitated. "I saw Superman..."

"Is he okay?" Kara asked.

"Honestly, he's kind of terrifying right now... There's no one home. Superman's heart always guided him before, but it's like he doesn't have one anymore."

"Oh, Kal-El..." Kara whispered. She wiped away a couple of tears with the back of her right hand.

"I'm sorry, Kara... But we'll save him," Gar said firmly. "And I saw Cyborg, too. He's definitely not himself..."

"What about Lex's right hand woman?" I asked.

"I haven't seen her yet, but I saw some of the tech she built, and this woman is a genius! It was impressive." He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I looked at the weapon. It was small, powerful, and familiar. It was very similar to technology I'd seen before.

"This was one of Batman's weapons," I said softly. "It's been altered, but I know the base tech. Whoever she is, she must have found this somehow... Maybe he lost it during a mission."

"I have to get back soon, before Lex realizes I left. Harley's covering for me," Gar said. "I just wanted to let you guys know we made it past the first hurdle and Lex believes we're on his side... And there's something else..."

"Be careful, Gar," I said. "Report back as often as you can."

"I will. I promise." He paused before handing me a pin.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a radio that can't be intercepted. Harley has its partner."

"Is this the mystery woman's tech, too?" Kara asked.

"No," Gar said softly.

"Gar, what's wrong?"

"It's Justice League tech," he replied. "One was Green Arrow's... The second radio was Black Canary's."

"Where did you find the radios?" I asked.

"Harley stole them from his room."

"Whose room are you talking about, Gar?"

He sighed before looking at me and saying, "That's the urgent news..." He paused. "We found this in Green Arrow's room, Robin... They turned him, too."