Birdflash oneshots 2

Back to life

Dick woke up with a gasp, vision filled with a bright green as his body shocked back to life. He sat up quickly, panting as liquid rolled down his body. Where was he? What happened? Why did he feel like he was out of his own body? He couldn't stop shaking. Why was he shaking? Was there a fight? Something was wrong, really really wrong. His vision would clear. It was still that bright green that seemed to make him nauseous. His hearing was fuzzy, too. Was he sick? Had he been drugged? Had someone kidnapped him? What was happening?

"Hey, snap out of it, Goldie!" Jason's voice broke through the haze, as well as a stinging on his cheek. Dick's vision cleared, leaving Jason in front of him. "J-Jay?" Jason sighed, pulling Dick to his chest. "Hey, jerk. You weren't supposed to die." "Die?" "Yeah. You croaked. You were walking across the street when a drunk driver hit you. You didn't make it to the hospital." "Did you just slap me?" "Had to. You were in Lazarus craze. If I hadn't slapped you, you'd still be in that weird headspace where you can't calm down and you can't control anything. Just lean on me, okay? I've got you." "Where's Wally?" "He's at the Manor. Poor bastard's been a wreck. Let me carry you, okay? I'll take you to him." "I can't stop shaking." "I know. I got you out of Lazarus craze, but you're still experiencing revival shock." "Ra's never-" "Ra's has been through that pool thousands of times. You've only been through once. Just calm down and breathe, alright? I've got you. And don't you dare compare yourself to that motherfucker."

Jason hoisted Dick onto his back, walking away from the glowing green pool. "Jay?" "Yeah, Birdie?" "I'm tired." "I know. I've got you, okay? Just relax. You will be okay. Just stop fucking worrying and trust me." "Can I go to sleep?" "Long as you promise not to die on me." "I'll try." "I'll kick your ass if you do." "Love you too, Jay." "Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and relax. We're only a few miles from the Manor, so you'll be okay." Dick rested his head on Jason's shoulder, shuddering out a sigh as he closed his eyes. Jason was sure he'd be okay. But why couldn't he remember it? He couldn't recall dying. "Jay?" "You're supposed to be sleeping." "I can't remember dying." "You probably won't for a month or two. It's your brain trying to protect you, so let it. Trust me, let yourself forget. You'll have less nightmares." "Have nightmares almost every night already. There's no avoiding it." "Then don't add onto it."

The next time Dick woke up, he was in the med-bay of the cave, with several machines beeping around him. He could hear arguing in the corner, and he recognized the voices as Bruce and Jason. Again? This was the sixth time this...well, he didn't know how long he'd been dead, so he couldn't really say if it was all in a week. "That was irresponsible and reckless." "I brought your eldest son back. He didn't deserve that death. Besides, you have to think of his kids. How would they feel if they only grew up with one father? He deserves to live to at least forty, and he deserves to see his kids grow up. What part of that is irresponsible? Nobody knows he was the person hit. Make up an excuse or something! Say he managed to escape with only minor injuries. Say he's still alive, but recovering. Say something! At least let Wally down here to see him." "We don't know how the Lazarus pit works. There could be side affects." "Both Ra's and I went through, and we're fine. In fact, I'm better than ever! The pit lets me heal faster than the rest of you. With all the times he gets kidnapped and injured, I think it'll help."

Dick took a deep breath in, forcing himself to sit up. "We'll finish this later. Dickie? Can you hear me, chum?" Bruce asked softly, looking into Dick's exhausted eyes. "Hey, B. Guess you got two zombie sons now, huh?" There was a peal of laughter from the corner. "I guess I do. How do you feel? Can you move everything?" Dick did a quick check, slowly moving every limb. "Yeah. How long have I been out?" "A few days. We were waiting until you woke up to bring Wally down here." "Can you help me sit up?" "Yeah. You're going to be okay. You know that, right?" "I feel exhausted." "I know. I can tell. Just sit back, alright? Jay, go get Wally. Tell him I need him down in the cave." Jason walked out of the med-bay, heading up to the Manor. "Do you want any food? Something to drink?" "Not right now. Maybe later." "Jason says it'll be a while before you're back to normal. You may have days where your motor function isn't great." "In other words, I may be stuck in bed all day." "Pretty much." "I'll deal with it."

Jason came back down with the redhead behind him, a blindfold covering his eyes. "I don't think this is necessary." Wally said uncertainly, hoping the other didn't run him into a wall or something. "I do. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." "I hear a heart monitor, so I'm assuming med-bay. Are you trying to drug me?" "Nope." "Experimentation?" "Nada." "You're going to turn me into a mutant." "Wrong." "That's a little excessive,  Jason." Bruce sighed. "Hey, it's not every day you get this surprise." "What surprise?" "Jason, take the blindfold off." "Fun sucker." Jason untied the blindfold, watching as the speedster got blinded by the bright fluorescent lights. "Ow! Gimme a warning next time." "You'll be fine. Open your eyes and look down." Wally managed to crack his eyes open, looking down at the gurney Bruce was sitting on. His eyes flew wide open when he saw Dick, though. "Hey, Walls. Miss me?" Dick smiled.

The answer to his question was yes. Before Dick knew what was happening, Wally had his arms around him, holding him to his chest as he sobbed. "Easy, Walls. M'fragile right now." "How did...what the...how?" "Long story short, Lazarus pit. Hope you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily." "Never scare me like that again, okay?" "I'll try my best. How are the kids?" "Thanks to Jason, they think you're on a business trip. They have no idea you..." "Died? Yeah, let's not tell them yet. I want some time with them before I start getting zombie comments." "That's my cue!" "Don't you dare, Jason, or I'll release all those baby photos I found to the media." "You wouldn't dare." "Try me."