Inbetween

Chapter Twenty Five: Together Again

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Bruce tried to find any weak points in the alley but as far as he could tell he was trapped in his own head. When dealing with Scarecrow's fear toxin he was really good at grounding himself and sweating out the formula, but with the extra chemicals and Kryptonite he knew he'd need to do a lot more than sweat it out. The nearly pitch black alley melted into the manor and he was glad that Scarecrow had disappeared for this portion of his memories.

His usual grand mansion was crumbling before his eyes. The beautiful chandeliers that usually sparkled in the light were shattered all across the floor, family portraits were split in half, and bloody handprints smeared a majority of the walls. He tried his best to ignore the fear that bubbled in his stomach but he knew with the new toxin in his system it was a long shot.

Bruce felt his heart sink as he heard a cry for help in a different room. He rushed towards the sound and found himself deep within the batcave; where there was no technology, no cars, and no sign of life. A vast emptiness surrounded him along with screeching bats above his head. He could hear the cry a lot closer now and as he peered over the edge of the cave he could see Dick hanging on with one hand. He hung above the abyss his eyes wild with fear and his body bloodied from injuries.

Bruce instantly crouched down to help him. Richard only gasped trying to keep his breathing steady and his eyes focused on looking up rather than down. Bruce remembered their fear training and he knew that Richard was doing for his predicament.

"I got you." Bruce reached out to him but just as he was about to grab his son's hand and pull him up the boy's hand slipped and he fell into the abyss.

Bruce could hear his cries and then a loud, heavy thud. His heart sunk deeper into his stomach and he looked over the edge hoping to get a glimpse of his son. Hoping that he was still alive. The silence that stretched after the thud made Bruce keel over and empty what little food he had left in his stomach. He wiped at his mouth and stood back up trying his best not to topple over.

He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled through his nose trying to calm his nerves; flashes of Richard replayed in his mind as he tried to remind himself that none of it was real. Bruce mumbled out loud to keep himself grounded and aware of what he was doing. He made his way to the computer when he could see the screen flickering on and off on one of the smaller monitors. He approached the monitor and read the words that kept flashing on the glitched screen.

I'm here Batman, I'm here.

He racked his brain to figure out who exactly was trying to get in contact with him. He couldn't remember much before the alley and the harder he tried to remember the harder it was for any memories to form in his head. He knew the words on his screen were familiar and also the key to getting out of the crumbling cave around him. He watched as the letters blinked bright red; his hands trembled as he started to type a response.

Who is this?

His letters were a bright white but disappeared as soon as they formed on the screen. He felt a lump in his throat form and the longer he stared at the blank screen the more his stomach churned. He knew he wasn't safe and he couldn't shake the feeling that what he was looking at wasn't real. It took another beat before words appeared on the screen once again.

Kal

Bruce could feel his shoulders relax for a moment before the cave began to shake. He moved to type a response but the rocks from above began tumbling down and he instantly rushed to the Batmobile. He slipped in and punched in coordinates to Metropolis. Another rumble throughout the cage made the rocks crash on top of the bat-computer and Bruce pushed the power button. The bat-mobile roared to life and everything still looked functional; he pressed on the gas and shot through the exit before the rocks could block the path way.