Son Of The Bat (Son of Batman Reader x Raven)

Prologue.3

 Y/n slept in his bed alone. "No... no... no..." He spoke, sweating and shaking. He was back in hell. He was fighting Dick. Only this time when Dick had cut him, it was deep. Y/n fell to the ground. Dick stepped on Y/n's face, pinning his head to the ground as he was forced to watch Raven try to trap Trigon. She was yelling and screaming in pain. "Look at her, she is too weak. She will fail. She will die, and we will be together again." Dick said.

Rachel's screaming subsided as Trigon was trapped inside the crystal. Rachel looked at Y/n, too weak to stand, while he was still pinned. The crystal cracked. "Boom." Dick whispered. The energy exploded, killing everybody. And the last audible sound was Rachel's scream: "Y/n!"

Y/n woke up. "No!" He screamed. He looked around, seeing his blanket over him. He ran his fingers through his hair, getting out of bed and walking through the halls. He stopped in front of one door, it opened. He walked in, arms crossed without a shirt, wearing shorts. He looked small and weak, like he was ashamed to be here. "Rachel?" He asked. She sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Can I stay here?" He asked. "Sure." Rachel said.

Y/n walked over to the bed as Rachel held the blanket up for him to get in. Y/n wrapped his arms around Rachel, coiling into a ball as she held them. "What happened?" Rachel asked, running her fingers through his hair. "Nightmares... again. This time Dick won. He held me on the ground. The spell was hurting you, and the crystal exploded. You died." Y/n explained, hearing her scream his name, still.

Rachel looked into his eyes. "I didn't die, I'm still here. We won." She said, looking at him. "What if though? I've lost too many people. I don't want to lose you." Y/n said. "You won't." Rachel responded. "Promise?" "Promise." She responded, leaning in to kiss him. Y/n melted into it. "I love you, Rachel." "I love you, too, Y/n." She said, hugging him tighter. She held onto him for dear life, cause she knows he needed it. She knows that this wasn't the first time he's come in here after a nightmare, it's been almost every night since. And it sure won't be the last. So she held onto him as they fell asleep. And he was at peace, knowing the woman he loved was safe in his arms, and he was safe in hers.

A blaring alarm cut through the sound of her heartbeat. Y/n quietly awoke to find himself alone in his bed at the Tower. He groaned, turning off his alarm as he stood up and went to his dresser, where he changed into a red t-shirt and black shorts. He walked down to the gym and began to stretch before he hopped on the treadmill and began to run. It had been a year since he fought Dick and they trapped Trigon, but he was still trying to outrun those demons. Just as he was running now, amping the speed up to a full sprint. Images of his past pushed into his mind. His mother dying, Dick, Damian, Stephanie, Jason, Tim, Barbara, his dreams of Rachel's death.

He looked to his right, catching a glimpse of red hair. Suddenly he was twelve again, looking down at Barbara with a hole in her stomach. His step faltered and he lost balance, falling on the treadmill and getting shot off it. He hit the ground, rolling. "Y/n! Are you okay?" He looked up, seeing Rachel leaning over him. She was eighteen, and he was now sixteen. Jaime, Gar, Tara (a new Titan) and Kory walked over. His eyes caught on what made him fall, Kory's red hair that reminded him of Barbara's. How Kory's moved the same way Barbara's did while he was running with her.

Y/n heard Beast Boy, "I think he hit his head, earth to Y/n?" "Wha-" He snapped out of his head. "Are you okay?" Kory asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Y/n replied, looking at her from the floor. "Here." Rachel stuck out a hand to him, to which he accepted. He got back on his feet, brushing himself off. He turned away from them, walking to a bench against the wall where he drank from a water bottle.

Y/n saw black pants and a purple shirt sit next to him, purple hair and a red gemstone adorned on her head. "You okay?" "I'm fine," Y/n replied, still shaking it. It was one of the most disturbing things he's seen. He doesn't think of it often, but when he does it sticks like a parasite. And it's been more frequent with the reminders Kory unintentionally gave him. "You're not. I hear you screaming in your sleep. My room is right next to yours, remember? What's bothering you?" Rachel asked, Y/n remaining silent. "Is it me? I heard you say my name last night." "No, not this time. I- I was just thinking about Barbara. When she got shot, Kory's hair reminded me of it. I found her, she was lying on her broken glass table, with a bullet in her stomach. I was twelve."