This Is My Future

Chapter 22

Robin's P.O.V

I sat in the back seat of Nightwing's Mercedes. Artemis sat next to me, in full costume, gazing out the window at the night-lighted city as the buildings zipped past in blinding blurs.

I sighed and looked straight ahead at Tigress's head. She was messing with Nightwing, determined to make him stop being mad at her for convincing him to get us out of the base.

Nightwing constantly swatted her hand away as she tried to mess with his cheek.

"Stop before I drive into a wall!" He snapped at her.

Tigress grinned and started 'attacking' him with both hands.

I frowned, still unable to get my head around the fact that the future me is close friends with an assassin.

Nightwing snatched Tigress's hand as she tried poking his ear, "Knock it off Ar-...Tigress..."

My frown depended when I heard what Nightwing said. I tapped Artemis's arm.

She looked at me and I motioned for her to come closer. She crossed her good arm across her body and leaned on the middle seat between us and put her ear towards me.

I leaned over and cupped my hands around her ear. "Did you hear that too?" I whispered.

"Hear what?" she whispered back.

I glanced at the adults to make sure they weren't listening. Nightwing was growling and swatting at Tigress, who was laughing and basically acting like a goofy little girl.

"Did you hear Nightwing say 'Ar' before he said Tigress?" I asked still whispering.

Artemis took a second to reflect, then nodded slowly, "Yeah..."

"I thought he didn't have her real name on file," I whispered. "Or did I read it wrong?"

"No...it said her name was unrecorded," she said.

"Then what was he about to call her...?"

Artemis shrugged a shoulder. "I don't kn-" she cut herself off with a yelp, when the tail end of the car was hit and the vehicle did an incredibly fast doughnut.

The tires screeched as Nightwing cursed slamming the brakes and turning the wheel against our rotation in attempt to stop us and Tigress was cheering like she was on a Rollercoaster.

"Stop cheering!" Nightwing shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Gotta love life to the very end, Little Birdy!" Tigress laughed throwing her fists in the air, punching the roof of the car and screaming with joy.

The car stopped spinning and teetered on its left wheels then dropped onto all four wheels with a hard metallic clump and rested completely with a quick screech of ground metal.

All four of us breathed heavily. Artemis was breathing in panic and faint relief, I was in a little shock, Nightwing's eyes expressed anger when I saw them in the rear view mirror, and I assume Tigress had a huge smile.

"That...was...awesome!" I shouted, "Batman has never done that before!"

Nightwing glared at me in the mirror, Artemis looked at me like I was a lunatic, and Tigress reached back to me with an open hand and I smacked her palm in a sort of high five.

"Let's do it again!" I laughed.

Tigress cheered, "I agree with shorty! Let's do it again!"

"No!" Nightwing and Artemis yelled simultaneously. Nightwing's voice was filled with rage; Artemis's was more panic.

"Why not," Tigress whined.

Nightwing sighed, but I noticed a small grin on his face, seeming to have forgotten his anger. "Because we'll be doing something much more fun in a second," he said. He turned in his seat and whipped the car in a semi circle and raced down the street in the direction we came from.

Tigress was smiling, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Someone tried running us off the road," Nightwing responded. "I know who it was, so, we're going after him."

"Who was it?" Artemis asked.

"Sebastian Blood," Nightwing responded.

Tigress looked forward out the windshield seeming calm, but you could hear the excitement in her voice when she said, "Otherwise known as Brother Blood."

Nightwing took a sharp turn and I was thrown against the wall of the car. I threw my arm out and caught Artemis by the shoulder so she wouldn't fall onto her injured arm.

"Thanks..." she sighed.

I nodded. "Wait," I said in realization. "What is Artemis going to do?"

A long silence filled the racing car.

"I know!" Tigress said cheerfully.