Of Birds and Jokers

Chapter 2

All the doctors and nurses told him there was no doubt it would scar. No amount of make-up would be able to cover it up. It was just something he would have to live with, and deal with the stares he would almost certainly receive.
Robin didn't think he would ever be fully traught again.
All his scars that he had received before, both emotional and physical, could be covered up. Swept under the rug like dust, only to be brought our when Robin felt truly depressed and vulnerable. This, however, there would be no covering up.
His fists clenched in the bed sheets as Robin continued to stare at his new facial features. The lines were relatively clean, with only a few jagged edges from when he tried to struggle out of the Jokers hold. Robin hesitantly brought up his right hand and traced the scar, running over most of his lower face.
    It disgusted him. Some people-mostly crimminals-commented on how his cackle was eerily reminiscent of the Jokers (some conspiracy theorists even said that the reason their laughs were so similar was because they were father and son, and Batman only got involved to stop him from becoming like his father. All party's involved were not happy about this rumor). Robin hated when they compared him to the psychopath, but he refused to stop doing it.
    The cackle may be similar to anothers, but it was still one of his trade marks.
    Now, he had another feature people can compare to the Jokers. One that there would be no writing off as simply a flaw, or something that was twisted in such a way that it became poisoned. The scars themselves were already poison.
    Robin brought his hand back down and sighed, once again thinking over how exactly he ended up in this position.
And all of it happened because he was stupid. Irrational. Reckless. Typical teenager traits that, for him, led to catastrophic consequences.
Why couldn't he be a normal teenager, where these traits would lead to late night party's, sneaking out with friends, or rebelling in small ways that barely mattered? Hell, he would even take getting in trouble with drugs or alcohol over this.
At least then he could have a chance of recovery.
Robin also realized that he could possibly start a new, normal life here. Wherever here was, as it was clear he was not in the world he grew up with.
Clark came by once or twice a week during his almost month stay at the hospital. Although he enjoyed these visits, and looked forward to them quite a bit, it was still painful. He looked exactly like the one Robin knew, but every time he came by, there was still no sign that Clark seemed to really know him.
Robin remembered the many times he tried to subtly get in formation out of him, things such as how he ended up in Wisconsin, where exactly he stayed in Gotham, and any other existing family members. And Robin always changed the topic as soon as any of these things came up.
As the visits dragged on he could tell Clark was getting slightly irritated with him, and he found a strange sense of amusement in that.
Eventually, he realized that it was clear that even someone close to him had no idea who he was, and he could live a normal life. Go to the orphanage like he was supposed to all those years ago, get adopted by a good family, and live out the rest of his life like an ordinary citizen.
Or there was the alternative. Go to the orphanage, get adopted by abusive or neglectful parents, and become a nomad, traveling the country and possibly even joining a circus again.
With all the easy endings to this he could think of, however, he realized all of them involved going to the orphanage or CPS, which he was very hesitant about.
From what he remembered on how they treated him as an eight year old who was just traumatized, he was doubtful it would be any better for him now. Robin remembered the way the social worker assigned to him stared down in disgust, not once missing the vile things she hissed under breath about him and his 'gypsy filth' he called family.
Then, when there was no readily available room at an orphanage, he was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center. He would never forget the twisted amusement in Mrs. Forman's eyes when she pushed him through the gates.
It finally solidified how horrible human being were in his eight year old mind.
Which only left two options. Out himself to Clark when he came in ten minutes, or break out of the hospital and go it alone on the streets.
Both of these options had major pros and cons, too many to think of. But as the time ticked down on the clock, he was starting to lean towards the latter of the options.
If he revealed himself to Clark, then there would be many questions that would be very difficult to answer. Not to mention he would most likely have to face the entire Justice League, and basically tell them his entire life story and how he got to this alternate Earth.
Because that was the only conclusion Robin could come up with. Some things were different, but others were exactly the same. Such as the issue on the Joker. It seemed as though there was no Joker in this dimension before, yet almost every other Gotham villain (except Bane, he had no idea about him) was here.
Originally, Robin felt as though he should be shocked by the earth-shattering revelation, but all he felt was a sense of despair and exhaustion. Robin thought he was simply in some kind of simulation, but another Earth entirely?
There was almost no chance of him being able to get back. But he would be damned if he wouldn't at least try to.
Now he just had to figure out how. And the first step was getting out of this hospital.
He was fairly well, and he was almost off of pain killers at this point. The only injury that still bothered him was his ribs, but they had almost healed, and were simply bruised. It would definitely be possible, but if he did it, he would have to do it tonight.
Robin sighed, knowing that this would most likely be the last time he would see this Clark in a while, if ever. Might as well tell him what he wants to know, then.
The ebony took a deep breath, and stared at the door as there were two knocks, a pause, and then three more. Their special knocking sequence so he knew it was Clark and not some doctor.
"You can come in." he announced, and he smiled warmly when he saw Clark enter, his own smile reflected on the elder's face.
"How are you today, Robin?" he asked. Robin rolled his eyes at the question, it always being the first thing Clark said when he entered his room.
"Felling fine. Can't wait to get out, though." Clark hummed in agreement as he sat down in his designated chair beside his bed.
"Yeah, I can see how someone might get a bit restless after almost a month here. But at least you got to stay in Gotham General, so you wouldn't have had to get transferred any where."
     Robin nodded, and took a deep breath before putting his plan in action.
     "Hey, can I ask you a question?" at Clark's enthusiastic nod, he continued, trying hard to look innocent. "I know you're a reporter in Metropolis, so how can you still have your job and drive all the way to Gotham so often?"
    Clark inhaled sharply, and stared at Robin for a moment, his eyes calculating. Robin continued to look like he just asked an innocent question, and Clark seemed to buy it.
    "Well, I may have fibbed a bit and said you were a family member, and managed to get more hours off in order to visit. Not much is happening in Metropolis, anyway."
Robin snorted a bit. "I'm honored that you would be willing to lie to your boss just to see me." he looked at Clark, and his humourus smirk became more genuine. "I really am grateful, though. It would be pretty boring without you coming to visit."
The man beamed at him, obviously pleased. But then it happened once again. His eyes turned downwards slightly, and his smile became more patient, like he was about to talk to a child.
The exact same face he made every time he wanted to ask a personal question.
Robin breathed a little deeper, and steeled himself a bit. He wasn't sure exactly what Clark was going to stay, but whatever it was he was planning to answer with as much honesty as possible.
"You, um, wouldn't have to be so alone if we knew where some of your, uh, other family members were?" there was a note of desperation in his voice along with a sliver of hope.
Robin inwardly smiled at this. No matter what Earth he was on, it seemed as though some people's personalities couldn't be changed.
"I don't have any other blood relations..." he trailed, and looked down into his lap where he interlocked his fingers. Clark seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for him to continue. It was the most Robin had ever said about his extended family, and he was most likely getting his hopes up.
He wouldn't be dissapointed.
Robin briefly glanced up to the man's face, and had to stop himself from smirking at the look. "And, well, the only people I even remember as anything close to family are probably on a different continent." Clark raised an eyebrow, so Robin offered a simple explaination. "My folks and I used to be a part of the Circus."
Clark looked really suprised at this, and Robin could tell he was bursting with new questions.
"The Circus? What was the name of it?" he could hear the hope very clearly now.
"I'm...not entirely sure. It was a long time ago, and I was really little when my parents..." it pained Robin to lie when he was supposed to be 'coming clean' so to speak, but it was unfortunately necessary. He couldn't exactly give out every thing that might lead to someone figuring out who he was.
If Dick Grayson even existed here. Or if he was even alive. Who knows, maybe he was destined to fall on that fateful day on this Earth?
Clark's questioning gaze softened a bit. "That's alright. So, is there anyone who you stay with now? Or a shelter that you typically go to?"
Robin was immediately ready with an answer. "I live mostly on the streets near Park Row, but I do go to some shelters on the really bad nights." It was a complete lie, of course, but he still had to fill in the gaps to his story.
The man looked momentarily suprised at this. "Park Row? Why not some nicer neighbor hood?"
Robin simply shrugged, but Clark seemed to take that as an answer enough. He seemed to be pondering over every thing Robin had said at a lightning fast pace.
Finally, after what seemed like forever of silence, Clark looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
"You know I can't just let you go back on the streets in good conscience, right?"
Robin sighed. He just had to make this harder, didn't he?
"Yeah, I figured." Clark gave him a sad smile, and made a move to stand up from his chair.
Robin watched him, every little move he made telling him Clark really didn't want to put him in the care of Gotham's CPS. It made him feel a bit better that he actually somewhat cared for him, even though he's known Robin for less than a month.
"I better be going now. Lois is going to kill me if I'm late to dinner again." he started towards the door, and opened it in one swift motion. "See you in a couple days?"
Robin looked at Clark's warm eyes, a wad of tight guilt building in his stomach. It took all his effort to keep his eyes from welling up with tears.
"Yeah. I hope I'll see you again some day." Clark gave him a bit of a funny look at his wording, but didn't comment. He simply waved back at Robin, walking out a softly closing the door behind him.
Robin sighed, his head rolling back onto the poor excuse for pillows stacked behind him. He closed his eyes, rubbing them of any wetness that may have been left behind.
The ebony kept having to tell himself that he did the right thing. He did what was necessary in order to have a chance at getting back home without disturbing anymore of these people's lives.
As Batman says, the mission is everything, and his mission right now was to get back to his own Earth. He had to make a plan, and saying his farewells to Clark was simply part one of the first stage. He would only get in the way in the long run, anyway.
Now determined, he brought down his hands over his face, running over the smile permanently etched into his face. This only furthered his resolve, and a rough sketch of a concrete plan was slowly forming.
Break out of the hospital. Finish healing properly on the streets. Gather supplies to make some sort of living while gathering materials for some sort of inter-dimensional transporter. Get back to his Earth.
And somewhere along the road, make sure a certain clown paid the price for wronging a very dangerous, and very pissed bird.

Yep, that's it! Sorry I haven't been very active lately, the new semester, Forensics and spring volley ball has had me pretty booked for a little while.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
(P.S. Please excuse any grammatical errors in this, I am very tired and didn't really want to look it over :-P)

~BluePinetree