Traumatised

The Search

'We've been over the water twice, Bats. He's not there.' Said Arthur, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest. They had beamed to the Watch Tower after a few hours of searching and found Batman using the League's tech to search for the missing boy.

'You're sure?' said Batman, glancing away from the screen of his computer momentarily to acknowledge the king of Atlantis.

'We're sure.'

Bruce's relief was only momentary. This news meant Dick wasn't dead, but there was now the question of where the hell was he? He was going through security footage, but it was like finding a needle in a city-sized haystack. Facial recognition wasn't working, but that didn't surprise him. The Titans said Dick always wore a cap when he went running, that along with his covered eyes would hinder the tech. He'd tried tracking his son's bike, but he had deactivated the tracker.

Bruce groaned quietly, as he went through more footage. He had taught the boy to disappear too well.

'What do you need Bruce?' asked Aquaman. It was true when he and Bruce had first met, they hadn't really hit it off. But Bruce had changed after he'd adopted Dick. Arthur knew how much the bat loved his son, and he could see how much this was tearing the man apart. Plus, he was fond of Robin, the whole league was! If there was anything, he could do to help him, he would do it.

'If I could just find his bike, I could narrow down the security footage to follow.'

'Isn't one of the Titans a shapeshifter?' said Clark.

'Yes?' said Batman.

'Can't he...sniff it out?'

Bruce thought about this for a few seconds. Why hadn't he thought of that? With Dick in such a vulnerable state, he had been unable to think straight himself. He picked up his communicator and called the Titan's asking them to head out into the City again and see if they could track Robin's cycle. He could tell that the teenagers were a little confused as to why finding Robin's bike would help; they were still new to the game. But they were also too intimidated by the Batman to question him. When he had hung up the call to the teen heroes, he brought out his own phone and tried calling Dick again.

'Sorry, can't come to the phone,' Dick's voice rang out. 'You know what to do.' This time he left a message.

'Dick, it's me. Listen. I know you're having a hard time and I know you don't want a repeat of four years ago. But please, call me. Let me know you are alright. We can work this out.'

When he hung up the phone, his shoulders sagged. No one had told him when he had wanted to adopt Dick that being a parent would have challenges like this. No one had told him he would love another human being in the way he loved his son. His heart was physically hurting for worry.

'Do you want me to scan the rooftops?' asked Clark, seeing his friend's pain.

'No, we need to stay discrete.' Said Batman, trying to regain composure.

'But, surely...'

'No,' Batman turned to face the man of steel. 'If Dick is having another breakdown, he will be skittish. If he sees you, he might run. And if he's having an episode of mania...who knows what he might do.'

'Did Dick show any signs of...' Clark trailed off, he knew Bruce would understand what he meant.

'He's become very good at hiding just how bad he is feeling. I knew he was struggling, but I didn't realise it was this bad.' Batman admitted.

'I don't get why he would run?' asked Arthur, brushing a hand through his long hair that was still damp from his time in the water.

Batman sighed and seemed to be weighing up whether the information was important enough to divulge. He seemed to decide it was.