Heart Attack

Congratulations

I did not understand why I could see it.

When I closed my eyes that night in Mistral, I expected rest. Instead, I opened them to home.

Not Tamaran.
Not Jump City.
But Gotham.

The manor. The cave. The family I loved. The man I once called my heart.

I was no longer among them… yet their voices reached me as though I hovered above the room itself, unseen.

And what I saw… it was not reunion. It was war.

“DICK!”

Jason slammed him against the wall. The sound echoed like thunder through the manor halls.

Tim was between them in an instant, expression sharper than I had ever seen.

“What is going on, Jaybird?!” Dick gasped, struggling in Jason’s grip.

“Why would you hit him like that?!” Barbara screeched, voice cracking.

“Because he deserves worse!” Jason snarled.

Tim’s voice was low, controlled—yet shaking as he pulled out folded papers. My papers. The letters I had left behind.

“Jay. Let him go,” Tim said, almost too calm. “Let them hear this.”

Bruce crossed his arms, face as cold as the Gotham night. “Would anyone mind explaining?”

“Sit down,” Tim ordered. His hands trembled but his resolve did not. He sat beside Jason. Jason’s jaw was clenched so tight it could have shattered teeth.

My heart ached for them. My friends. My family.

Would I ever see them again?

A whisper, soft as starlight: “Maybe we will allow you to visit.”

The gods. The ones who cast me here. I gave a small nod, unsure if they even noticed. I could not speak to them—not yet.

Tim unfolded the first letter. My letter to Richard.

“My love, Richard,” Tim began. His voice shook with restrained fury. Barbara flinched. Dick went pale. Damian’s eyes narrowed, calculating.

“You and I… we made a vow. For better or worse. I did not wish to believe you capable of letting me down. You were my wings. My heart. My soul. The night that helped me rest.

“But now this nightmare has come to life—and I feel it in the way it hurts.

“For months I had doubts. Denied every tear. I accused Barbara—of what you had done.”

Barbara’s head dropped. Jason’s fists curled tighter.

“I wished for it to be over—the pain, the crying. I wanted to wake up and find you here beside me. Please.”

“Oh, no… Star,” Dick whispered, voice breaking.

“Continue,” Bruce said flatly. No sympathy, no hesitation—only judgment.

Tim swallowed, continuing.

“When you call me ‘baby’… I know I am not the only one. I heard you call her that too.

“You’ve been so unavailable. And now I know why.

“She gives you something I do not. Why am I not enough? Why did you make me face my deepest fear—lying to me, tearing us apart?

“Will you ask about me if I am gone? Will you miss me? When will I feel whole again? Will you remember how to put the light back in my eyes? Why did you break all your promises?”