mako's crocodile

falling

dick grayson jumped off the trapeze and waited on the platform as his parents finished their act. he was happy, having done his first act, but now that he was no longer flying, he became troubled. who was that man who had been threatening Grampa Haly earlier?  he suddenly heard a soft creaking. he looked up, wondering where the noise was coming from, and froze. the strange man was pouring acid in the wires, weakening them. if more than his uncle was on that bar, the wires would break.

"mami, tati, nu! firele se vor rupe!" but his warning was just a second to late. his parents jumped from their bar to his uncle's, the weight snapping the rope and sending all three to the ground.

"dick!" his mother called, the young boy's name being the last thing she ever said. dick climbed down the ladder, shaking his parents to wake them up, knowing that it would be useless.

"mami tati, fara trezire. te rog nu muri. nu mă părăsi!" he shook each member of his family, trying to wake someone, anyone. trying not to be alone, he uselessly shook the other three graysons.

"come on, kid, your family wont be able to wake up anymore. we'll find you a child services representative, and she'll make sure you're safe and that you have a home." a man said, lifting dick away from his family. he sat against the side of the big top for a long time, until a woman in a dark suit walked up.

"hey, sweetie, im your child services representative. my name is Emily." dick looked at her, confused. who was this woman? why was she here? Emily took dicks hand, steering him towards a black Honda civic, where Grandpa Haly stood, waiting.

"aceasta este o femeie de la serviciile de protecție a copilului gotham. poliția a decis că nu e sigur să rămâi cu noi, așa că se va asigura că ai o casă, bine?" he explained. dick only nodded, overcome by the fact that his parents had died. he climbed in the car and buckled in, crying. 

"adio bunicule haly, îmi va fi dor de tine." dick called as Emily climbed in the drivers seat. 

while they were driving, Emily got a call. dick, sitting behind the drivers seat, heard every word on both ends.

"you've got the grayson kid?"

"yes, he's behind me. i don't think the gypsy understands English."

dick almost protested that he understands English, but the way Emily said gypsy made him hesitate, continuing to listen.

"we don't want the circus freak to corrupt the good kids, and we only have two orphanage spots left in the city anyway, so put him in juvie. that will be fine for him."

"i couldn't agree more." Emily hung up, throwing her phone in the passenger seat, ignoring the boy behind her. meanwhile, dick panicked. he couldn't go to jail! he hadn't done anything wrong! he had to think of a way to avoid going to jail, wen the car passed over a bridge. dick was a strong swimmer, so if he could get off the bridge... he pretended to be getting sick, and Emily pulled over, helping him to the railing. she turned to get tissues from the glove box in the car, and dick took his chance, jumping off the bridge and getting into proper diving form. he hit the cold water with a small splash and began to swim with the current.

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when he washed up on the shore of the island, the sun was setting. he needed shelter to survive, right? he began to search around the island. here was a stream with freshwater, there was a very tall tree. dick walked on, finding a field of volcanic rock. not knowing that flint is formed in sedimentary rock, he searched for some, hoping to start a fire... and fell in a hole in the ground, formed in such a way that it is near invisible from the surface. dick investigated the cave further, finding a beautiful blue pool inside a volcano. climbing into the pool, he looked up at a moon, fitting perfectly into the crest of the volcano. as the moon moved to the center of the crest, water droplets flew upwards. he watched in awe until the moon moved away, when he climbed onto the sand and fell asleep.