Justice League 4
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Written by mouudy
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Justice League
Chapter 4- Memories of a dying man
Fate ever had a sick sense of humor where I was concerned, and as always I was her never ending punch line.
Days melted into weeks, weeks melted into months, and still nothing had changed. No one had come to rescue me, and no one ever would.
I lost track of the amount of times I was sure I had died, but they always brought me back.
Always.
`How can you not know who the Batman really is, he's your father for Pete's sake?'
Every day it began the same, who was the Batman? Where is the Bat-Cave? What are the true identities of Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin?
`You don't want to talk yet, don't want the pain to stop. Fine, I'll just have to get more creative with how I torture you next.'
It was a never ending nightmare. The whole of my mind falling deeper into a black hole that I could never return from. The more "Creative" he got, the worse the nightmare became. Till all I knew was pain, no moments reprieve.
Anger had burned through every fiber of my being, sustaining me for so long. But that's the thing about anger, eventually it burned out, until its protection no longer saved me. The never ending pain took over all my senses till there was nothing left. They had stripped me bare, not just my body, but my mind, my soul.
I couldn't give them what they wanted, answers to which I had never known. That only caused them to hurt me more, and in ways I never thought possible.
I was lost, what little of my sanity had been gained in my short time on the Watchtower, had all been stripped away. Hope had no meaning to me, pain was all I knew. The only thing I ever begged for was death.
Death.
The sweet release of the hell that was my life.
I forgot my own name, and the names of those I had grown close to, knowing only the pain, the humiliation, the degradation they inflicted on me.
The tortures they had begun with paled in comparison to what came after.
My body would forever show that scares of what was being done to me, both outwardly as it would inwardly.
I thought the Joker was a Madman who destroyed who I was by taking away my mother, than raping me in front of my father.
I was wrong.
This madman took what was left of me, and what I had gained back on the Watchtower, and shredded it into nothingness.
Electrodes were wired to my nipples, my cock and my balls. When I wouldn't give up the names I didn't even know, they shocked me till it burned and marred my flesh. I screamed till my throat was raw, tasting blood, while they laughed and enjoyed my blood curdling screams as if it were music to their ears.
Foreign objects were rammed up my anal cavity, that only made me beg for death in a way I never thought possible. The pain from what they were putting up there never left my body, so much so I feared what it would feel like to use the restroom again if I ever had the chance.
My body withered to nothingness, as they force fed me vomit, urine, and theirs and my shit. My once muscular body was nothing more than bones, yet still fate would not end my suffering and let me die.
My jailer was talented with knives, and my body would forever wear the scars of his handy work.
As if proud of the work he'd done, he had brought a mirror into the room so that I could see what I looked like.
He cut slits down each side of my nostrils, and lines from the corner of my lips outward as if to give me a permanent grin.
But the worst of it all, done in a fit of anger from not believing that I didn't know the name of my father, and in a drunken rage he came to me one day.
"You won't give me your fathers name, so I will make sure you forever remember mine." he slurred.
That's when he took his dull pocket knife out, and carved his name into the left side of my cheek.
My screams echoed through the room, causing him to roll his eyes back into his head as if it was the sweet sound of ecstasy.
The Joker's laughter had haunted my life before, but this madman had forever left his mark on me. He lifted the mirror to my face for me to see, the blood running down the left side of my face. I screamed till I could no longer speak when I saw what he had done.
"You will forever remember, you will never forget, I hope your father was worth it boy. The sins of the father shall be visited upon the son." he slurred, laughing as he raised the mirror to my face.
There on my left cheek, carved so deeply into my face were four letters.
BANE!!!
-Rio De Janeiro-
Following the information Waller had given to me, still hadn't led me to my son. They call me the Worlds Greatest Detective, but after two months of looking for Tristan, I call myself the Worlds Worst Father.
I held the man over the side of the building by one leg, threatening to drop him if he didn't talk.
"Please...please...I don't know anything...I swear on my mothers grave I don't know anything!" he pleaded.
I knew it was a long shot, but what choice did I have. I tracked down every criminal I could find, hoping to get any piece of information that would give me a lead.
Nothing.
"Batman! That's enough, put him down!" Superman spoke through gritted teeth.
Reluctantly I threw him down on the roof of the building, before jumping off the side and spreading my cape wide and floating to the building across the way disappearing into the night.
Superman followed closely behind, landing next to me. I started punching the brick wall, needing to vent out my frustration. Clark grabbed me from behind and pulled me into his viselike grip, holding me tightly to his chest.
I hadn't cried since the night my parents died, but tonight I cried in my best friends arms.
"I can't do this anymore...I can't take it...I've saved so many people, but I can't save my own son?" I sobbed into the chest of the only person I could have ever done this in front of. He only hugged me tighter to him.
"I know...I feel the same way. We've battled Gods and lived to tell the tell, but can't find a 17 year old being held by some maniac. Us, the great Batman and Superman can't save..." he couldn't even finish the sentence as the tears born of frustration came pouring out. The man of steel, the worlds greatest detective, both useless in saving one of the rarest, special boy that worms his way into anyone who comes in contact with him.
"I'll never give up Clark, never! Not while there is a breath left in my body, I'll never give up." I said adamantly.
"I'll be right by your side every step of the way, through thick and thin, I'll always be right by your side." he pledged.
"I know Clark, you're my best friend, always have been always will. I...I'm so sorry for what I did to you. What I said to you, I had no right. I'd give anything to have him back, even if it means him being with you. I swear it..." I began.
"I should have understood where you were coming from, watching Tristan and I become so close while you had to hide in the shadows. I wasn't thinking of what it must have been like for you...I wasn't thinking..." Clark began.
"No, you only did what I asked and I let my jealousy over it make me want to lash out at you. I should have never said those things to you, never. Forgive me old friend, forgive me." I begged, and he only pulled me tighter to him.
"I love you Bruce, you're my brother, there is nothing you could say or do that will ever change that. You and Diana have always been everything to me, and always will. Through thick or thin, till the bitter end."
"Through thick or thin till the bitter end, the three of us are forever tied." Diana said, floating down and wrapping her arms around the both of us.
-Rio De Janeiro-
-A secret location-
I came awake to the sound of shouting coming from the hall. My fear intensifying the louder Bane became. Even though my body bore witness to his anger and cruelty, I had never heard him so angry before. My body started shaking of its own accord knowing he would take that anger out on me. That fear only intensified as I heard the masked villain angrily repeating the name Batman.
"Tell him I'm not ready to hand the boy over, I haven't broken him yet." Bane shouted.
"Do you think he cares? When the Master gives an order you don't ask questions, you do as he commands." a man's accented voice replied.
Who is this Master, and what does he want with me? My mind raced in a thousand different directions all at once, the fear causing a lump to form in my throat. If Bane was as sadistic as he was, and he had a Master...what would his Master have in store for me.
Tears ran down my face, stinging as they ran over my open cuts.
I wanted to shout `please, I don't know the true identity of my father. I had only found out shortly before you took me' but it didn't matter they hadn't believed me before, why would they believe me now?
I groaned at the nightmare that had become my life since my mother had been murdered. I had done this to myself, I had no one else to blame. I willingly came with these men, to save the life of another. Could there be anything worse than knowing you could have easily fought back had you not let them bound you with restraints so powerful, that even with all the strength I'd learned I had, nothing I've done has helped me to break free. I hated myself more than I ever thought possible, more than even the Joker. I had made myself helpless before these men, allowing them all the power over me to do as they pleased. I turned my back on the Batman, letting my hate and grief over the Jokers actions blind me to everything I had truly known of him.
My mind flashed back to when I was a kid, I must have been six years old. My mother had been on a long mission, already missing Thanksgiving. Christmas was already around the corner, and I knew my mother wouldn't miss it...or maybe I just hoped. I pulled down the decorations from the top of the closet, trying to decorate our apartment as best as a six year old could. I wanted nothing more than to have a tree, but even more I wanted to have a present for her under that tree for when she came home.
Though I was six years old, I could still feel his eyes on me. Somehow I have always been able to feel his eyes on me, maybe it was the connection of the bond between a father and son. I don't know if that`s the real reason, and since I'd never known the fact that he was my father I'd really never given it much thought.
As I always did, I pretended not to know he was there watching me through the window. Though a part of me always loved the feeling of him being there, where I could pretend he cared about me as if I was truly that important to him, that I mattered to him...mattered to someone.
He watched as I used what little decorations we owned, transforming the living room into the festive holiday spirit my lonely heart truly didn't feel. When I was done, I looked around the room pleased with what I had done. Though something was missing, something important.
A Christmas tree.
I walked over to the window, staring out into the night. I searched till I saw what I was looking for, across the street to the apartment building, through the window directly across from mine. There in the window a family of four happily decorated their large Christmas tree, a father lifted up the smallest boy, who was holding a large star, to the top of the tree. The boy set the star on the top of the tree, clapping his hand when he finally got it to stay atop. The father pulled him down into his chest, hugging him tightly as he spun him around. The lights suddenly went off in the window, and just as I was about to turn away, the Christmas tree lit up with bright lit colors of blue, red, yellow, and green. I could see the two children happily dancing up and down, excited as what they had accomplished. Before I realized what was happening, a tear slid slowly down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away, as I turned from the window. Remembering he was still out there, watching me as he had often did when my mother was gone.
Suddenly wanting nothing more than to go to bed, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and change into my pajamas. I went to my bed, kneeling beside it folding my hands together. I prayed for my mother to return home safely, before hoping into bed. I looked out the window, knowing he was still out there. Wondering if he was cold, as the snow began to fall.
"Thank you for watching over me, though I don't know why you do it, thank you. I know you can't hear me, but I want you to know I pray for you to always be safe too. If I did have a Christmas tree, I want you to know I would have a present for you as well as my mother. Goodnight Batman, please keep my mother safe." I said, though I was sure he couldn't hear me.
I woke up the next day, brushed my teeth and changed my clothes. I walked into the living room, heading towards the kitchen to make breakfast, when I stopped dead in my tracks. There in the corner of the room sat the largest Christmas tree I had ever seen in my life, decorated with ornaments and lights wrapped around, filled with so many presents underneath. I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked at the tree from bottom to top, that's when I noticed that there was nothing sitting on top of the tree.
I could sense that he was out there watching me, and I wanted nothing more than to hug him for the greatest gift he could have ever given me.
I saw a box sitting on the couch, a note sitting atop it. Opening the box first, curiosity getting the best of me, was a shinny gold star. I stared at it in awe, holding it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. I gently set it back in the box, before picking up the note to read it.
Tristan,
Save the star for when your mother gets home, and together you can put the Star atop the tree. Have a Merry Christmas.
Santa...
I ran to the window, knowing he was still out there, knowing it was him who had down this. I knew there was no Santa, my mother had told me so.
I opened the window, and shouted out into the direction I felt him in.
"Thank you Batman, thank you so much...You are the bestest man that ever lived." I beamed.
He didn't reply back, but I knew he heard me.
It was the best Christmas my mother and I ever had, and all because of him.
How could I have forgotten all that he had done for me, all the nights he had checked on me. He had always been apart of my life, watching over me like a guardian angel. Though he didn't even know he was my father, he still watched over me, as if I mattered to him.
It was then that I remembered wishing as a child that he was my Father, praying to the Gods to make it so.
How could I have forgotten?
Then I remembered what I did when I found out he was my father, I instantly flinched, causing pain to run through my body from the chains that held my arms up behind my back as I hung there.
The Gods granted me my wish, Batman was truly my father, and what did I do? I beat him for it, I beat him while he laid there allowing me to hit him and not doing anything to stop me or strike me back.
I hated myself more in that moment, than I have ever hated myself before.
I shook my head, causing the pain to ripple through me. Only this time I welcomed the pain, relished in it, because this time I deserved it.
All this time he had been so good to me, never knowing I was his flesh and blood. How did I repay him time and time again, I spat in his face.
The door opened, pulling me out of my private thoughts. Reminding me where I was, and what was happening to me.
"So you've finally woke up. I feared my men had gone to far in their raping of you, that surely this time you would die. Oh, well, maybe another time." Bane said, walking slowly around me.
He loved doing this, having this much power over me, causing me to flinch not knowing where he would strike or when.
"It seems I have run out of time with you boy, your father and his friends have gotten dangerously close to finding you." he began.
The corners of my mouth twitched up slightly, though it hurt from the cuts that ran from the sides of my mouth. But there was no mistaking the light in my eyes, my father and his friends were close. They hadn't given up on me, all this time, they hadn't given up on me. After how I treated him, after taking out all my anger on him, he never gave up on finding me.
I'm such a fool.
In that moment I made a solemn promise, I would never hurt him again.
What was I thinking, he said he was close, not that he was here. They already knew he was close, and this Master of theirs wanted me. By the time they found this place, I wouldn't even be here. They were ten steps ahead of the Worlds Greatest Detective, how could that be possible?
"Don't cry boy, I know you'll miss me but remember, I've marked you so you'll never forget me. I will forever be branded on your body, and you will forever be haunted with memories of me. Both in your waking hours, and while your screaming my name in your nightmares." he said before stopping in front of me and backhanding me so hard I was sure he broke some teeth. My blood poured out the sides of my mouth, I struggled to breath since I could no longer use my nose to do so.
I fought hard to reign in my terror, as I began choking on the blood in my mouth.
"Don't worry boy, I still have a few more hours with you before they take you away. Trust me when I say, I've saved the best torture for last. I want to hear you screaming louder than you have ever screamed before, louder than even you thought possible. You did your father proud, protecting the identities of the Bat-family. But I'm going to do things to you right now, things that will make sure you wake up in cold sweats screaming in fear. The Batman causes nightmares in others, and I plan on ending our time together giving you nightmares the likes of which the world has never seen. One last chance, tell me their identities and I will set you free. Don't, and I'll make sure to give you nightmares the stuff of which legends are made of." he said grabbing my chin, and forcing me to look at him.
I glared at him with every ounce of hate inside me, spitting blood into his face, wishing his mask wasn't blocking his skin.
"You stupid, pathetic fool. Are you so stupid that you don't understand English? How many times do I have to tell you? I DON'T KNOW WHO HE REALLY IS, AND EVEN IF I DID I WOULD NEVER HAVE TOLD YOU ANYWAY." I screamed, mustering as much venom in my voice that I possibly could.
The rage I invoked took me by surprise. He pushed a button on his left wrist, that suddenly turned his already huge muscles into a beastly size. He roared in anger, and he began a beating the likes of which he had never before.
With his venomous rage, he began wailing on me with superhuman strength. The pain took me to new levels I never thought possible, the ache of his hits shot straight through to my very bones. I heard a loud crack, before feeling the pain of my shoulders being dislocated from my body.
I screamed in utter agony, as the pain ripped through my body threatening to consume me, making me truly wish for death to take me.
Mustering the last shred of strength inside me, knowing it would be the last thing I would ever do.
"Do your worst to me, but remember this. Batman is vengeance, and no matter what you do to me he will hunt you down to the very doors of hell, and deliver to you tenfold what you've done to me. There will be no where for you to hide, no where for you to run, he will find you and he will kill you." I said, before I began laughing the laugh of a man truly gone insane.
I wanted him to kill me, I wanted to enrage him to the point where he ended this never-ending nightmare. If this is what Bane did to me while he had me, I didn't want to find out what his Master had in store for me.
Bane bellowed in rage, before he attacked me anew.
With every hit, I willed myself to die.
Let this nightmare end.
-Outside the Hidden Location-
"It's lead lined, I can't see through." Superman said.
"Then we've finally found him, this must be the place." WW said.
"Then this is it, it's past time we get my son back." I said adamantly.
"Through thick and thin till the bitter end, the three of us are forever tied." we said in unison.
Throwing a Bat-bomb, It hit the front door before exploding inward. The three of us rushed forward wasting no time, as we hoped we had the element of surprise.
We encountered no one, not a single henchmen came at us. No one, nothing.
Tristan!
"Superman circle around that way, Wonder Woman you the other, as I go straight ahead. We will meet on the other side.
They nodded before flying off, as I made my way straight through the front doors ahead of me.
Searching through each room it was easy to tell that we arrived to late, hours maybe.
I have failed you Tristan.
My hopes dashed, my insides being torn apart as I made my way to the rendezvous point.
Diana and Clark walked over to me, looking as dejected as I felt. Our heads bowed down, we stood silent for a moment.
"They've only left recently, they've left nothing behind." I said with a growl.
"There is something you have to see, something..."Diana stopped not being able to find the words to finish. My heart caught in my throat, please don't be Tristan's body was all I could think.
"Follow me." she said.
The tension in the air was tangible, no one speaking as we followed behind her.
She stopped in front of double doors, pausing to turn around and stare into my eyes. The pain in that look sent chills up and down my spine. I gave her a nod and she slowly opened the door.
I paused before entering, mustering the courage at what I might find. The first thing to hit me was a stench so foul, I had to stop myself from gagging. It looked to be a torture chamber, there was blood splattered around the room. In the center of the room hung shackles, with a pool of blood on the ground beneath it. The stench of the room was so foul, it caused my blood to run cold. Urine, fetus, sweat, blood, attacked my nostrils. So much so I could only wonder what it was doing to Clark's nose, but he didn't say a word. Instead he stood there with a look on his face the likes of which I had never seen, one that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Woe to those that did this to my Son, for hell hath no furry as a Kryptonian filled with rage, or a father's bond with his son. There will be hell to pay, and this time nothing will hold either of us back from the pain we plan to inflict on the bastards who did this.
There were tables of torture equipment all around the room, blood covering everything. I growled a sound that came from the very depths of my soul, knowing without a doubt what took place in this room.
Reaching into my utility belt, I kneeled to the ground taking a blood sample and running my Bat-DNA device, knowing the answer before the seconds ticked by to show me that it truly was Tristan's blood.
"There is so much blood, how could they have done this to him? How!?" Clark finally shouted, bringing me out of my morbid thoughts of what I was going to do when I found the ones responsible.
"Guys, look over here!" Diana said, with a nervousness in her voice I had never heard before.
There at the back of the room sat a TV with a DVD player. I froze, not being able to move, fearing what I was going to find. I willed myself to move, but my feet wouldn't listen to the commands of my brain. Diana looked from Clark to me, before taking the steps to turn on the TV and play the DVD. Always a source of Amazon Strength...she hit play.
"Batman, ha, ha, ha...the Worlds Greatest Detective, my ass. I used to have respect for you, for the way you could find a needle in a hay stack. You truly must not care for your own flesh and blood, since you were willing to leave him here so long. I wonder, if it had been one of your Bat-Brats, would you have left them here so long? Don't worry, I'll remind your son of all the times you've saved those bat-brats, but how you always fail him. No matter, you've proved yourself a useless father, with no regard for your own flesh and blood.
It's to bad you have no care for him, because he certainly must love you. There was nothing I didn't do to him, nothing my men didn't do to him, and I know you know what an expert I am in Torture. Yet, with the worst being done to him, he never revealed your name, or the names of your Bat-family.
Here's a quick compilation of what took place over the past couple of months, just some of the more inventive tortures that took place, for a son you had no use for." he began.
"BANE!!!!!!!" I shouted, losing all sense of control.
The video began, showing what must have been more of the violent moments of the tortures Bane and his men inflicted on Tristan. My fists tighten, as I watched in horror at what they did to him. His blood curdling screams broke my heart in a way I never knew possible, breaking my heart in a way I never felt before when it came to the most important people in my life. He started from when he first captured Tristan, his body still unmarked. Then frame by frame it moved to more violent tortures, to the rape his men committed again and again, one man after the other, to using larger different weapons being rammed up his anus cavity. Scene after scene played on, taking his perfectly shaped body, his unmarked perfection, to the burns, marks, and cuts that now marred his body. They burned his nipples, cock and balls, using electrodes. The joy in which they took making him suffer in ways even I could not have ever thought possible, even with all my training in the art of torture with the League of Assassins, as well as what I had taught myself.
Tristan's perfectly sculpted face, was brutally sliced in ways that would destroy the beautiful boy looks he once had. But nothing could be worse than the look in Tristan's eyes, when Bane held a mirror in front of him, proudly showing him what he had done to his face, as if he sculpted him into horrific perfection, like a plastic surgeon would proudly show his patient after he removed the bandage. Revealing the name BANE carved painfully into the left side of Tristan's face, made my blood run cold, causing the sight of it to take me to my knees. There would be hell to pay, Bane would feel what he did to Tristan tenfold, and I would be the one to deliver his punishment.
Again and again they demanded the true identity of his father, and the rest of the Bat-Family. Although Tristan never had a chance to find out, he spat in their faces telling them he would never tell them. That they might as well just kill him, for he would never reveal the true identities of heroes, to hideously vile villains.
I watched in horror as Tristan's once muscular body, withered into nothingness. They fed him nothing more than vomit, urine, and even took turn shitting down his throat, sometimes even taking his own and forcing it down his throat and laughing at him the whole time. I saw the look in Tristan's eyes, in the beginning it was one of rage and anger. I knew that look, it was something I was taught to use a long time ago, to bring the anger forth to help sustain you through the torture. Using that anger was a way to keep him from giving them the satisfaction of knowing just how much he hurt, just how much pain they were truly causing him. But the longer they had him, the more the anger burned itself through, causing him to weaken, to finally be broken, to where the light that once shinned brightly in his eyes now showed nothing more then a darkness of one who could no longer live in his personal hell, one who lost the battle his mind was fighting.
He was broken.
The light extinguished from his eyes, there was nothing there but a longing for death.
But that told me something important about him, that no matter how much he swore he hated me, how much he would have given anything for them to stop, he truly never would have given up the identity of any of us.
That told me there was a chance for us, as father and son, but I had to find him first.
Finally, in a fit of rage Bane gave Tristan one last chance to tell him what he wanted to know. When Tristan hadn't told him, Bane used his Venom to enhance his super strength to give Tristan a beating the likes of which brought a wrath inside me to life. A wrath that one day I would use to show Bane the true meaning of fatherhood.
But there on the screen a most peculiar thing happened, Tristan began to smile. A smile that brought a light to his eyes, as if remembering something pleasant. Whatever it was, it awoke something inside him helping him to regain an inner strength he so desperately needed.
Bane had asked him a question, but with Tristan's new found strength he spat at Bane and again wouldn't give him the answers Bane so desperately wanted to know.
Bane unleashed his fury on Tristan, yet Tristan laughed. Laughed the laugh of one who hung on the cusp of insanity. With each hit, the light in Tristan's eyes grew, causing me to wonder what was the memory that passed through his mind, gaining him such new resolve. At the same time, relief washed over me that whatever the memory was, it helped to reawaken the fire within him, reawaken his will to live.
The more Tristan began to laugh, the angrier Bane became, the angrier Bane became the more violent he beat him.
Then Tristan began repeating, `The Batman is going to kill you, he's going to bathe in your blood. The Batman is going to kill you, he's going to bathe in your blood.'
I swear on everything that I am Tristan, I will make them pay for what they have done to you, I vowed.
When Bane finally finished, leaving Tristan a bloody mess, his body broken and hanging limply from the chains that held his wrists behind his back.
Bane turned back to the camera as he composed himself, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Well Batman, you've taught your bastard son well, taught him to take a beating like I've never seen someone so young take. Hell you probably even taught him to take it up the ass like a good little whore, that's probably why you keep all those boys around you all time." he laughed. The others in the room laughed with him, but I would have the last laugh as I memorized each one of their faces. One day I would hunt each one of them down, and make them beg for death before I'm through.
"It would seem my time is up with you whore of a son, but I'm pretty sure I've left quite an impression on him, one he will never be likely to forget. It would seem with all of your many talents, saving your son is not one of them. Know this though Batman, for everything you have done to me, to the others like me, your son has paid for with his flesh and blood. I would have sold my soul to the devil himself if it had been my own child, before I would have ever let a single hair on his head be harmed. You disgust me, your nothing but a spineless rodent striking fear into the hearts of every criminal. Now I'm the one that has struck fear into the heart of your very own son, but what has been done to him in the past few months will be a cake walk to what comes next.
As you watch this DVD, your son is already being moved to a new location. Being moved into the hands of another one of you many enemies, an enemy that gives even me chills for what he has in store for the whore.
Let this be a lesson to you Batman, your world has no place for a child, no place for a loved one. This is the price you pay for being a Superhero, the price you pay for having loved ones. They are a weakness that one cannot afford to have in our line of work, as you can see by what was done to your whore son." Bane said pointing at a limp hanging Tristan.
"I'll be waiting for you Batman, waiting for you to come to me. I will be ready for you, and this time I will break you, the way I broke your son. Just to make sure you do come for me Batman, come so I can pay you in full for all you have done to me. One last thing Batman, one last thing to ensure you come to me, to ensure you come to reap what you have sown. This will be the sirens song, that will bring music to my ears, but to you, to you it will bring the burning need to come to me. Listen close Batman, for this sirens song is meant to be the final nail in your coffin that will BRING YOU TO ME!!!" he growled the last words to emphasize his point.
Snapping his fingers, two of his Hench men rushed to either side of an unconscious Tristan. Pulling down on two ropes hanging, a clear liquid poured down on top of Tristan. The steaming water must have been filled with salt, for as it rained down upon his body, Tristan head snapped awake, and a scream that would forever haunt me, rang through the air. Tristan's scream seemed to never end, as they continued to pour the salt water down on his opened wounds. The agony of pain on his face, the hoarseness of his voice as he screamed, the laughter of Bane and his Hench men took its toll on me and brought me to my knees.
A scream from the very depths of my soul, a scream born of the rage of what had been done to my son...done to my son because of who I am, came out in a torrent that seemed to shake the very ground beneath us.
"RAWWWEEERRRRR!!!!! TRISSSSTTTTTAAAAANNNN!!!!"
Home of Ra's Al Ghul
I woke up to the sound of a man shouting, which instantly brought my fear to rise as the last time I awoke to shouting, Bane had given me a beating I would never forget. Hell, my body still ached with the pain of it.
I didn't open my eyes, as I listened to the unknown voice.
"I told you I didn't trust that disgusting parasite, I told you. Look at what he's done to the boy! When I get my hands on him..." he shouted, then must have turn a table over the sound of glass breaking, as well as metal clanging.
"Master, forgive me. I had no idea he would brutalize the boy in such a...grotesque way." the other man struggled for words.
"On it's own, humanity is a destructive force. It needs a master, and I shall be it master. Look at him, look at what they've done to him. Grotesque you say, grotesque does not begin to cover what they have done to him. Bane is just one of the billions of parasites that destroy they beauty of this world. These vile men that have committed such heinous acts against a defenseless boy, they are the reason I have vowed to purify this planet and restore it to it's former beauty. I must save the boy, he is vital to everything I have planned. Dusan, we must take him to the Lazarus pit." the master spoke urgently.
"Master? The Lazarus pit, are you sure? I mean, you have no idea the effect it will have on the boy. Nor do we know the side effects that the pits will have on him, can you truly afford to risk it? He is vital to all your plans, if the pit doesn't work on him...what if...what if what happened to my mother, to Sora, happens to him?" he asked hesitantly.
"I was young and ignorant of the Lazarus pits back then, I didn't know a fraction of what I know now. We must heal the boy, restore him to what he once was. If he is to be of any use to my ultimate plans, I have no choice. Either way, if I do nothing he will die. At least with the Lazarus pits we stand a chance at saving him, I owe the detective at least this chance of saving his son. It's the least I could do, since I stupidly allowed Bane to do this to him." his voice filled with such respect for Batman, and such regret for what Bane had done to me.
I am so confused. Is the Master friend, or foe?
What is a Lazarus pit, and do I really want them putting me in it? Especially if something horrible had happened to this Sora woman, would I really want to take that chance. Death would be a sweet release from the pain of this life, from the loneliness of my existence. I tried to talk, but all that came out was a groan. I began coughing as I struggled to speak, my throat was raw, and I tasted blood as I struggled to calm myself from coughing lest I choke from all the blood.
I had forgotten to keep my eyes closed through all the coughing, but my new captures must have been watching, because it did not go unnoticed by them.
"Dusan, bring some water quickly." the master commanded.
The Master, dressed in a green like Arabian suit, with a green cape tied at his neck came walking towards me. He had a head of brown hair, with white hair above each of his ears, his hair hung to the nape of his neck, giving him the appearance of a professor. His piercing blue eyes that held a hawk like glare, held nothing but concern for my well being. Which only confused me more, not knowing what to think.
He gently put his hand behind my head, slowly raising it as he brought the cup of water Dusan had brought him, to my lips. It was only then that I realized I was laying on a bed, with no chains or anything else to let me think I was a prisoner here. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking, as they could easily just not think I was a threat since they believed me to be on my death bed. For that matter, I knew I was on my death bed. I couldn't move my arms to scratch my nose if the need had arose, and my body didn't seem to work, as the pain I was in threatened to pull me into the dark abyss that called to me.
"Tristan, take small sips. You need to drink, but you must do so slowly." his voice was a soft, caring command.
I had flinched at his touch, but his touch was so tender, that for a second I almost forgot what had been done to me.
Almost.
"It's alright Tristan, you are safe here. I promise you, no harm will come to you while you are under my protection. Now please, drink slowly of this special water that will help easy the pain I know you to be in." his voice soft, cooing me into giving into his command.
Though my eyes never left his, he gently raised my head an poured the cup of water ever so slowly, telling me to 'sip slowly'...I chocked hard at first, spitting up blood. He waited patiently, before making me sip some more. It became easier, but the burning of my throat threatened to render me unconscious again. I fought it with a resolve I never knew I had, but knew I needed to remain conscious and find out who this Master was, and what he wanted with me. What his plan was that I was so important to him, to be able to achieve his goals.
After he finished helping me to take the final sip, he gently laid my head back down on the pillow.
"W-who are you?" my voice a hoarse whisper.
"Ra's Al Ghul, the head of the League of Assassins. An underground Society, dedicated to restoring the earth to perfect environmental balance. Bringing the beauty back to the world, that has been destroyed by the evils of man." he said passionately.
"Why do you need me, what's so important about me?" I forced myself to ask.
"That is not important right now, in time I will explain everything. For now we must save your life, and the only way to do that is the Lazarus pits. It will heal your body, and restore your life to you." he answered, his eyes not betraying whether he was lying or not.
"Just take me home, please. My father will be able to heal me, please." I begged of him.
"That Bastard Bane brought you to the cusp of death, if I don't do this you will die. I can't let you die Tristan, I can't." he answered me.
"You won't tell me why, and you don't even know what will happen to me if you put me in the pit. Like Dusan said, what happened to Sora, what if the same thing happens to me? You have no idea if it will work anyway, please if I'm going to die there is something I have to tell Batman. Please, I'm begging you, please." tears streamed down my face, shocking me that I was actually having tears for a father that I didn't know. I didn't know his name, his face, his hair color, the only thing I knew was he was the Batman. Yet I couldn't reign in the tears, the confusion, the pain, the loss, the understanding.
I longed for death, but more than that, more than anything, if I was going to die, I just wanted to tell him...my...fa...my father, that I remembered...that, ugh, so many things. I just wanted to let it all out, ramble like a bloody fool...
My mother died and I never got to say anything to her, never had the chance to tell her everything my heart felt for her. Everything I thought of her, but most of all I wanted to tell her how proud I was of her, and that she should never feel guilty for the way my life was. It was mine, and she made me the man I am today. That no matter what, there was always one thing I knew with 100% sureness, and that was that she LOVED me more than anything.
I needed to let the Batman know, know the things I remembered, know that though no one thought he was capable of love, that I knew better. That me, a kid he didn't even know was his own, he had showed love to. He had always been there for me, more so than most kids who lived with their parents.
If I were to die, I wanted him to know. I needed him to know.
"Please..." I begged, the tears streaming all the harder.
"Tristan, I am truly sorry I can not do that. I must save you before it's to late, we only have one chance and that is the pit." he said looking away, sadness filling his eyes.
"Will you at least let me talk to him, let me say the things I need to say...You truly don't know what will happen to me, and if I am to die...I'd like to die knowing I said to him all that is in my heart." my voice cracking as I begged.
"Dusan, give me the black box on my desk. Tristan, I will do this for you so that you may see that I am not your enemy. This will be an opportunity for each of us to gain the others trust, for both you and I to truly begin a journey together that requires trust. I know I'm asking much of you, after all you have been through trust is the last thing you will give easily to anyone." his eyes bore into mine as he spoke.
"Ha, trust. Such a simple word, yet such an extraordinary act. I will never be able to trust another, never. Bane, The Joker, those men, all that they did to me killed a part of me that I know shall never return. They are not the only ones though, my own mother, as much as I love her, lied to me, lied to my father. She had her reasons, everyone thinks they have a good reason for the lies they tell the ones they love. They forget the pain they cause through the lies, as well as their actions. What is it I must do to gain your trust, not that I truly believe you are capable of trusting anyone." I said, knowing a man like this could never trust anyone enough to tell them everything. We all hold secrets that we never share with others, some secrets we don't even talk with ourselves about.
"I will call the good Detective, and allow you to say your piece to him. But you must not say who you are with, or about the Lazarus pits, any of it. This is a test, the most important test, your life and the lives of everyone depends on what you do next." he explained.
Test. Another Madman stood before me, another Madman had me right where he wanted me. Maybe there was truly something wrong with me, something so wrong that it attracted every Madman within a one mile radius. I could feel my life slipping away, slipping away with every shallow breath I took. What would be the point in telling Batman where I was, or who I was with? Why would I want to endanger his life, or the lives of his friends when I death would have me at any moment.
No, I would not tell him anything. I wouldn't want to waste my final breaths telling him any of it, especially when I something more important to tell him.
I wasted my chances with my Mother before she died, I would not waste this last moment with him.
He deserved better, he deserved so much more. So many memories had come to me after the first one came, it was as if a door had opened and the memories of him in my life came to the forefront. All the clothes that he brought to my room in the middle of the night, thinking me asleep. I don't know how I always knew he was there, but somehow I always felt his presence.
The books I would find on my desk, books that he must have known were my passion. Since I can remember, I had always had a book with me, reading was my only escape from the loneliness of my existence. How he knew which books I loved, which books I had wanted, I never knew. But he had always left them there for me, always.
I remembered the first time I went to shave, doing nothing more than cutting up my face. The next day I awoke to find a computer on my desk, it had been all set up with a you tube video on how to shave ready for me to hit play.
I never said anything to my mother, nor did I ask her about it, not wanting her to feel bad about the way in which we lived. Being a Superhero didn't come with a paycheck, so we always just managed to make it through.
I always knew it was him, leaving gifts that would help in my home schooling, or toys, or games. He never went overboard, probably feeling he didn't want to make my mother feel bad either. I never showed her the things he gave me, and was always careful to keep them hidden and safe in my room.
I always wondered why he did the things he did, why he choose to be there for me. Now, now I burned with a need to know. Was it because he felt the connection between us, long before he knew he was my father. Or was it something else all together?
Was this what people meant when they say `your life passes before your eyes, when your about to die'? I didn't know, all I knew was I had lost so much in my life, a mother, both while she was alive and when she was murdered. In the pain of her death I lost the memories of all that he had done for me, and though it was only a short time, I could have spent the time with him after my mother was killed. I could die now knowing how he felt about me, knowing how I felt about him. I could have shared those precious moments talking to him, instead I beat him up, I spat on him, and said any and all angry things I could think of at him.
It was to late for all these thoughts, the what if's, the could have been, the what could be.
"You have my word, I will not say anything to him of who I'm with, or where I am. Not that I have any idea where we are, or who you really are. I don't really care, all I care about is the chance to do something with my father that I wasn't able to do with my mother. Please, if you really are as humane as you claim to be, give me this one wish." I begged.
"You may not know your father, but you truly are his son. You are not going to die Tristan, your destiny is far to great for that. I will allow you this call, give you this chance to prove yourself. I will give you this chance to right the wrong you truly believe yourself to have committed against your mother, and do the right thing with your father. For such a young man, you are truly wise beyond your years. I look forward to the journey we shall soon embark on." he smiled.
A chill ran down to the marrow of my bones, for what he had in store for me.
Ever the Fates punching bag, I knew if I lived and Batman didn't find me, I would be heading for a whole new world of pain.
Watchtower
Sitting at the round table in our private office, Clark, Diana, Chloe and I had watched the DVD repeatedly. Finally I slammed my hands down on the table, startling everyone.
"I'm sorry, but this is getting us no where. I can't stomach watching this again, I can't stand seeing what they've done to him. I'm going to kill each and everyone of them, and I dare anyone to try and stop me." I spat angrily.
Chloe looked up from typing, her eyes filled with the pain she knew I felt in my heart. How did I, the Batman, Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne, ever get so lucky to find a woman the likes of Chloe Sullivan? She's changed so many things about me, broke through the Walls that had been erected around my heart since the day my parents were murdered before my eyes.
Chloe was Clarks best friend since they were kids, helping him to grow up into Superman he's known as today. Sidekick she is most certainly not, a Superhero in her own right.
In their youth, Brainiac had done something to Chloe causing her brain to work on a Superhuman level surpassed by none. Being infected herself with Kryptonite, Chloe had certain abilities that could bring death to her when used.
It was early on when Clark, Diana and I had become the best friends we are today that I had met Chloe. Clark had kept her hidden when from the rest of the world, fearing for her life after Checkmate had tried to kidnap her. It was out of this desperation to save her, that he finally let Diana and I help him to save her.
I was the first to reach her, and when our eyes locked, something happened to me that had never happened before. I was completely captivated by the intelligence in her eyes, completely taken aback at the feeling of being punched in the gut and the wind being knocked out of me at seeing her. I felt as if I had always known her, as if she had always been apart of me.
Taking the rag out that covered her mouth from allowing her to speak, she looked up into my eyes and said 'who are you?'.
I answered her, even though I had no intention of doing so, and said 'Bruce, my name is Bruce.' The look of shock on her face, would have been mirrored on my own had I not been wearing my cowl.
I began to untie her, not understanding why I had just told her my true name, but knowing there wasn't anything she could ask of me that I wouldn't have answered.
`Um, Batman, don't forget this room is probably being recorded. Let's stick to code names for now.' she had teased.
`Why did you ask who I was, if you had already knew the answer?' I asked annoyed with myself for slipping, and with her for...for making me.
`I've been kidnapped, tortured, and my mind is playing tricks of me. I asked cause I wasn't sure if this was an hallucination. I didn't think you'd answer, since your suppose to be a man of limited verbal skills.' she teased, as she stood up stretching her sore body.
Her teasing made my stomach do back flips, while the way she licked her lips caused my cock to lengthen painfully. If not for the cowl covering my face, she would have seen my face redden.
`Let's get out of here, before we have unexpected company.' she said, as she began leading us out.
I quickly moved in front of her, wanting nothing more than to protect her. At least that's what I was telling myself, since the shape of her body was causing my temperature to rise. What was wrong with me? We were in enemy territory, and I was acting like a love sick school boy.
As we were making our way to the rendezvous point, after telling Clark and Diana know I had found her, we were suddenly attacked.
For the first time ever, fear gripped me that she would be hurt, causing me to do everything to protect her. She was having none of it, as she began to fight them like the pro I underestimated her to be.
So transfixed on her fighting abilities, I was attacked from behind. Taken by surprise, the guard got the jump on me and stabbed me on my left side. I grunted with the shock of it, before flipping him over and knocking him out.
`Batman!' she screamed, seeing me get stabbed. The look of horror on her face, made my heart skip a beat that she cared what happened to me.
Throwing down some smoke pellets, I grabbed her around the waist jumping out the window with her, shooting a grappling hook, I swung us across the night sky to the building opposite us. Landing on the roof, Superman and Wonder Woman joined us. I had tumbled down on the ground, grabbing at my side that was bleeding profusely.
She ran to my side, turning me over.
`Chloe, what are you doing?' Superman asked, having already known what she was about to do.
`Doing what I must. He was hurt saving me, I wont stand by and do nothing.' she said adamantly.
`Chloe, you could die, you know that. It's to dangerous.' Superman's voice was filled with concern for his best friend.
`That's a chance I'm willing to take, he's far more important to the world than I am.' she answered.
`No, Chloe, I don't know what your about to do...but...I don't want you to die.' my voice sounded like nothing more than a whine.
`Thank you, but nothing is going to stop me from saving you. Your destiny is to great, and...well...I could never live with myself if anything happened to you because you tried to save me.' she said, before putting her hand over my wound.
`Step back Superman, this can hurt you when I do this.' she said, though I didn't understand it at the time.
Suddenly she began to glow green, her eyes never leaving mine. That's when I felt it, she was taking the pain away and healing the wound. What I didn't know was she was taking the wound onto herself. When I was completely healed, the green glow around her disappeared. She collapsed to the ground next to me, her side bleeding on the ground around her.
`Superman, take her. GO!' I shouted, and he lifted her up flying her to a hospital.
Soon after that, we built the watchtower in space, based off the designs Chloe had designed, and I added to.
I avoided her like the plague, the guilt of her almost dying because of me scaring me away from her. Or maybe it was just the simple fact that I feared the power she had over me, the power she gained with just looking into my eyes the first time I saw her.
It was months later, after avoiding her all that time that we came face to face again.
I was answering a distress call from Clark, only to find Chloe on top a building. She had set up a table for two, candles lit all around the roof top.
`How dare you use a distress signal to trick me to coming to you, how dare you?' though I had tried to make my voice an angry growl, the fury had left the second I laid eyes on her in her beautiful satin blue dress making her eyes glow blue.
`You left me no choice, avoiding me since the first time we met. It's funny you know, you the great Batman who strikes fear into the heart of villains, is scared of little ole me. I wonder what the Joker would say to that, Batman.' she taunted.
`I'm not afraid of you, not in the least.' I said, forcing my voice not to betray the fear I truly felt.
`Then have a seat, and have dinner with me.' she smiled a smile that weekend my knees and made me forget to breath.
`Miss Sullivan, I don't have time for this. The streets of Gotham need the Batman.' I said, walking towards the ledge of the building.
`Superman, Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl have it all under control. So if you must leave, leave because you are a coward afraid of me.' she taunted.
I growled in frustration, because she was right, and because she had me the second I saw her. What is this power she has over me.
I returned to the table, and sat staring at her. Glad my face was covered, and she couldn't see me.
She uncovered our food, and poured us some drinks.
`A toast to taking chances, to letting the road lead us to where it would, good or bad, hard or easy. To finding out what this connection between us truly is, and what lays ahead for Bruce Wayne, and Chloe Sullivan.' she toasted, we clanked glasses before I realized she had called me by my full name.
`How do you know who I really am, Chloe?' though I had meant to sound angry, there was no hostility in my tone.
`I have a superhuman brain, that can do things even I have yet to fully understand. I know the identities of all masked heroes, but in all my years of keep Clarks secret, I will die before I ever betrayed anyone of you. It's why I'm wanted by Checkmate, it's why I've gone off the grid and can never return to the life that was once mine.' there was no sound of regret in her voice, which only made my respect for grow to levels I never thought possible.
`Why?' I asked.
`Why do you do what you do, or any crime fighter? The journey I was lucky enough to share, being apart of Clarks destiny led me to my very own. We all can be who we truly are, no more no less. This life is a calling, no matter the circumstances that led us here, it is a destiny, a calling so important, so special, so bigger than any one of us. This has been the greatest calling of my life, the greatest honor of my life to be apart of something so much bigger than anything anyone of us could have ever been called upon to do. Each of us lives with the tragedies that led us down the path that brought us to the fork in the road, for us to make the most important choice we will ever make in our lives. As different as the tragedies are for all of us, or how the calling came to each of us, then end result is what counts. When we came to that fork in the road, we made the hardest choices of our lives and choose the path that we knew would be filled with pain, suffering, sacrifice, we made the hardest choice we could ever make, giving up our own happiness, our own lives. To protect the innocent, and bring the criminals to justice. A thankless job, that is filled with a loneliness, a loss of an important part of who we had been, and the most selfless act possible, fighting for those that don't have a voice, fighting for those that are crying out with the need of a standard-bearer to bring hope to a world that needs heroes to show them the light in the darkness.
That's why I stood by Clark all our lives, and pushed him, and helped him to see the true path, the true destiny his birth parents had sent him here to fate for. The same way fate took your parents so young, leading you down a path to become the Worlds Greatest Detective, The Dark Knight, who instills fear into the hearts of criminals to save others from the pain you endured watching your parents murdered before you very eyes.' as he spoke, I hung on every word she said. Realizing that though I had seen the intelligence in her eyes, It palled to the intelligence of her mind.
We at ate, doing something I have never done before. Having a conversation where I spoke from the heart, not having to watch what I said, not having to hold back, but finding myself wanting to tell her everything and anything about myself, and wanting to know everything and all things about her.
When we finished eating, she stood up and held her hand out to me, where I gladly took it wanting nothing more than to be touching her.
`What are you doing...' I began to ask, but she put a finger to my lips to silence me.
She pulled my arms around her, and wrapped her arms around mine, and before I knew what was happening we were dancing to the soft music playing in the background.
She had been staring into my eyes, and I into hers. A smile on her face, as my heart pounded in my chest.
We laughed as I spun her, pulling her back into me. She leaned her head onto my chest, and we slow danced. I never wanted the moment to end, never wanted to release her from my arms. Before I knew what I was doing, I lifted her head up using a finger to her chin, and leaned in and began to kiss her.
The kiss took my breath away, it was filled with a passion that burned to the very core of my soul. That was the day she stole my heart, and has owned it ever since.
"Bruce, are you listening?" Clark asked, pulling me out of my memories.
"What, what did you say?" I asked.
"Look, at least me know that Bane had him. I'm following all of Bane's bank accounts, all his whereabouts from a couple months before the Joker did what he did to Tristan. I'm working on getting his cell phone numbers, trying to pinpoint any and everyone he's been in contact with. This is more than we had before, at least we have a starting point." Chloe tried to reassure me.
"In one of the frames, outside the room they held Tristan in, using my superhearing I heard them mention someone called the Master. Does that mean anything to you?" Clark asked.
The Master...How many villains called their leaders Master.
"Did they say anything about this Master?" I asked.
"No but the fear in their voices at the mention of the Master, far surpassed their fear of Bane. I'm sorry, that's all I could get." Clark said dejectedly.
"That's a start Clark, it might not seem like much now, but who knows what the one clue could lead to." I reassured him.
Just then a private phone kept in a drawer that only one of us could get to rang, cause the hairs on the nape of my neck to rise.
We all looked at each other, each of us most likely thinking the same thing.
"Answer it Bruce, no one has that number its has to be something important." Diana said.
Entering a code, a drawer open, revealing a black phone. I clicked the speaker phone so that we could all hear who it was, and what they were going to say.
"Who is this?" I growled.
"Detective, is that you?" Tristan asked.
Relief washed over all our faces, as we heard the voice that meant so much to us.
"Tristan! Tristan, is that really you?" my voice filled with excitement of hearing him.
"Yes father, it's me Tristan." his voice was weak, the sound of it hoarse.
"Tristan, where are you? Who has you? How are you calling me?" my words were rushed, not knowing how long he had to talk.
"I don't have much time to explain, but I have some things I must tell you. Things that you must hear, things that...that I have to say to you." he began.
He called me father...Father, I never thought I would hear those words from his lips. Oh, Tristan.
"You can tell me everything when I have you here in front of me, please Tristan. Help me to find you, given me something anything that will help me find you. Please Tristan, I just want to find you." my voice cracking.
"Ever the Detective, Batman. I wish I could help you, I wish...I wish so many things, but it will never be." he began to cry, breaking my heart.
"Tristan, what's going on? Why are you talking like that, like I'm never going to see you again?" I pleaded.
"Listen to me, my time is limited and there is so much I want to say to you, need to say to you. Please, just listen to me, it's all I'll ever ask of you." he sobbed.
"Alright Tristan, you've got my attention. I will listen, talk to me." I said, wishing I could hold him in my arms and tell him everything was going to be okay.
"I'm so sorry Father, I'm so sorry for every mean thing I ever said to you. I'm so sorry for hitting you, for letting my rage and anger blind me to the real you. If only I could go back...if only I had more time." his voice cracking.
My own heart breaking at his words, I wanted to tell I understood his rage, and that I was never mad at him. That he had nothing to be sorry for...that I loved him, but I promised I would listen.
"In the stupidity of my rage and anger, I forgot everything, I forgot my childhood, and everything you had ever done for me. You, Batman, had done the most amazing things for a boy you didn't even know what your own flesh and blood.
When Bane was torturing me, I remembered it all. It all came to me, like a tidal wave rushing towards the sand. That Christmas when I was six years old, how you made all my wishes come true. You gave my mother and I the greatest Christmas a boy could have ever dreamed of, down to the star to put on top of the most perfect Christmas tree. You heard my every desire, and you made it all a reality." he went on.
So that was the memory he was having when Bane was beating him, that was the memory that brought back the light to his eyes, the fire to survive.
"When I was young, I never thought I needed anyone. I was practically living on my own, my mother on one mission or another. I always that I was all by myself, and I wept in silence not wanting to be all by myself. Only wanting to be loved, to have someone love me, take care of me.
It was that Christmas I realized I wasn't alone, that I had never been alone, I had always had you. You had always been there for me, so much so that I prayed to the Gods that you would be my father. To make you my true, flesh and blood father. I got my wish, and I spit in your face. I beat you, embarrassed you, called you the meanest things I could think of. Sorry is just not enough of a word to tell you how my heart aches to take back everything I did to hurt you, to erase all that from your memories of me." he continued.
"Tristan, I..." I started.
"No, please don't. You promised you would listen, please just let me do this. I don't know if you know this, or even believe me in this, but I've always been able to sense when you were there. I always knew when you were watching, or when you were close. Maybe it's the bond of a father and son, I don't know. I don't care, I'm just so grateful that I was able to feel you close by.
You were always there, watching over me. Helping me, taking care of me without ever taking credit for it. Without ever making my mother feel less than, because you did what she could never do.
You've always been my father, you've always acted as my father without ever knowing you really were my father. And I can never thank you enough for that, never. You taught me to shave, ha, ha, ha, maybe not face to face, but what you did setting up that computer so that I could learn stopped me from hurting myself cutting up my face. It may seem silly to you, but it meant everything to me. Though I lived my life alone 99% of the time, I never felt alone because you were always there. (Cough, Cough)" he began coughing, his voice becoming weaker with every breath he took.
"I don't have much time, but I needed you to know that I remembered. I needed you to know I remembered it all, and that I am so grateful for everything you've ever done for me. You've always been my father, and more of a father than kids who actually live with their fathers.
(Crying hysterically) there is so much more I want to say to you, so many things I want to ask you, so much wasted time. Oh Father, I...Father, these three words, they are the hardest thing I've ever said, but I need you to hear them. I love you Father, please, please, say you love me to. Please let me hear them once, just once...please Father." he whaled, a cry from the depths of his soul.
"Oh Tristan, I love you Son...I've always loved you, and I always will. Since the first time I laid eyes on you, Tristan, I've loved you. I've always known that you could sense me, but I never knew how. I always wondered that myself, but I never cared, because...well because it was the best feeling I have ever experienced in my life. The way you knew I was there, it was as if we were connected, when I had spent my life never letting myself connect to anyone. I cherished that feeling so much, that I came to you night after night, just so I could feel it. But somehow it became more, I watched this child, this bravest of hearts, the strongest of souls. You became my light in the dark, the place I called home. Even though I knew you faced the night afraid and alone, I always knew you felt me there, and every second I lived I promised I would be there for you. I wanted you to feel safe, to sleep knowing you were being watched over. You gave me your love from afar, and I felt it with every fiber of my being. So I pledge to be your rock, willing to risk everything, even my life, just to keep you safe. Just to let you feel safe, to know that I would always be there, heart, mind, body and soul. Tristan, the hardest thing for me to say is those three words as well. After watching my parents being murdered right before my eyes, I thought I would never let anyone in again. I never wanted to feel that pain, never allow myself to be that vulnerable again.
But somehow you, this boy I only ever watched over from a distance, changed all that. Tristan, I love you, I've always loved you. You've always been a part of me, as I've always been a part of you. You are and shall always be my Son." I couldn't help the tears that streamed down my face, nor could the rest of us, as Chloe held my hand tight. We were all in a world of pain, pain born of a world so tuff. I could face a world so bitter cold, but a world without him...I don't know.
"Thank you Father, that's all I've ever wanted to hear. That's all I've ever wanted to know, that my father loved me...that you loved me...because you were always my father to me. I could face a world so bitter and cold, but a world without you...I don't know.
Father I have to go, my time is running out...Bane is going to come after you, he wants you like he's wanted no other. He's not going to come straight for you, he's going to go through the ones you love first. He's going to strike you were it will hurt most, he's going after Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl...and when he's done with them he's coming after you. Please stay away from him, please. Your anger over what he's done to me...your anger will blind you, and he will win. Please, as my final wish to you, don't go after him.
Do me a favor please, tell Diana I love her, that I am so honored to call her family. Thank her for everything she did for me, for all that she taught me, because I would never have been able to endure the torture had she not. Amazon, that I am proud to be an Amazon.
Please, tell Kal...tell him there are no words, for he knows how we healed each other. That I was so honored to call him friend, and to never give up what we started, he has his whole life ahead of him and he will find what it is he is looking for...and that I wish...I wish things could have been different...he will understand.
Kiss Chloe for me, and tell her I approve whole heartedly. She is the Ying to your Yang, she is your north star, take care of her father for there will never be another.
Thank you Father, for everything you've ever done for me. Thank you for always being my guardian angel, for never letting me feel alone. In all of my darkest hours, you Detective have always been there taking care of me.
I love you, I love all of you...
Goodbye Detective...goodbye Father..." he cried, before I heard a release of his final breath.
"Tristan! No, oh God no, Tristan! Tristan! Talk to me, Tristan!" I shouted again and again.
"Chloe, please tell me you were able to trace that call?" Clark begged.
"I...I'm sorry. Who's ever phone that was, there was no way to trace it. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." she cried, turning to me and wrapping her arms around me.
"Oh God, Tristan...Tristan no...no...no..." I feel to my knees, Chloe falling along with me holding me tight.
Tristan couldn't be dead...He couldn't be. Tristan.
Tristan...
End Chapter-
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