Batfam 11 - Before Your Eyes
It felt like he was falling for a very long time through a dark tunnel. A feeling of peace washed over his mind while taking a breath in. Â Calm energy washed over his body spreading to every nerve before settling into quiet darkness again. He could not tell how long he had been here or how he had gotten here in the first place.
Every so often part of his life was flashing before his eyes in an instant experiencing them once again fully. It almost felt like he was umping into different chapters in which he had lived. It all began with that first memory of him witnessing superman save a woman from being hit by a car in person. It was so surreal like watching a god come down and destroy his reality.
The woman that had been saved picking him up in her arms tears streaming down her face as the man of steel walked to them placing a hand on her shoulder âare you alright?â He said while looking at both of them. At the time he had not understood the gravity of things, but he sat there eyes wide.
âWho's this?â Superman asked with a smile on his face and looking at young Seph. He reached out placing a small hand to the symbol on the manâs chest. âHe is my son his name is Drake. Say hi Drakeâ The little boy turned to his mother with his eyebrows furrowed glaring at his mom âOh Iâm sorry his name is Seph the guardian of our homeâ She corrected with a chuckle. His eyes focused on her smile for a moment as if he had forgotten the memory of it and it took most of his attention to remember it.
âHe has such an imagination that he thinks of himself as the Superman of our homeâ She added which made Superman smile down to the boy. âoh really? Then I can count on Seph to take care of his mom?â He said to him. The little one looked up to the man of steel taking in the image of him for a moment wide-eyed and giving him a determined nod as he then wrapped his arms around his mom and hugged her . âgood then she is in good handsâ He said taking a step back giving them both a nod and taking off to the sky.
There was a large boom as Superman broke the sound barrier and his memory started to fade back into the darkness. The memory of his mother fading along with it, but her smile burned into his mind. How could he had forgotten that smile which brought so much light into his life. Something was missing from his memories or was this just his imagination getting the best of him?
He opened his mouth, but no sound would come out. So far there were a lot of good memories that passed, but some very vague that if written would be fragmented and out of order. Once again it felt like he was falling for a long time. The desolation taking hold of his heart making his chest feel heavy as if someone had placed great weight upon it.
He once again took a long deep breath letting cool energy spread throughout his body. Â The haziness in his mind slowly clearing and he could hear a distant voice calling to him. âDrakeâ The name echoed over and over as his vision started to clear once again to the image of a blue sky and a yellow playground with other children running about, but the focus was on a little girl on the ground clutching her stuffed bear. She had a red burn mark just under her left cheek, which ran down to her shoulder. Scars from an incident long again that had marked her.
Seph stood in front of her with his fists clenched and his eyes furrowed and determined. He wore a blue shirt with Supermanâs shield on the chest. Three older children stood in front of him, but their faces were fuzzy, as he could not remember what they looked or sounded like. Â âCall her that one more time and you will regret itâ his young courageous voice echoed in this memory.
âDrake donât,â the little girl said looking up to his back. The bullies seemed to say something, but once again the memories were not all there. Seph gritted his teeth and ran towards the bullies only to trip on the mud. The three children ran up on him and started to beat him. There was the sound of children laughing as the memory started to fade away and the last thing he could see was the girlâs shadow kneeling over him after the fact. âThank you Drakeâ He could hear her words as her small hands were placed on the muddy symbol on his chest.
Drifting back into the darkness he could not help but want to smile. It had not been his proudest moment, but it was one of the only defeats that he could remember. He kept falling through the memories of his childhood reliving those that he remembered and some that were new to him. It became clear to him that he had lost many memories, but he did not know why yet. His mother, the girl with the burn on her face, and his own name had been lost in time and he did not know whyâŠ
He took a deep breath as he could feel the fear of those implications set in. So many questions and too few answers, so it was time to start looking. Â He had started to grow used to this place and how to somewhat navigate it. The heavier his anxiety the deeper he would travel into his memories. His sight cleared once more this time with a sharper image of what he was looking at. An avatar of his present self in his hero costume walking into the memory. His white hood was down, but he kept his mask on.
He was in a cold white room with a single door being the only exit. A metal table in the middle with a single light and the little Seph sitting down in his usual blue superman shirt, but it was covered in blood. His hair was soaked in it as well while it dripped down to his hands. His eyes were blank as if staring into nothingness. Seph walked around the table and leaned down taking a closer look.
The door opened as an officer walked in looking over the younger boy. He was a tall man with dark skin. His blue uniform was well kept as well as his badge was clean. Seph looked at the badge and recognized an older version of the Metropolis Police Department. The officer pulled the chair across the younger Seph âyou still wonât talk to us?â He asked calmly, but there was no response. The boy had not even acknowledged that the officer was even there. The memory continued with the officer trying to ask question after question, but there was never a response even when asked about his name. Seph tried to keep himself poised and control his own emotions, but he could feel something swelling up. There was a pain there that felt so familiar and yet he could not put it together. The combination of frustration and pain, causing tears to start swelling and his focus diminished. The memory once again faded into nothingness, but he was close to his final answer. He could feel the pain leading him to it the moment that caused him to lose his memory.
âOne more timeâ He thought to himself as he clenched his fists and took a deep breath once again. His avatar landing now in the middle of a broken street, cars were flipped and broken, fire spreading while the distant sound of screaming could be heard. He heard a gurgling behind and a quick shuffle him causing him to sidestep. It was a woman followed by a few others, but they were bleeding and moving very slowly. Their eyes were blank as they stumbled about passing him until another noise was heard. A man ran across the street in front of them making the herd howl and sprint to the man. Seph ran to the man, but as he tried to swing at one of the zombies his hand went right through. âRightâŠa memoryâ
He turned away gritting his teeth as he heard the man scream and gurgle as he was being torn apart. What was this place and why did it look more like present time metropolis? Wasnât he looking at his past?
His train of thought was interrupted as a woman ran in front of him. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he recognized her. She held the young Seph in her arms as she ran. A horde of zombies behind her chasing them and howling. Ghostwing followed noticing that the zombies were having a hard time keeping up. He was hopeful until he heard his mother yell and a thud. He turned to see her on the ground trying to scramble by to her feet while a zombified joker laughed stumbling towards her.
The young Seph jumping up to his feet and standing between joker and his mother, but the horde was already upon them. His mother dove forward knocking Seph to the ground and surrounding him with her body as the zombiesâ descended upon her back. Her tears landing onto Seph's face as he cried out for his mother. Ghostwing covered his mouth turning away as he fell to his knees. He could hear the flesh being torn away from her back, the crunch of her bones being broken and pulled out. He had lost focus, but the pain that poured out kept him here watching.
A familiar boom came from the sky as Superman came down tearing the zombies away from the woman only to find a corpse lying on a crying child. Seph was soaked in the blood of his mom as he cried grabbing onto Supermanâs shield sobbing. Moments passed as the man of steel did not seem to know how to console the child he held.
A sudden streak of lightning passed Ghostwing and stopped near Superman. The man of steel glaring at the undead flash as it twitched with energy. He placed Seph on the ground and stepped in front of him. Seph looked up as Ghostwing remembered this moment clear as day. The sky was dark with smoke and when all seemed lost the image of the red tattered cape billowing in the wind gave him some light at the end of the tunnel.
The Flash ran forward while Superman reacted at the same time clashing and throwing the undead towards a building. Seph crawled to the mangled corpse of his mother reaching out for what remained of one of her hands. He collapsed forward as the memory started to turn dark. The young boy had lost consciousness and when he woke up he was in a younger Metropolis still covered in blood. He sat in the middle of the street blankly almost as if this had all been one bad dream.
Ghostwing walked up beside himself and sat down placing a hand on the head of his younger self. âI failed to protect her,â the little one said looking up at his older self. âI could not save anyoneâ
Ghostwing sighed letting his head hang suddenly realizing why Jasonâs death had affected him so much. He had lost his family a long time ago and never dealt with it. Instead, his memories had been repressed and lost to time. Â He wrapped an arm around Seph and placed his head on his. âwe will not fail againâ He told the little one.
Cars surrounded the boy as traffic had halted just in time to not run him over. Ghostwing stood up in front of his younger self. âIâm sorry I forgot about you, DrakeâŠyour loss made me who I amâ He said as a shadow started to come down from the sky. A familiar blue costume and a hopeful shield landed lightly in front of the boy. A much younger Superman knelt down extending his hand âCome with meâ
Ghostwing started to walk away from the memory pulling his hood up. Memories rushing around him from the time he spent in an orphanage to the time he had spent in the Wayne Manor. He could see clearly in front of him those who were waiting for him. Dick, Jason, Tim, Kat, Alexa, Alfred, Bruce, and Harley were his family now and he would not fail them.
As he traveled through the memories they all ended at the sound of a gunshot. Seph opened his eyes sitting on from the bed. He took a deep breath this time feeling how heavy he felt all of a sudden. He was back, but where was he? His eyes adjusting to the light he could see a distant giant penny and a T-rex. He smiled as he moved off the bed looking over his body to see the stitch which closed the bullet wound on his chest. He looked around for a moment and found a white shit and black pants to change into before walking out to the cave.
He walked over to the bat-computer checking for the date on the screen. He had been out for a few days. The bat-signal was going off, but no one was answering it. Seph clicked on it and a plethora of windows started to pop up showing that Gotham was burning. âoh noâ He said turning around only to come face to face with Alfred who looked at him with a stoic look on his face almost judgmental. âAlfred I..â Seph started to say before the butler held a hand up.
âMaster Seph I trained you to stay here and guard the cave with me no matter the situation. I asked you many times to be safe and make good decisions, as they will affect everyone around you He started to say. Seph stepped up âI know but..â he started to respond, but was once again cut short.
âIâm not doneâŠI used to ask the same of Master Bruce and we both know he could not stay, The same could be said about every hero that has stepped into our home. You all have the instinct to protect those around you no matter the consequences, but that is what makes you different from the rest of us. As Batman would say âthe mission continuesâ and so all I can do is help you prepareâ Alfred said while walking over to the vault where all of the suits were kept. On a table was Seph's uniform which was just a white sleeveless hoodie, a silver s Superman shirt and a pair of black jeans.
âif you must fight alongside them, then it is time you are equipped like themâ Alfred continued as he pressed a button. A latch opened from the ground as a new cylinder came up next to the robin suits. âGhostwing will always be part of the familyâ
Moments passed as Seph stepped out a nearby room wearing his new uniform. A white Kevlar sleeveless hoodie while under he wore black fiberglass studded suit with Supermanâs shield on the chest, but instead of an S it carried a white variation of Nightwingâs chrest. His boots were armored to the knee and his hands were wrapped in his usual fashion. Alfred stepped up holding up a new mask placing it onto Sephâs face. ânow be careful out there the City has fallen into chaos and they need all the help they can get.
âDonât worry Iâll keep them all safeâ
ellievsbear
discoholicmusic
stormborns
gummygunk
janainaart