Batty Family - Batfam Oneshots

Achilles (Gotham Knights)

A/N: Inspired by Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths and Gotham Knights.
TW: suicidal ideation, violence
—
He tried so hard.

He tried so hard to save Bruce. And what was it all for? Nothing?

His life was supposed to get better after he became Bruce's ward, after Bruce adopted him. He wasn't supposed to lose anything ever again, he wasn't going to watch another family member die. So why was Bruce gone?

It was the fear toxin that did it, that brought on Bruce's downfall. It all happened so fast...he rewound the scene in his mind:

"Batman!" he called, grappling from roof to roof, "Bats, where are you?"

"I haven't gotten anything so far," Dick's voice rasped through the communicator in his ear.

"Me either. But keep looking," Barbara urged, "Word on the street is that people last saw him fighting in the West End. Are you still patrolling there, Robin?"

"Uh-huh," he replied absentmindedly, his focus on the streets below, searching for a figure cloaked in all black lurking in the shadows.

"Keep looking. We'll meet you there soon," Jason commanded.

"Be careful out there, everyone," Alfred added, "Batman left on his own for a reason, as worrying as it is."

"We will," Dick assured him.

Tim hopped to another rooftop, calling for Batman as loud as he could. For some reason, he expected the man to shush him and pull him to whatever spot he was hiding in. He never did.

"Come on, Bruce, where are you?" he muttered to himself, checking the small tablet that was installed into the arm of his suit. He opened his map, looking for little red dots plastered all over the town. A couple months ago, he rigged the network so that any calls the GCPD received would have their locations sent to his system. Unfortunately, the town often looked like a string of red Christmas lights.

He scrolled to the West End, then zoomed out so he could see the entirety of it. As usual, there were calls scattered all about the town.

"Nothing useful still," he complained, his foot tapping anxiously. He was just about to close the map when another red dot popped into view.

"Oh?" he tilted his head, the dot beeping back at him. Suddenly, there was another. Then three. Then four, then five, then six—all collected in the same general area. He smirked.

"There you are."

Despite his nerves, he threw himself straight towards the danger. As he leaped between balconies, he tapped the communicator in his ear.

"I have a lead," his voice rang through the ears of the others, "I'll let you know if it's Batman."

Dick answered almost instantly, "Robin, wait. Are you sure you wanna go alone? It might be dangerous—"

"We can't afford to wait," Tim insisted, "I'll be in touch."

He heard the other man sigh, "Alright. Don't forget."

Tim kept grappling, over cell towers, under street lamps, until he finally reached his destination. He accidentally passed it up in his pursuit, landing on the arches of a bridge. He whipped his head back and forth, trying to spot the superhero. When he heard a familiar grunt, he turned around.

Batman was kneeling in the middle of the street, a hand on his neck.

"Bruce," Tim whispered, relieved, then leapt down to the street.