When a Bird's Wings break

Chapter 2

I hit the shower in my room and tried to cool off. Then I decided to go down to the gym and work out. I grabbed the rings and pulled my body up. I did multiple flips, then letting go for seconds and grabbing them again. Sweat slid down my face as I strained to keep my arms straight. My head was pounding again.

I pushed against the rings as I barreled back and landed on of the punching bags. It moves for a second but then I hold out my arms to steady it and it does. I jump off and sit down on the bench located near the center of the room. I drank from my water bottle and sighed. I ran my hands through my hair and got up again. I ran around the room, switching from jogging to pull ups to bench pressing. I really should have someone at least in the room with me. If I got hurt, there is a chance that know one would know. I added another 3 pounds. But I knew that Bruce was most likely watching me from the Batcave.

I get up and start jogging around the indoor track. It's small, but it works. I jump the hurdles and run faster with each step. Soon, I was running. I pushed off to jump over one of the tallest hurdles, about a foot taller than I am. My foot catches the hurdle though, and I land on my hands and push off. I land on my feet, but stumbling.

"Master Richard." I heard Alfred as I landed.

"Alfred, I asked you to just call me Dick."

"Master Richard, Master Bruce would like to see you." I smiled and laughed a little when he called me "Richard" again. I never liked it, it seem to formal. I liked being called Dick better.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"And Master Richard," Alfred started. "Are you alright? I saw you take that stumble when I walked in."

I brushed off my pants. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little trip."

"Well, tell me or Master Bruce if you're hurt, okay?" He asked.

"Okay." I replied. I was a little worried that he knew, but I shrugged it off.

I walked down the stone steps as I followed Alfred to the Batcave. As we descended deeper, it got darker. I was so use to walking down these steps, I could go down with my eyes closed. I tried once too, but I almost fell off the side and scared Alfred half to death.

I walked up behind Bruce in the batcave, and studied what he was doing. There were multiple files open across the screen of the computer, all of them were files and newspaper websites.

The Joker attacks Gotham citizens, and it beaten by the Boy Wonder.

Poison Ivy defeated and returned to Arkham.

The Riddler still at large.

I remembered that fight with the Joker, it was the one I got that cut from, about two weeks ago. It had been a really bad fight though, I had blood pouring down my face and I has trying to dodge the swings that Joker threw. One hit me in the jaw and I-

"-ick." Bruce said and I realized that it was the second time. I had gotten lost in thought... again. It was the second time just today where Bruce has had to have gotten my attention. My head was pounding...

"Sorry."

"Again, there is nothing for you to be sorry about." Bruce said in a soft voice. He only ever uses that voice when he is worried about me. It isn't very often. "But I'm worried about you Dick." Bingo. He pulled up a video. One of me in the gym. Today. I was putting more weight on the bench press and pushing myself. Then he pulled the video of me running faster than I should at the beginning of a work out. "You're pushing yourself too much."

"I..." I didn't really know why I was. "I don't know Bruce." I started. "I have been feeling helpless lately. You are calling the Team into protect me and you, when we are Batman and Robin. I had to be rescued by Aqualad at the last mission, and I am treated like a kid at times. I feel like they are looking at me like I'm just a kid that needs protection, not there teammate."

"Dick, you know that the team sees you as an equal, you know that if you weren't on this team, they would be dead. Remember when you and Artemis worked together and saved everyone from the Reds? If you hadn't been there, they would all be dead." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I know that you don't like this, but I need you to be supportive! I just don't want you getting hurt."

Okay, confession time. I have been feeling lousy lately, but I don't think that it is because of that. I haven't been feeling very good lately, and I haven't been sleeping good lately either. I have been dreaming of the night my parents were murdered. Bruce hasn't been here most nights, so he doesn't hear me scream. And Alfred is always too far away to hear. I have been pushing through, but I usually go to Bruce... It hasn't helped the fever that I think I have, but I don't know whether I should tell Bruce and Alfred.

"Bruce, that's not all that's bugging me." I started. "I think that I have a concussion or something, and that's why I have been off my game."

"What?" Bruce stood up from his large black leather chair just to lean down and studying his eyes, looking for signs of trauma. "Why didn't you tell me?" He looked very worried, and started holding my head in his hands, just at my ears. He was squashing my cheeks. "Where does it hurt?" I felt like a child but I told him that there has been a throbbing headache in the back of my skull ever since I fought the Penguin yesterday, and one of his goons slammed my head against the brick wall. It had bruised my head, but it hadn't hurt until this morning, so I walked it off. Now it hurt like hell.

"I know I should have told you, but I didn't think that it was a big deal at the time. The assassins were after you, so I didn't want you to have to worry about me too." I got a little light headed, but shook my head out of it.

"Dick, you will always be my first priority. Please tell me if something like this happens again."

"Yeah, um... I should tell you that I feel dizzy then, right?" I asked with a smile, before I collapsed in his arms. Out like a light.

Word Count: 1151