[ WP ] Story Of The Sidekick

The Black Mask curses at me. Roman Sionis- Mask burned to his skin. 
 He's pinned under my boot and disarmed. I extend the staff in my right hand and smash it down on the man's temple. He falls silent. I bound forward- I do n't have alot of time. The train has to be stopped. 
 
 The door opens. A man aims a gauntlet at me. A- Deadshot? I hold up my staff and activate the shield attachment just in time. I see the bullets dent into the plating- And Deadshot's already on me. Kicking the shield, I lose my balance and hit the deck. `` Consider me a contingency clause, kid.'' He frowns, readying his weapon. 
 
 He does n't think I can take him down from here. A kick to the groin- He's stunned. Two seconds. I pull a Batarang free from my belt and give it a squeeze. It beeps as I fold it, bringing it's points together. I toss it aside. Three seconds. He takes aim and fires. He hits plywood. I roll- Wrapping my ankle around his knee. I make him off balance. 
 I roll to my feet. A sharp jab to the sternum. Five seconds. He unleashes a volley of bullets- One gets through, punching through my right third rib. I match him with a staff strike to the orbital bone. 
 He spins- And the batarang returns, smashing him in the face. 
 
 He loses his footing and falls off the side of the train. I take aim with my batclaw- It catches him in the belt. I slide due to his weight and plant my feet into the low wall of the car we're on. He swings due to wind pressure and smashes through the windows of the car behind us, folding through a dining table. He's not going to be getting up anytime soon. 
 
 I have to stop this train. I clutch my side and kneel down to check the injury- I'm bleeding pretty severely. I touch my hand to my ear. `` Oracle. Deadshot's got me.'' `` Do you need assistance?'' `` It's not my birthday, is it? Where's Bruce?'' I ask, spraying a biofoam into the wound, clenching my teeth through the pain. `` He's handling the other members of the gang- Did you find any leads to who hired them?'' `` Black Mask was on the train. He's a chatty cathy as he always is, Barb, he's the one that hired them. Something as a revenge ploy. He's down- And so is Deadshot.'' 
 
 `` Good. And the hostages?'' `` Bound in the back car. I disconnected it from the other cars. I'm heading to the conductor's car now.'' I stumble to my feet and lower my hood. `` Has Bruce told you why I could n't deal with the others?'' `` Because last I heard from him, a -lot- of freelance supervillains are banding together. The Joker's broadcast over the Internet on Youtube and other sites. `` There's how many villains to each caped crusader? Twenty? Sixty?'' 
 
 `` Jesus. How bad is it?'' I ask, pulling a door open and moving through a car. `` Bad.... Really bad. Superman's handling Metropolis- But..'' `` But what, Barbara?'' I speak, pausing to catch my bearings. `` But Superman's facing Black Adam and General Zod. Half of Metropolis is on fire.'' 
 
 I find my way to the last car before the conductor's. ``..Me- What are you saying? What on earth? This was just isolated attacks-'' `` No. It's not, Tim. It's not.'' I ca n't feel anything but dread in my gut. `` Batman has a plan. Bruce always has a plan.'' `` He-'' The signal in my ear goes fuzzy and silent. I activate a chemical torch and cut through the lock of the conductor's door. Pulling it free- The conductor sits there, surrounded by plastic explosives. There's a fuse in his hand- And a rope attached to the door. I stare in horror. Instinct kicks in again. 
 I disconnect the rest of the train from the conductor car and jump aboard. I have to try to save him. I have to try. It's what Bruce would do. 
 
 The conductor mumbles something, pointing at the gag in his mouth with his fists. I step forward, careful not to activate the trigger. Something catches on the corner of my eye- It's a trap. Chemicals- 
 The room is flushed with a green gas. I'm kicked in the chest and thrown out of the car. I hit the ground at seventy miles and hour and my shoulder shatters. I roll to a stop, seeing vivid hallucinations take over my vision and perception. The train rolls into the distance, unleashing a streaming trail of green gas, the Scarecrow taking the controls. 
 
 I fall into a slummy ditch on the side of the train track, sliding into mud. The hallucinations are terrible- I'm falling into a slick pit of blood inhabited by demons and wretches. I bring a hand to my ear. Static. 
 I scream in horror. 
 
 I wake up in the dried ditch three days later. I slowly rise to a stand. 
 A voice in my ear- Barbara. `` Oh go- God- Barbara. Barbara..'' I pull my domino mask away from my face, trying to take in my surroundings. 
 Gotham's skyline is cracked, with buildings toppled and smoke rising from the distance. 
 
 `` Tim. Catwoman is on her way.'' `` Ca- Catwoman..?'' `` You were unconscious for three days. The world has been overrun- You need to get somewhere safe NOW before-'' I stumble out of the ditch. A pistol clicks. 
 
 A thug. `` Hey! It's Robin!'' he shouts. `` You're shitting me!'' One of his comrades yells from the distance. He runs up, armed with an assault rifle. `` Really? It is! Hah- Well, birdboy, you look like shit!'' He cackles. 
 I frown, clutching my shoulder. `` What do we do with him?'' 
 
 `` I.. uh. Hold on.'' The first thug reaches to his belt for his radio. 
 `` Uh, boss! We found Robin.'' An exaggerated voice on the other side. `` Really now?'' ``..Y- Yeah, boss.'' `` Is he dead?'' `` No.'' `` Why not?'' 
 `` Uh- He-'' `` It's a hint! Do you want me to go down there and explain it to you in detail or shall I use you as an example?!'' 
 
 The thug aims his pistol at me. I'm hardly in fighting shape- But it's do or die. I charge forward, slamming my shoulder into the thug and causing his resulting aim to be off. He fires a round. I throw a batarang to my right- It collides with the other thug's jaw. I spring off, despite the pain in my side and my useless arm- And I slam a knee into the assault rifle thug's orbital bone. He hits the ground like a sack. 
 
 The first thug stumbles and takes aim again. `` You're fucking dea-'' He yells, only to scream as he was hit in the head with a thrown bola. He stumbled back, trying to untangle the weapon free from his head. 
 I hit him in the groin with my staff, and then manage to take him down with a spinning strike to the side of the head. 
 
 A friendly hand grabs me by the wrist. I snap. `` Sto- Stop- Broken.'' 
 `` We do n't have time.'' Catwoman speaks sternly, guiding me to a waiting car. I'm thrown into the back seat. Selina Kyle is dressed in civilian clothing, only equipped with basic weaponry. `` What happened?'' I speak, unable to hide the pain in my voice. Selina glances over her shoulder as she steps into the driver's seat, after closing my door. 
 
 `` Robin. [ The world's ended. ] ( http: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=SXKrsJZWqK0 )'' 
 
 
 

