Learning to Fly
folder
DC Verse Comics › Batman
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
6,086
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
DC Verse Comics › Batman
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
6,086
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Batman series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Learning to Fly
Title: Learning to Fly
Series: Batman (comics), Robin (comics)
Rating: R/NC-17
Summary: All Robins learn to fly, some are just forced to the wrong way.
Notes: This is...not for everyone. In fact, it's pretty damn creepy. I'll just cut to the warnings and say disturbing content dealing with non-consensual sex with people (yes, people, not just boys in panties) under the age of eighteen. I'm sure you all know where I'm going with this. This is...something I couldn't let go of until I wrote it.
Stupid brain.
Spoilers for the Robin storyline up to "War Games," as well as "A Death in the Family" and "A Lonely Place of Dying." And all feedback and questions go to PapuruStar@aol.com.
----------------------------------------------------------
Get out while you can---
Baby, I’m pouring quicksand.
And sinking is all I had planned.
~ Aimee Mann, "Humpty Dumpty"
----------------------------------------------------------
He always does it when they wear the uniform for the first time, down in the cave and on the sparring mats. He himself calls it a trial run, a way for them to see how to compensate for things like the cape and gauntlets.
Some consider this a "right of passage."
Others call it "rape."
They’re both right.
It takes a little while for it to happen. He always trains them well enough that weight and strength don’t matter. Eventually, though, experience wins out.
With Dick, it is a sweep-to-hold combination. Jason gets careless and leaves a spot wide open for a punch. Tim makes a miscalculation that he overcompensates for.
----------------------------------------------------------
Dick, being the first, sets the precedent. He’s on his stomach on the mats with an arm across his shoulders, and he cries out over Bruce’s grunts until he realizes that Alfred is the only one remotely close enough to hear and he’s hundreds of feet above the Cave.
He feels a little numb and more than halfway damaged as what’s left of his childhood gets wiped away for good. He’s bruising, but nowhere that will be visible in clothes or the suit that’s now scattered on the floor. And there’s no Mom to tell him everything’s all right, and there’s no Dad to say how good of a boy he is.
Then again, being good is probably what puts him here in the first place.
In the light of day, Dick is driven to school and he plays basketball and comes home. He studies, and eats his dinner. He cleans his room, and then he goes to the Cave.
They say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same task and expecting it to yield different results. So that he’s surprised when it happens again does not bode well for him.
Having been in the circus makes Dick good at adapting. And that’s exactly what he does. He plays the good son, the good student, the good leader, the Boy Wonder. And eventually, he even starts to believe it, like Bruce says he believes in him.
On Dick‘s eighteenth birthday it stops. And he ends up lost somewhere between relief and disillusionment.
----------------------------------------------------------
Jason...Jason always struggles the whole way through, his rage at being seized readily visible even with the mask. He’s a victim of his life in Crime Alley, he’s a victim of his mother’s illness, he’s a victim of Two-Face, and now he’s a victim of someone who promises to make his life better.
The sad thing about rage is it only drives you so far before it peters out. Jason stops fighting eventually and just goes with it. His anger at his life is replaced by frustration at always being the casualty and he takes it out on criminals and his own mortality. He starts to wish he was dead, and he takes stupid chances to make Bruce feel as helpless as he is.
This just earns him slaps across the face as his mattress sags from Bruce’s added weight, a rhythm that might feel good if it wasn‘t so offensive. Jason thinks he belongs to Bruce body and soul, but it’s not until Bruce demonstrates his rights as the senior partner of Batman and Robin that it’s confirmed.
There does come a point where Robin meets Nightwing, and without even saying hello Jason knows, like how you know your last name or your favourite song. It’s a thing where you can smell your own kind, like a dog that’s been a stray for too long and won‘t rely on humans.
There’s no exchange between them, which is fine because there really is nothing to say. One is the past and the other is the present and there is no future while these two feel their shared, silent pain.
And Jason...never makes it to eighteen.
----------------------------------------------------------
Tim is a little more unique, because in so many ways did he bring this on himself. He insists that the Dark Knight needs a Squire while not being educated on exactly what that is going to cost. He finds out soon enough from calloused hands removing the kevlar and heatedly stroking him. He doesn’t scream like Dick or struggle like Jason, he just silently accepts the status quo, teeth grinding against the pain.
Every once in a while he lets the tears fall.
Tim is also a natural at lying, so when his father asks about his evenings or what living with Bruce was like, the smile comes quickly and easily. It’s all homework and friends at Brentwood and never a vigilante’s plaything. He explains his soreness with clumsiness and gym class and hides the occasional limp as best as he can.
Tim has his journals, although he leaves out the details of his training with Bruce. There are lots of occupational hazards in being Robin and this, to Tim, is just one more on the list. As far as Bruce is concerned, Bruce thinks he’s a good partner and praises his skill as a detective. Bruce is impressed by him figuring out everything on his own. At night, Bruce shows his appreciation by taking another piece of Tim’s soul against the Batmobile.
He's spent a lot of time with Dick, and while they are practically brothers, he can’t help hating Dick a little. Because if instead of letting Bruce ruin his pride, if instead Dick had done something or said no or tried a bit harder, Tim wouldn’t be here right now, running to and from himself, Bruce, Steph, and everything.
Tim also doesn’t make it to eighteen, but that is his choice. He walks away not just for his father, but also for Bruce. Natural not only at lying, but at manipulating, it’s better for him to walk away than to give a complete explanation.
----------------------------------------------------------
And as for tonight....
Tonight is the night Stephanie wears her uniform for the first time. She is down in the cave and on the sparring mats. She’s having a trial run, a way for her to see how to compensate for things like the cape and gauntlets.
It’s taking a little while, as he’s training her well enough that weight and strength don’t matter. Eventually, his experience is going to win out.
Because all Robins have to learn to fly. Even the female ones.
Series: Batman (comics), Robin (comics)
Rating: R/NC-17
Summary: All Robins learn to fly, some are just forced to the wrong way.
Notes: This is...not for everyone. In fact, it's pretty damn creepy. I'll just cut to the warnings and say disturbing content dealing with non-consensual sex with people (yes, people, not just boys in panties) under the age of eighteen. I'm sure you all know where I'm going with this. This is...something I couldn't let go of until I wrote it.
Stupid brain.
Spoilers for the Robin storyline up to "War Games," as well as "A Death in the Family" and "A Lonely Place of Dying." And all feedback and questions go to PapuruStar@aol.com.
----------------------------------------------------------
Get out while you can---
Baby, I’m pouring quicksand.
And sinking is all I had planned.
~ Aimee Mann, "Humpty Dumpty"
----------------------------------------------------------
He always does it when they wear the uniform for the first time, down in the cave and on the sparring mats. He himself calls it a trial run, a way for them to see how to compensate for things like the cape and gauntlets.
Some consider this a "right of passage."
Others call it "rape."
They’re both right.
It takes a little while for it to happen. He always trains them well enough that weight and strength don’t matter. Eventually, though, experience wins out.
With Dick, it is a sweep-to-hold combination. Jason gets careless and leaves a spot wide open for a punch. Tim makes a miscalculation that he overcompensates for.
----------------------------------------------------------
Dick, being the first, sets the precedent. He’s on his stomach on the mats with an arm across his shoulders, and he cries out over Bruce’s grunts until he realizes that Alfred is the only one remotely close enough to hear and he’s hundreds of feet above the Cave.
He feels a little numb and more than halfway damaged as what’s left of his childhood gets wiped away for good. He’s bruising, but nowhere that will be visible in clothes or the suit that’s now scattered on the floor. And there’s no Mom to tell him everything’s all right, and there’s no Dad to say how good of a boy he is.
Then again, being good is probably what puts him here in the first place.
In the light of day, Dick is driven to school and he plays basketball and comes home. He studies, and eats his dinner. He cleans his room, and then he goes to the Cave.
They say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same task and expecting it to yield different results. So that he’s surprised when it happens again does not bode well for him.
Having been in the circus makes Dick good at adapting. And that’s exactly what he does. He plays the good son, the good student, the good leader, the Boy Wonder. And eventually, he even starts to believe it, like Bruce says he believes in him.
On Dick‘s eighteenth birthday it stops. And he ends up lost somewhere between relief and disillusionment.
----------------------------------------------------------
Jason...Jason always struggles the whole way through, his rage at being seized readily visible even with the mask. He’s a victim of his life in Crime Alley, he’s a victim of his mother’s illness, he’s a victim of Two-Face, and now he’s a victim of someone who promises to make his life better.
The sad thing about rage is it only drives you so far before it peters out. Jason stops fighting eventually and just goes with it. His anger at his life is replaced by frustration at always being the casualty and he takes it out on criminals and his own mortality. He starts to wish he was dead, and he takes stupid chances to make Bruce feel as helpless as he is.
This just earns him slaps across the face as his mattress sags from Bruce’s added weight, a rhythm that might feel good if it wasn‘t so offensive. Jason thinks he belongs to Bruce body and soul, but it’s not until Bruce demonstrates his rights as the senior partner of Batman and Robin that it’s confirmed.
There does come a point where Robin meets Nightwing, and without even saying hello Jason knows, like how you know your last name or your favourite song. It’s a thing where you can smell your own kind, like a dog that’s been a stray for too long and won‘t rely on humans.
There’s no exchange between them, which is fine because there really is nothing to say. One is the past and the other is the present and there is no future while these two feel their shared, silent pain.
And Jason...never makes it to eighteen.
----------------------------------------------------------
Tim is a little more unique, because in so many ways did he bring this on himself. He insists that the Dark Knight needs a Squire while not being educated on exactly what that is going to cost. He finds out soon enough from calloused hands removing the kevlar and heatedly stroking him. He doesn’t scream like Dick or struggle like Jason, he just silently accepts the status quo, teeth grinding against the pain.
Every once in a while he lets the tears fall.
Tim is also a natural at lying, so when his father asks about his evenings or what living with Bruce was like, the smile comes quickly and easily. It’s all homework and friends at Brentwood and never a vigilante’s plaything. He explains his soreness with clumsiness and gym class and hides the occasional limp as best as he can.
Tim has his journals, although he leaves out the details of his training with Bruce. There are lots of occupational hazards in being Robin and this, to Tim, is just one more on the list. As far as Bruce is concerned, Bruce thinks he’s a good partner and praises his skill as a detective. Bruce is impressed by him figuring out everything on his own. At night, Bruce shows his appreciation by taking another piece of Tim’s soul against the Batmobile.
He's spent a lot of time with Dick, and while they are practically brothers, he can’t help hating Dick a little. Because if instead of letting Bruce ruin his pride, if instead Dick had done something or said no or tried a bit harder, Tim wouldn’t be here right now, running to and from himself, Bruce, Steph, and everything.
Tim also doesn’t make it to eighteen, but that is his choice. He walks away not just for his father, but also for Bruce. Natural not only at lying, but at manipulating, it’s better for him to walk away than to give a complete explanation.
----------------------------------------------------------
And as for tonight....
Tonight is the night Stephanie wears her uniform for the first time. She is down in the cave and on the sparring mats. She’s having a trial run, a way for her to see how to compensate for things like the cape and gauntlets.
It’s taking a little while, as he’s training her well enough that weight and strength don’t matter. Eventually, his experience is going to win out.
Because all Robins have to learn to fly. Even the female ones.