THE BULLET IN THE BOY or
THE BOY WITH WHITE HAIR
(It’s a work in progress. Names are hard.)
Tim’s senses came back slowly. When was the last time he slept? Well, aside from passing out. When was the last time he slept voluntarily? He tried to breathe evenly and pretend he was asleep, but his mind was racing. What was he doing? He couldn’t remember anything after he went on patrol. How long ago was that?? The summer air had cooled down significantly, so it had to have been a few hours. Obviously something had gone wrong. He needed to come up with a plan before whoever had him realized that he was awake.
The first thing to note was the frigid cold against his back. He was laying on a hard, smooth floor. He assumed concrete. Water dripped somewhere and echoed loudly as it hit a puddle. So it was a big empty-ish room. Probably a warehouse. Judging by the stuffy, stale, and metallic smell, it was most likely abandoned. With blood. A sharp burning pain emanating from his left shoulder meant the blood was probably his.
If Tim hadn’t been paying attention, he wouldn’t have heard the very very shallow breathing directly above him. Until extremely cold fingers wrapped something around his shoulder, jostling it. Tim reflexively took a small intake of breath at the sharp pain. It was quiet, barely noticeable but it was enough for the fingers to stop moving.
“Oh shit, you’re awake.” The voice was distinctly male, definitely young, probably a teenager.
No use in pretending now. Tim opened his eyes, surprised at how heavy they felt. Yup. He was in a warehouse. It was dark with no windows except for a few skylights on the ceiling. He was laying in the light coming from one of them with the boy sitting at his side. Moonlight outlined the boy from the skylight above. Tim couldn’t feel a breeze, yet the boy’s stark white hair moved like strong winds pulled at it. He couldn’t see a face as the boy was focused on Tim’s shoulder. Pain radiated along his arm and across his chest.
Tim attempted to sit up but found all of his limbs were heavy. What was happening? His mind felt alert, but his body was sluggish. The boy stopped what he was doing, grabbed Tim’s other shoulder and pressed down firmly on his chest. His hands were freezing. “Stop trying to move! If you start bleeding again it’s your own damn fault. I’m almost done wrapping your shoulder.”
“What did you do to me?” Tim whispered as the boy worked on winding the gauze around his upper arm.
“I didn’t do anything but you just proved my theory.” The boy huffed as he clasped two metal bandage clips on the gauze to keep it in place before sitting back.
“What’s your theory?” He had to keep the boy talking until backup arrived.
“You’re a fucking idiot.” Tim blinked. That was not the answer he expected. Maybe he did need more sleep.
“Ookayy. How did I prove that?”
“You were so focused on following that black haired kid, not to mention sleep deprived, seriously when was the last time you slept?! I thought I was bad. I sleep more than you and I’m dead.” He chuckled as if he had said something completely normal, and not something that was the equivalent of saying the sky was green. “Anyway, you were so focused on m-on him you didn’t notice you were being followed.” He slowly put his makeshift medical supplies into a backpack that had seen better days. Tim filed away the information for later. Better to keep the boy talking.
“I knew I was being followed.” At this, the boy stopped what he was doing and scoffed at him.
“Oh, really? Two guys attack you, you fight back. Not bad. You’re a better fighter than I am. Six more join and you get yourself shot in the shoulder. So I grabbed you and flew ran like hell. Hence you’re an idiot.” He gently pulled Tim up into a sitting position and propped him up with a crate. Tim’s eyes were now adjusted to the dark and he could see more. He studied him. The boy was extremely thin but surprisingly strong. He was very pale too. How old was this kid? Tim guessed younger than him. Where were his parents? Was he living on the street?
“They shot you in the deltoid.” The boy continued. Hmm, so he knows anatomy. That’s a class Tim was taking. They might be closer in age than he thought. “It wouldn’t stop bleeding so I brought you here, got the bullet out, and patched you up. It was covered in a weird substance. Probably a paralytic of some sort since you’re having a hard time moving. You obviously didn’t call for backup or they would be here already. So you’re a fucking idiot.” He zipped up his backpack.
“Why were you there?” Tim slowly and with great effort reached for his insignia. If he could just communicate with his team, he might be able to help the boy too.
“Nope, sorry. This isn’t Jeopardy. That is not a question you’re getting an answer to. Also, have you seen what you’re wearing?” At this, Tim froze. He was wearing his Red Robin uniform. He couldn’t feel his face from the drug. Was his mask still on?
Almost as if the boy could hear his thoughts, he quickly said “Your mask is on your face. And I didn’t look. I understand the importance of a secret identity. You could say I was reborn with one. Or that I have a split personality.” He laughed. Tim felt relief, but the boys words provided more questions than answers.
“Anyways, we’re just going to pretend I didn’t see you and you didn’t see me.”
“Why would we do that?” Tim continued to slowly reach for his insignia.
“We both have identities to protect.” At this, the boy crouched down to eye level with Tim. Oh shit, he’s cute. The boy’s face was surprisingly clean, with scrapes on his gaunt cheeks, and a bruise forming under his right eye. The boy was beautiful. But something was familiar about him. Before Tim had time to process what it could be the boy slowly waved his hand across Tim’s face. “You don’t need to investigate me. I’m not the boy you’re looking for.” His eyes flashed a bright glowing green. The color was eerily familiar and definitely not normal for a human. The boy had to be a meta. A meta who’d seen too many movies.
“Did- did you just try to do a Jedi mind trick on me?!”
“Depends. Did it work?” The boy smiled a half smile and Tim had to remember how to breathe.
“No.”
“Damn. Well, in any case, you won’t say anything yet. I disabled your communication device.” He pointed to the insignia. “And your tracker. Can’t have your friends follow me. Or have my enemies find me. Especially while you’re incapacitated.” The boy stood up. Tim realized he was wearing a suit too. It was all black with a white collar, belt, and cuffs. He wore white gloves and white boots. It reminded Tim of a haz-mat suit, except for the weird logo that looked like a ‘D’ and a ‘P’ combined on his chest. Despite cleaning Tim’s shoulder, his white gloves were pristine.
“Enemies?”
“My sister says I’ve gone too soft. She says I need to take care of myself first and it’s not my job to protect everyone. I know she’s looking out for me, trying to protect me like she always does. But you need to know.” He took a deep breath and looked Tim in the eyes again. The green pupils glowed and Tim could see the green swirling, like a pool of bright, sickly green. Lazarus waters. That’s what his eyes reminded Tim of. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop looking.” The boy said in a low voice. “Lives will be in danger if you don’t. Mine, my sister, my friends, your brother’s, and the boy you followed.”
“What? Which brother? Who’s after you? Who are you?”
“The dead one. The GIW. And I don’t care how good your hacker is, don’t look them up. Matter of fact, don’t even breathe in their direction. They’ll know and your dead brother will die again, except this time he’ll die a much slower, much more painful, and permanent death. If it traces back to me and hurts who I hold dear, you’ll have a much bigger, and infinitely more destructive problem on your hands.” The boy slung his backpack on and started to walk away.
“How did you know he died?” Tim asked quietly.
“Phantom.”
“What?” The boy, Phantom, turned to look at him.
“My name. It’s Phantom.” His eyes started to glow brighter, with green flames extending outward, and a smile that showed too many teeth. Tim held his breath, unable to look away. The white hair moved unnaturally with a faint bright green crown floating above his head. And Tim knew that Phantom wasn’t just a name. He wasn’t sure if he was even a meta. The boy was different. Otherworldly. A being that could and would destroy the earth if provoked. Tim knew they were no match for him and judging by the look in Phantom’s eyes, he knew it too. They stared at each other for several moments, until a faint, barely discernible noise made Phantom jerk his head away. He stopped smiling, the power he so openly displayed almost folding back into himself as he said, “Your friends are here.”
Batman and Robin emerged from the shadows. Tim was sure Red Hood was also there, along with Nightwing. Waiting in the shadows or securing the perimeter. Phantom was surrounded. Tim felt almost sad for the boy. No good deed goes unpunished, huh. But they needed to know what was going on. He had more questions. Questions that needed answers. From Batman’s stance, Tim assumed he’d heard the last part of their conversation. Saw what Phantom did. If Jason was in danger, they needed to know. They needed to stop the threat.
Phantom started laughing. His legs slowly melded together until they became a tail floating a few feet off the ground. “Aaand that’s all the time we have for today kids! Don’t forget to light a candle for your friendly neighborhood ghosts and stay away from the Guys In White. See you never!” At this, Phantom did a fake salute to Batman, bowed to Tim, and vanished into thin air before their eyes.
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the men and boys are innocent too.
we cry "the innocent women and children" to appeal to the masses, to try and force their sympathy, but the men and boys are innocent too.
I have seen sons crying out for their mothers, their fathers, their siblings. I have seen them break down at the loss of their families. I have seen them cling to their dead and grieve.
I have seen fathers cradle their dead children, seen them kiss their faces and hold their little hands. I have seen them faint with grief when asked to identify the dead. I have seen them carry their sons and daughters. I have seen them fasting to provide what little they can for their families.
I have seen men and boys digging through the rubble with just their bare hands, I have seen them comforting strangers, playing with children, rocking them, hushing them, even if the face of such imminent danger. I have seen them cry, seen them grieve, seen them break down into each other's arms, seen them be selfless, beyond selfless, becoming something I don't have a word for.
I have seen the men who are doctors refuse to leave their patients, even when they have no medicine or supplies to give them, even when they're threatened with bombings. I have seen fathers who have lost all their children pick orphans up into their arms and proclaim them their child so they are not alone. I have seen men and boys digging pets out of the rubble.
the men are innocent too. the men and boys are being hurt and killed too. the men and boys are grieving too. the men and boys are scared too. the men and boys are fighting to save their people too. the men and boys deserve to be fought for too.
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