Robin's Shadow (Batman OC)

Chapter 57: Ivy's Revenge Part 4, Manhunter

"Wow, this is strange." I say out loud, and take in what I see. 

There are multiple layers and textures of my mind. There is the texture of my first life, the 'real world', which looks so strange and foreign to me now after two animated realities. Also, I can see sections that are animated, but in a different style than our current world. This second animation style was from my second world, of Konoha. Lastly, there are comic graphic style sections, memories from this world.

"What in all the worlds." J'onn breathes out in shock, looking all around at the different textures. "You warned I had never seen a mind like yours, I had no idea this could be what you meant. Please, what am I seeing?"

"My past lives." I admit truthfully. No point in lying, he's here now. "I'm a resurrected soul. I come from a different realm. It's similar to the multi-verse theory, but also different. I am... odd." I go on to give a brief description about Death and why I'm here, but don't tell him about this world being a comic book I knew.

"I would have never known. And Batman, he does not know?" He asks me at the end, and I shake my head.

"He was suspicious, so I told him a version of the truth. He thinks I remember my past life, that's all. I didn't feel the need to elaborate more, I didn't want to seem too much like a freak." I tell him sincerely.

"I understand. You are... quite unique." He nods to me with a kind smile. "Let us embark to do what we came to do, and I promise, I will not tell Bruce or your brothers. I can see the worry here, but you have my word." He promises, and we head out, floating through my strange mind together until we find what he was looking for. "I must warn you, we will have to go through it again before I can change it, I hope that is ok."

"I figured." I shrug. I had already assumed as much, and mentally prepared myself to face it again.

He nods, and opens a door like opening, and together we float into the lab, only we're above the scene. We watch it play out, moment by moment. I see the fear in my eyes, and the feral look in theirs. It wasn't a good fight, no one was a winner, everyone lost. 

We finished up the scene, and J'onn looked to me then.

"I will change it now, keeping the fight only, and taking out the rest. Are you sure you do not want the whole fight to go away?" He asks me curiously.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I would leave everything, I would like to say I'm strong enough to keep it, but I know this will just add to my nightmares, and my brothers wouldn't know why I shrink away from them. So take that part, but leave the fight. I can learn from it." I say firmly, and he nods a final time. His eyes glow red, and the scene plays out again.

~ New Reality ~

I watch the fight with my brothers over again. I entered the lab, finding Nightwing and Red Hood tied up in their uniforms on the tables. I hear Ivy taunt me that they are going to fight me, that they were given an herb that makes them need to ferally attack the first person they see, and nothing will stop them from killing me. 

I watch us fighting, me throwing knives while they disarm my gadgets from me. They don't use any of theirs, instead just beating me up and breaking my arm. The fight looks odd, they keep trying to throw me to the ground, or choke me.

Nightwing eventually picks me up over his head and slams me into the table while Red Hood grabs me by my throat and chokes me. I watch as I punch Red Hood in the ribs and break them, and then kick Nightwing away before he tries to break my legs. 

I watch as Batman, Robin, and Red Robin swoop in with an explosion, and Robin comes to my side, wrapping an arm comfortingly around me as I drop to the ground from my wounds. Batman and Red Robin subdue my brothers after a moment, tying them up while they kept trying to kill me. The memory fades out with me telling Red Robin to erase the footage, that I don't want them to see them beating me up.

I remember us all having heart warming conversations days later where I try to convince them not to feel guilty for hurting me. 

And above all that, I remember my rage at Ivy for causing all these problems.

~ 3rd Person Pov ~

"It is done." J'onn tells Bruce in the cave a while later.

"What will they remember?" Bruce asks seriously, concerned for his kids.

"Only the fight." J'onn reassures him. "It was changed so that's all it was, nothing more. I changed the younger two's memories to never having seen them without their uniforms, and never having told the older two. Jason's mind was harder to fix, but I managed to get through it. His mind is still damaged from the Lazarus pit. However, now he and Dick know nothing about the fight. I did find that there was a storage where a part of their minds remembered the attack, so I took the liberty of erasing that completely, so it wouldn't resurface." He informs Bruce.

"Thank you, friend. My family owes you for this." Bruce says sincerely.

"The footage, was it truly erased? Everything would be undone if they saw it." J'onn asks him seriously.

Bruce walks to the computer, and enters a few commands. "It is now. You're right, it is too dangerous to keep, and has no worth at all. There were no clues to Ivy's whereabouts on it anyway. It is not something I would ever watch again." He growls out darkly.

"So there is no more evidence of this event?" J'onn asks, and Bruce shakes his head to confirm. "Then I am sorry for this friend, but it is for your own good as well." He says, and his eyes glow red. 

J'onn delves into the Dark Knight's mind and alters his memory as well. He had already gotten the butler's memory before coming downstairs, giving him the same new memory.

"J'onn, what brings you here?" Bruce asks the Martian, coming out his reverie once his memory was altered.

"I was in the neighborhood, and thought I would stop by. However, I have just been called to return to the Watchtower. I will see you again soon, my friend." The Martian says kindly, and then leaves quickly. 

He altered everyone's memories, so no one would have to remember the event fully. He knew that Batman would hate him for tampering with his mind, but he also knew that his friend didn't need any more darkness in him, especially not the kind that includes having to watch his sons attack his daughter like that.

The Bat family went back to normal after that, no one remembering the incident fully. It did not stop the rage in the twins though, they both sought to end Poison Ivy for making them fight and hurt each other. They would have sought revenge for a papercut, and they both received far more than that. 

Their family dynamics returned back to normal, with Ana still being perfectly comfortable with her brothers being close, the older boys being comfortable to joke around and play with her again, no longer dwelling on their supposed failures and broken trusts.