The Renegades (ABANDONED)

Prologue

Hello everyone!

This is my first fanfiction, so I have little to no idea of what I'm doing.

So yeah, leave a comment, make any suggestions you want, and I shall continue my typing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had started so well. Dick had finally convinced his parent's he could join them in their act two weeks ago, and they added him into their training for the show coming up. The trip to Gotham itself was smooth and quick, without any unnecessary complications. When the strange man had walked up and tried to get the circus to leave, he didn't really cause any problems except for taking a few minutes of their time. The animals were all very well behaved, it was almost odd.

In fact, the whole thing had gone too well.

He should have known something terrible was bound to happen. He should have known this would end in disaster. Dick had seen flickers of the man in the corners of his eyes. But that didn't stop him from not saying anything, not speaking up.

And now they're gone.

And it's all his fault.

The sickening Crack! still rang in his ears. His hug still left lingering warmth on his arms. Her last words still ran through the air. Their blood still left a stain on the dirt. The mangled bodies remained fresh in his mind's eye. His tears still glistened with almost iridescent light on the platform, and they were still streaming from his beautiful and shining aqua blue eyes. Dick's shoulders still shook from keeping a large number of his sobs inside.

Sirens still kept on wailing and wailing, the sounds reaching far, and the shouts of people searching for him was heard all around. The noise soon faded into a distant sound, Dick's mind wandering elsewhere. All that mattered to him at that moment was that they're gone, they're gone and it was all his fault. He dashed into the woods, wishing for himself to just disappear into their depths.

So that's just what he did.

He ran and ran until his legs felt numb. And then, he ran further. When he stopped, Dick's breath came out in harsh pants, his lungs screaming for air.  His legs shook with the effort of keeping his body standing. His knees threatened to give out. And so they did, and he collapsed to the ground.

Now he sat nestled between large roots of an ancient tree, with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him. The moon's light peeked through the leaves, dimly lighting the scene. The light was too weak to see anything clearly, and most things were just vague shapes. Flowers and large blades of grass moved slowly back and forth in a light breeze. The spot Dick now hid in was a small paradise when compared to the loud and constant noise and light of the outside.

What felt like hours later but was only some few minutes, a shape appeared in the trees. By that point, Dick had run out of tears and instead watched the approaching form with red-rimmed eyes. The shape came closer, and Dick could see it was a man. The man had large shoulders and seemed quite fit from what he could see in the dark. When he came closer, Dick could see a glimmer of reflected light on his face, that soon was visible as a mask. The meager light let Dick spot a tinge of a golden orange on the left side of the mask while the right remained black.

The man paused before Dick, he seemed to be thinking. He watched Dick with his one visible eye, it almost glaring in thought. Finally, after multiple awkward minutes of silence, he spoke.

"Do you want to stop this from ever happening again? This weakness and inability to do anything?" His voice sounded like poisoned honey, flowing out with a viscous consistency in the silence.

Dick looked at the ground, at the gently moving grass before him. There was a tense pause that felt like it stretched for hours.

Then two beautifully sad blue eyes looked up at the shadowed man before him, and he gave a small, almost invisible, nod. No one could see it, but there was a smirk growing behind the strange man's stranger mask.

"All you need to do is follow me. I can show you how to prevent this from happening to anyone else, and get your revenge on the ones who caused this."

Dick's eyes narrowed. Keep this from happening again, that's one of the things he most wanted. And this man can show him how. He stumbled to his feet on shaking legs, supporting himself with a hand on the tree he was resting on seconds before. He nodded again, this time more to himself as if to convince his own mind that this is what he wanted.

The man felt pride. He had done it. Now he had what he always wanted, and nothing will be able to stop him.

A sparse few minutes later, two figures were visible side by side. One was significantly shorter than the other and seemed to be limping slightly. The two faded into the scenery, only the moon watching them.

They were gone before they could ever hear the distraught businessman far behind them, a yellow bat hidden behind his now ruined suit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Word Count Without AN: 852 Words)

And that is that!

So, I will see all of you next chapter!

Edit: I'm sure any re-readers have noticed the extra paragraphs and sentences thrown in, along with the smaller changes to some already there lines. It's nice to be back in business, and I'm happy my return is involving improving some old writing of mine.

God, it feels like a Lion King arc. It's the same energy, except in this Scar is mental instead of something physical. You've been banished from the Pride Lands, Dick. Scram.