Friends with the Enemy

13) Goodbye?

Catwoman pulled out her bullwhip and smacked it against the floor causing a sharp cracking sound.

"Don't do this, Catwoman. Just let me take the boy and give him a home." Batman insisted. He sounded sad.

"No. I tried negotiating; you've left me no choice. And for the thousandths time, I can give him a home perfectly fine!" She hissed. She guided her whip at Batman, which he avoided by jumping backwards.

Catwoman wasn't a fool. She knew that she couldn't beat Batman in a fight. He trained for years in combat and was much stronger than her. The only reason she had the upper hand right now, was because he was going easy on her. She needed to take advantage of that while she could.

Batman quickly got a handful of bat shaped shurikens and threw them at her. She narrowly steered clear of them. She sped up to him and dodged a punch. She managed side kicked him in the rib, earning a grunt from Batman. He grabbed her arm and tossed her. She prevented getting thrown on the ground by landing on her hands and flipping herself over onto her feet.

Penguin turned to Dick while they fought. "Let's get out of here while they're distracted." He whispered. He grabbed Dick's hands and walked towards the door, but Dick didn't budge.

Penguin knitted his eyebrows. "What's the matter?" He asked worriedly.

"I can't do this. All of this is my fault. I have to stop them." He determined.

"None of this is your fault. And you couldn't possible stop them, they're too strong. Come on, Dick, if we don't leave now, Batman will eventually get to you." Penguin warned.

He seemed really concerned for Dick. That thought made him smile. "Are we friends?" He asked out of the blue.

Penguin blinked. "W-what? Why are you asking that at a time like th-"

"Are we?" Dick persisted. He looked at Penguin curiously with his large, blue eyes. They were still slightly watery and red from all the tears he had shed.

Penguin looked at him incredulously. "I-I.. yeah - of course. Of course we're friends." He finally said. "Now, let's go."

Dick smiled sadly. He held onto both of Oswald's hands, which were much larger compared to his. "I just want to tell you that I'm grateful I met you. You seem very cold on the outside, but I know you're not actually cold on the inside. I wish I could have helped you learn how to trust people more. I'm glad that I'm your friend, though." He sniffled.

I don't want to leave you, he thought woefully. Don't cry again, don't cry again!

Penguin stared at him with wide eyes. "N-no, don't talk that way. Come on, Dick! Let's go!" He insisted frustratedly.

Dick shook his head. "I'm going to make things right. That means going to where Batman wants me to go. But I don't know if I'll ever see you again... So, bye, Ozzie." He said.

Before Penguin could reply, Dick turned to Batman and Catwoman and cupped his hands around his mouth. He shouted, "STOP IT!"

They both immediately stopped what they were doing and snapped their heads in his direction.

"I'll go with you, Batman. Just stop fighting." Dick announced.

"Dick, no. Y-" Catwoman tried to protest, but Batman cut her off.

"He said he'll go. You cant decide for him. Besides, if he doesn't leave with me, the police will have to take action, and I know none of us want that." He informed.

Carltwoman sighed in defeat. She slowly walked up to Dick and put her hands on his shoulders. "Do you really want to go?" She asked seriously.