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“Call 911!” A voice shrieks through the panic. “We need an ambulance!”
A crowd, after the initial standstill, stampedes out of the circus tent. Shoes and purses were left behind. Children and babies were crying.
Bruce doesn’t move.
His eyes are trained on the boy, who sits frozen on top of the platform.
A boy who couldn’t have been any older than he was when he lost his parents. But he was alone in that alley when his parents hit the pavement.
This boy just lost both of his parents in front of half of Gotham.
Bruce blinked and the boy was gone.
Vanished as if he had never been there at all.
A couple of circus performers try to do their best to shield the bodies, building a wall to protect two of their own. An older woman runs over to them, frantic. “Has anyone seen Dick?”
With a few solemn shakes of the head- the woman runs off, more frantic than before.
Bruce allowed himself to get swept up with the crowd, eventually slipping into an area meant for performers.
The backstage area was small and crowded. The boy- Dick- he remembers, wouldn’t be back here.
When his parents were murdered, he would have given anything to not sit amongst pearls, blood, and the twitching bodies.
Bruce slipped through an exit, the cold and bitter air of the night whipping around him.
The circus had set up near the edge of the city, right by the water. Waves crashed harshly upon the barriers.
He steps towards the boardwalk railing, leaning against the steel.
But that's when he hears it.
Pained breathing echoed throughout the parking lot from behind a parked car.
Bruce walked towards it cautiously. His suspicions were confirmed when he steps around the car to find a mess of black hair.
Dick doesn’t seem to notice him until his shoe accidentally scuffs against a pebble. His small body tensed and he shifted himself, ready to run at any moment.
Bruce crouched in front of him, holding his hands out to show that he was not a threat. “There are people looking for you.”
Dick didn’t move, only watching him through tear filled eyes.
“I can take you to them.”
Silence.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.” Bruce reassures, inching a bit closer. He breathed deeply. “I lost my parents, too. I just want to get you to someone that can help.”
Blue eyes search his face- just moments before a trembling body slams into his own.
Bruce wrapped his arms around the boy and stood carefully, walking back towards the tent as tears soaked into the collar of his coat.
The frantic woman wasn’t hard to find.
“Dick! Oh, thank god!” She shouts, running towards them.
Dick reaches for her, the woman enveloping him in her arms. She looks at Bruce. “Thank you.”
Bruce nods, watching as Dick buries his face into the woman’s shoulder.
Just behind him, the bodies were being carried out.