The thing with shock is that it leaves you mute, reaction-wise. You're hit with this intense focus on… nothing. Instead of your brain not computing, it computes everything till the result is nothing. "My name is Aden Strong, and I am not crazy. My name is Aden Stron, and I am not crazy. My name is Aden Strong and I…" "Duck!" A body tackled me out of the way of an attack that left the wooden crates behind me a mess of wrecked goods. Is that a cabbage? Who puts a cabbage…the cabbage was stepped on by a scaly foot,ot and a packet with a white substance spilled out. Cocaine. Oh. I felt something roughly pull me up and throw me behind it. "Get out of here, you idiot! Run!" The young boy who said that was dressed in a very familiar outfit, red, green, black, ack and yellow. "Robin?" I muttered. "Yes. I don't have the time to sign you an autograph, and that will probably never happen if you get yourself killed." Full clarity finally hit me like an 18-wheeler. "Oh God, that's KillerCrocc!" I scrambled back in fear as The Batman ducked a hasty haymaker that broke through the concrete pillar of the warehouse we were in and, in a swift action, planted a device on Croc's chest. Batman then flipped over him. There was an explosion, and Croc was launched off right into a kick on the small of the back from the Dark Knight. I had the time to gawk at the expert display in gymnastics before going right back to panicking when… "Gah. Stay still you little shit!" A hail of bullets escaped the firearms of a few generic thugs hiding behind a black SUV. I counted four, with three more unconscious right next to them. I crouched right behind an empty container and closed my ears. I had never heard gunshots before. What.The.Fuck. Is.Happening! There was a loud snarl and growl, and I saw Croc's body sail over my head to grasp at the rafters of the warehouse. Another loud sound was the clang on the container itself as Batman jumped off it and shot a line. A swing later, and he followed Killer Croc outside the building. I scampered up and ran off towards the entrance to the building. And immediately shouted in fright when a bullet hit the ground right in front of me. My shirt was grabbed from behind, and I flailed in fear before my back hit the container I had been hiding behind. "You're seriously still here? You must have a death wish!" There was a continuous spray of bullets that hit the container. "Stop, stop, you fools. Don't finish your mags before we get the Boy Wonder!" The same guy with the gun who had talked earlier said. "Stay here and don't move. I have a few suckers to educate on why guns in foolish hands is wrong." Robin told me with a small upturn on his lips. I nodded dumbly, and he patted my shoulder before throwing a few birdarangs on the only source of light in the warehouse. The light bulbs shatter, and the whole building is plunged into darkness, the only source of light being the moon shining through the hole made by Killer Croc while escaping Batman. Smart guy. I glanced aro, trying to widen my eyes and see. Robin had disappeared, and a few seconds later, the sound of birdarangs cutting through the air, shouts of people cursing out, bodies hitting the group, nd and more gunshots ringing out was all I could hear. A few more bodies hit the ground until I saw a lone man running towards the entrance of the warehouse. I looked back and saw nothing but darkness. Logic dictates that you stay with the good guys, Aden. Robin is terrified, but not going to hurt you like he did those men. Please don't… I ignored my advice and found myself running desperately towards the entrance door, right before the guy in front of me fell from a birdarang, hitting his trousers on the side, and then digging into the concrete, effectively taking him down. What level of skill did it take for someone to do something like that? Nah, na,h I'm out. I increased my running speed, much to the shouts of my savior. "Wait. Don't. The Penguin…" I didn't listen and just read., The road to my salvation was so near, and then -- I rushed through it to freedom. Only to step right in front of almost a dozen guns. Pointed. Straight. At. Me. My hands came up quicker than my brain could register. " Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" A guy stepped forward and stared at me. He was dressed in a fancy suit with a pistol in his hand. "You're not Bats or his little sidekick. Who the fuck are you?" "My huh…name is Aden Strong, sir. And…and I don't know how I got here. I was watching a movie in my apartment and then the next thing I know, I'm in a warehouse dodging bullets and watching a showdown between Killer Croc and the frickin Batman." There was a brief silence as he nodded, holstered the gun on his hip, and lit up a cigarette. The smoke twisted in the air slowly, while he took in a slow but long drag. "I believe you." A couple of tears escaped my eyes as the feeling of relief overwhelmed me. "But I still can't let you go. Sorry, kid, Penguin wants everything happening here to be hush-hush." Quicker than my eyes could see, the gun was back in his hand, and I didn't hear the blast, but more like felt it. A cold feeling spread through my chest as I spared an incredulous look at the growing spot of red soaking my blue Ghostbusters t-shirt in blood. Something warm rose uncontrollably through my throat, and I knelt as my vision got hazy. The last thing I saw wasn't my murderer, nor was it Robin or Batman. It was a pulsing white light, beating like a heart, everything having faded from my sight. I reached out with my hand, it was so beautiful. I wish I could hold it. 'Damn it! Batman is gonna kill me for this.' Robin thought while fighting the last of the mooks so that he could go after the civilian who had appeared from nowhere during the fight with Killer Croc and the Penguin gang. Something was going down, Robin's detective mind told him. Penguin wasn't one to work with high-profile villains like Killer Croc. A clown dressed in Superman colors and wearing a power armor would have been more discreet than Croc, that's for sure. So whatever the smuggled goods were, they were enough for The Penguin to bring in muscle of Killer Croc's caliber. That's bad. Robin smashed a knee on the goon's face and followed it up with a sweep that brought the guy to the floor with a thud. A zip tie appeared in his hand in a practiced motion, and the guy was immobilized quickly. Then Robin was off. He arrived just as a shot rang out. Cursing, he jumped behind the few crates on the entrance and watched as the young man he'd been trying to save fell to his knees. Robin's eyes widened in horror. "No…" "There he is,oss!" A voice shouted and was immediately followed by a storm of bullets, which made Robin roll away. He was mad. At the situation, Bruce for insisting on chasing after Killer Croc, Penguin for being the cause of this entire thing, the dead boy who had probably just been a little older than him and most of all, he was mad at himself. Robin threw a few smoke pellets on the ground, and during the confusion, a few birdarangs shot out of the obscured position. Unfortunately, the birdarangs were accurately shot out of the air, and Robin settled on a terrifying conclusion that made him eliminate any lines of sight. The only sniper who could shoot like,h at despite the smoke was Deadsht. Deadshot was under Penguin's payroll, too? Damnit! Deadshot wasn't a C-lister like the goons in the Penguin mob. Deadshot was deadly. "Let's box him in. Bring out the grenade launcher. Our backup will make sure we get him this time." What? Grenade launcher? What about the goods in the warehouse? Of course! Robin almost smacked himself for his stupidity. Penguin would want to erase all evidence of his involvement. The smell of gunpowder filled the air, and Robin started getting worried. He couldn't leave his hiding place because Deadshot would no doubt tag him. He needed a distraction. As if to answer his prayers, a whoosh of air exploded outside the warehouse. The gust cleared out the smoke and sent men flying away from its epicenter. Then the shouts started. Guns began spitting out bullets as everything descended into chaos. Robin ran out of the building and barely avoided a huge piece of rock from smashing into him. He rolled away and escaped the flames licking his cape. His costume might have been highly resistant, but he didn't want to bet on just how resistant. He flipped away, rebounded from the wall to jump on a street light, then shot a hook line to the next building over. The line pulled on his body, but the trajectory was thrown off when a huge gust of wind, magnitudes bigger than the last one, carried him away. His young body hit the wall, and his breath left his lungs. His eyes watched in shock as the boy from before floated in the air. A bubble of air enclosed his body, with rings of water, stones, and fire surrounding the air bubble. Gone were the brown eyes, and in their place were glowing white orbs. Men were cowering behind overturned cars. Some were bleeding, one was smashed to pulp by a rock, and two others were burned beyond recognition. Robin realized offhandedly that those men were dead. Batman never killed, no matter who the villain was or what they'd done. He broke bones but never killed. Bile rose in his throat, and he vomited on the ground next to him. Panic surged through him as he processed the chaos. This wasn’t just a fight; it was a massacre. The boy's power was out of control, and Robin knew he had to intervene. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to his feet, determination flooding his veins. He couldn’t let this continue. Batman would never forgive him if he stood by while innocent lives were lost. Anger marred the features on the now-alive boy, and when he raised his hand, hell was unleashed. The Avatar had arrived in DC.