17 Apathy is Good?
[A/N* Not satisfied with this chapter that much but fuck it we ball 🙏
Honestly these last few chapters have been kinda freeing just writing what I want to write and not checking every episode to see if I got everything right or missed something
Should've broke the canon sooner if I knew it would be this much fun
But writing new ways for characters to develop is testing not gonna lie thats why this chapter took longer than expected *]
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- -Gojo POV- -
Smoke emerged from my mouth as the bodies of me, Robin, Wally and M'gann reappeared on the damp grass nearby by to the now destroyed education facility
The edges of my hair were singed slightly and the warmness I feel on my face will take a little while to get rid of but other than that… I'm unscathed
Unbloodied or undead if anyone was wondering
'The same can't be said for teammmates though…they look like shit,' the state of them was less than desirable with Robin being the worst of them, 'it's in times like these i curse my past self for getting reversed cursed technique'
Propping the unconscious bodies of Wally and M'gann against a nearby tree to support them, I turned to face a rather distraught looking Robin as he stared at the fire raging upon his school.
'This was close…too close. If I hadn't acted faster, even though I would have most likely survived, everyone else would have died,' I sighed a little before gazing up at slender loving moon, '…This wasn't supposed to happen. I remeber the episode perfectly and none of this was supposed to happen..so what changed?'
Taking in the fresh air whilst I gazed upon the hellish scene I had come to my answer to my question, "…My existence"
"Robin stay here, I need to go make sure Artemis and the rest are alright and the way you look, youre in no condition to fight," I shrugged, scanning the environment for the blonde archer
"…Why"
"Hm?" I lowered my gaze to stare at his crouching body of Robin, "What do you mean?"
"..Why….Why!" He punched the ground with vehemence, "Why..Why Satoru! Why do I keep failing?!"
Our eyes locked and I peered into his own and him the same
Scratching the back of my head in a little awkward discomfort at how to answer his question
This Robin was different. Completely different to the Robin I had known so far and the Robin I had seen on the screen with childish joy in my heart
A symbol of Gotham, no… he was no more than a child who questioned himself and resented who he was and why he couldn't be better..stronger and more alike to the man he worshipped and idolised.
A child who wanted to be a hero and protect the ones he loved. Loved ones that he cherished but couldn't confide in so bottled up his feelings and this being the result when faced setbacks over and over again.
Isolated
The complete antithesis to me…someone blessed with undeniable strength who, idolised no one questioned nothing but how he could gain and be pleased. No loved ones and no desire to gain them and he who believed himself free with no burdens yet still felt
Isolated
'Guess we aren't so different after all Robin,' I mused before crouching down to Robins level as I grabbed his shoulder, "Talk"
If there was one thing in this world where I didn't show near perfection in other than cooking, it would have to therapy - especially with this corrosive mindset of mine..
But I would try understand and emphasise, 'I'm definitely no Todo, but it'll have to do
For when the world has no ears maybe you need someone or something above that of the world
..Something greater
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Flashback...
--Gojo POV--
The world had gone red as blood cling to my body and clothes like a leech
My mind was clear. Clearer than it had ever been.
Speedy a vital character to Young Justice had just died
His guts. His intestines. Organs. Brain. Limbs. Spinal Cord was splattered across the entirety of the room staining everything in an eerie red
And at the centre of all this was me…
A man consumed by the overwhelming feeling of
Apathy
A character who I admired and loved as a kid was painting the walls and me in his desth
A living breathing human born from flesh and bone had died before me and I felt…
Nothing
Shed tears? Vomit at the sight of blood and metallic smell and taste? Collaspse to the floor in shock? Tremble in fear?
Why would I do that when I felt so indifferent?
This wasn't the first time I had witnessed death and it wouldn't be the last so why did this feeling of indifference that was usually then when faced with the dead feel so surreal
I could feel other emotions when directed elsewhere but towards the death of another that doesn't involve me it stayed the same
'…Forget it, I need to focus' I thought before conceptualising infinity once again
Blood cascaded down my body was I expanded infinity from the paperdermis level outwards, leaving unscathed once more
Undistinguished from the events that occurred today as if I simply wasn't there
That's how I felt right now. A ghostly figure unreachable by normal human emotions
I spotted Hawkman, barely breathing and functioning as I moved towards his body to removed the obsidian spike penetrating his body until I felt a hand nearing my shoulder
"What did you do!" His words were like white noise however his anger was real. He shook me as he tried clasped my body
I lowered my gaze onto him and peered into his eyes with my own and he quivered under my gaze before letting go, 'Good decision, right now I'm not sure if I can control my body - regulating my strength once more as my subconscious mind restored the barriers of strength that restricted my power.. enough for me to enjoy myself
Rubbing the back of my head with a sigh, I raised my head once more to look at the gathering of heroes before me who looked at the scene with utter dread, 'Must seem freaky right? Blood everywhere and me in the middle - untouched and eerily silent... totalllyyy not suspicious'
"Where is he?! Where is his clone?!" His spit flew into my vicinity before being stopped the infinite distance between the two of us and the rest of the leaguers
Isolated
'How best do I answer this? Which part? You're looking at him? He's dead saw him pop like a baloon right in front of me? I may not have an alive Speedy but I do have a Sukuna fic written by your very own Honoured_Writer that you need to check out? All of the above?' I contemplated with a struggling expression painting my voice
"Answer!" His face looked to be just inches away from me but it wasn't in actuality
"...You see the splatter across this room? That's him," I answered, "Dead."
Green's eyes and body shivered in disbelief at what's he hearing as his eyes dilated with disassociation
Whilst I couldn't relate i could understand
His partner, best friend and protégé turns out to be a clone and just when the mystery seems to be unravelling that same clone dies. Not only could the nasty little faker be used to find the original if he still lived but it was the last connection to the original he could ever have
But now the trail has come dark, severed, the other side just as vague and clouded as the origin leaving the traveller to suffer for his flaw of blindness even more
"His words are true Arrow," Wonder Woman spoke as holographic images at Batman's behest displaying the scene to me from outside perspective
Speedy's transformation. Klarions words and incarnation. Speedys Death and me
Bathed in the blood of a man I had just met 4 hours ago
A perceivable shock resonated amongst the leaguer's witnessing the images
A presence was felt behind me as a kryptonians hand tried to land on my shoulder but what was met with resistance of infinity
"Satoru…are you ok?" He questioned not removing his arm even though the distance between our two bodies never decreased in the slightest
"I'm fine. Living in a shithole like Gotham means there's definitely not a lack of murders or deaths to choose from," I answered sharply, "This..is not different just a little more gorey"
Sympathy and pity was held in their eyes which would surely disappear if they knew my true emotional state
"Lantern. Bring Manhunter and Hawkman to the infirmary they need medical treatment fast," at Batmans calling green constructs of pure unbridled will birthed from his ring and carried the blood soaked characters
Turning towards me, "You, travel by zeta tubes to where the team are currently. I have a bad feeling that something has gone awry. It may very be nothing but-"
"Yeah yeah, it's better to safe than sorry," I finished his sentence with a smirk, "I'm on it"
Taking a second to take in the scene before e once I teleported to the zeta gate and inputted the coordinates
"[Recognised B-06 Gojo Satoru]"
"~Change that to 'The Strongest', alright?" Without listening the responding confirmation I dived into the myriad of colours before me allowing my body to be warped into Gotham
'Things have definitely changed since my arrival, let's just see if I'm to the test to be able to unravel it with my strength alone…'
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"I keep failing over and over again!" Robin exclaimed, as his eyes bore into ground he lay on, "I'm supposed to be Batmans successor! The guy to take up his mantle so why! Why do I keep failing?!
How can I even think of taking his place if I keep fail-!"
"Batman this Batman that why do you even want to take his place so badly? Y'know the guys a deranged man who beats up other insane middle aged men at night does that sound like a person you aspire to be" I flicked his forehead to his displeasure, as I exasperatedly looked at him
Sighing a bit at the young disciple before me I spoke after a pause,"You see it as well dont you? That thing that drives him to drive to sacrifice everyone and everything for his mission to be that symbol. You want to be that?"
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he charades upt to respond but he continued
"You've failed since the formation of this team . Can't live up to your teacher's expectations. Can't recognise your close friend was a fake. Can't be a good leader. Can't. Can't."
Robin lifted his head and glared into my eyes which danced with playful delight
'Right now Robin doesn't need a encouraging speech on why it's alright to fail he needs to know his failures devoid of any ignorance and learn to overcome it'
"And when all said and done and you're left to wallow in a deep dark pit of failure and regret what are you gonna do about to?!"I spoke with a wave, "So you can't become the inner furry you've always wanted to be boo hoo~ are you just sulk about in your failures and not keep moving forward?
Falling into despair in the face of setbacks and constant failures is easy, fighting until your last breath despite all that to prove to yourself more than anyone else that you are successful is the difficult part"
"Easy for you to say, in pretty much everything you do you're the best at. Even your flaws are made up by your strength!" He argued
"You think so? If you think that then you have no idea of the burden of actual strength. I have failed so many times that I've lost count. To save lives. To become stronger than I already am. To empathise." I reminisced on all my failures as an unknown sense of regret welled up inside that felt too foreign to be my own
"So tell me 'Batmans successor' are you willing to give it your all and overcome all these failures adn truly define your identity outside of the Bat or sink in insecurities and unmet expectations?" I questioned
Standing up, I turned my back to him whilst he contemplated, "Now, take care of them until they wake up, it's time to take care of everything that I may or may not have caused courtesy of me existing"
I warped the space and disappeared into the night
The last image that remained in my mind was Robin who had raised his head and glistened with a new fervour like no other..
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[* Oh! One more thing if you wanna support me even further 🥺 * https://ko-fi.com/honouredwriter* ]