The Other Brother

Prologue

Matthew McGinnis was not like other children. He knew what a divorce meant before he could even spell his name. While other children had play dates, he had visiting days with his dad and brother. It didn't take him long to notice his family was different; it was hard not to when everything around him always seem to point to a family living together.

Whether it was on TV or in school, it didn't seem like he could avoid the obvious difference he had to other children. When he asked his mom about it, his questions were met with a strained smile.

"Oh Matty." She said gently as she held him in her arms. "Sometimes things just don't go well with us big adults and we have to leave each other, but that doesn't mean we don't love you."

His dad said something similar when he asked him.

For a while, it didn't matter. The visits were fun and he got plenty of toys out of it, but then the phone calls started. His mom tried leaving the room for these calls, but he could hear her whenever she started screaming. The calls were always about his brother, about how he got into fights, about how he hung out with the wrong crowd.

There were times she looked like she was about to cry after those calls. Matt learned not to ask about it early on; there was nothing he could do. It went on for years, with each time worse than the last. By the time he was eight, his brother stopped coming to the visits.

Then that faithful day came, when the Jokerz killed their dad.

Matt didn't know what to think. It was like something out of TV, why would this happen to his dad? He wasn't a superhero. Heck, he wasn't even famous! Why would this happen to them?

His big brother was quiet for days. It wasn't until after the funeral that he finally broke down. "Mom, it was my fault. If only I…" He could hear the choked words through the wall.

"Honey, it wasn't your fault." Matt could hear the broken tone in their mom's voice as she reassured him.

Terry moved in not long after with what little he had from the old apartment. At first, he didn't like it. His brother always caused their mom to stress and it looked like he was slipping back to his old ways when he came home in the peaks of morning. He was sure the screaming would come back, but then the strange old man came. Mr. Wayne, their mom called him. The old man said Terry saved him from some hooligans and wanted to give him a job as repayment.

Who gives someone a job as repayment? Matt would've much rather have toys or candy as a reward. A job sounded like a cruddy reward for helping someone. Their mom thought otherwise with how excited she looked. What was so great working for this old geezer?

It didn't take long for Terry to agree and Matt saw him less and less. He thought it wouldn't matter since it was almost like Terry never moved home to begin with, but it wasn't. The first thing he noticed was that there will never be another visit from their dad ever again. What made him sadder was the possibility of losing his mother and brother next. Not seeing his brother at all, made it worse.

"You never hang out with me anymore." Matt complained on the off chance he saw his brother.

"I'm tired, twit. I promise next time we'll do something." Terry replied in exhaustion, but the next time he mentions never happens.

Weird villains started popping up around Gotham and the legendary Batman suddenly reemerged after disappearing for who knows how many years. It was like a field day whenever the news spoke about Batman. Matt had no clue why the mysterious hero was such a big deal. All he could think about was how cool he was and how he wished he was around when the Jokerz killed their dad.

The moment he finally met him was surreal. He always thought it would be something cooler, getting kidnapped by a strange tribal hunter was not what he had in mind. The mysterious hero was just as cool as he envisioned. He made a promise to himself that the next time he met Batman, he would be more useful and not just get kidnapped and locked up in a bird cage.

Four years passed since then and the thought never died from his mind. He managed to convince his mom and brother to let him take defensive lessons, but he had little progress. He found fighting wasn't his thing. He didn't have it in him to actually hurt someone. Don't get him wrong, he could put up a decent fight if need be and he still loved every violent movie and vid-game he came across, but to actually get into a fight was something he couldn't get into. Though, that doesn't stop strange things from happening to him.

"You idiot!" An alluring voice caught his attention when he stepped out of Master Tanaga's dojo and into the quiet streets. "Do you know what you've done?"

Matt knew he should've gone home when he had a chance, but curiosity was one of his worse traits. He followed the voice to a narrow alleyway and found a colorfully dressed woman. She looked murderous towards the smaller figure on the ground.

"You broke the chronos belt! Now we're both stuck here!" She snarled.

"Tt." An annoyed hiss escaped the boy's lips as she kicked him violently.

"I had it up to here with you fucking heroes!" Her hands glowed as green energy crackled at her fingertips. "I don't care if you're a child. Your time ends here!"

Matt had no clue what compelled him, but in seconds he found himself chucking his backpack at the woman's face and hastily knocking her down with a sharp kick to the chest. By the time she knew what was going on, he had already shrugged off his jacket and used it as rope to tie her arms.

"You little brat!" She roared in fury, her hands still crackling with energy, but she never got a chance to launch her attack. A green-gloved hand reached around Matt and punched the woman square in the jaw and knocked her unconscious.

Matt turned his heel quickly towards the culprit and found a boy not much younger than himself. The hooded boy scowled under an angry green mask. As he rose to his feet, his yellow cape draped over his red tunic. For a moment, Matt swore he saw a stylized R embroidered onto the right breast of the bright red armor tunic.

"Tt. I was careless." Annoyance slipped passed the boy's lips again as he pulled out a thin collar and snapped it around the woman's neck. "You're an idiot to have butted in. She could've killed you."

"She would've killed you!" Matt argued. "I helped you and a little thanks would be nice!"

"I would've been fine." The other retorted.

"As if! She would've fried you! Just who do you think you are?" Matt snapped. "You're a kid just like me!"

"Hardly." The boy snorted.

"Then who are you, Mr. Big-Shot?" Matt challenged.

The boy looked at him as if he was stupid. "I'm fucking Robin."

"Robin?" He said in a deadpan. "You're kidding right?"

"Don't patronize me or I'll break your face." The other snarled.

At the tender age of twelve, Matt McGinnis encountered what was possibly the strangest meeting in his life.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: I promised myself I wouldn't start new stories, but I couldn't resist! I sorely wanted to write something with Matt for a change. Thanks for reading!