A/N: A question came to mind with regards to REFERENCE 1 and 2. There had to be a story line BEFORE Batman Rises for Bruce to be acting the way he is. Why would he suddenly become a recluse? What happened? Who did he lose? The Answer is staring everyone in the Face.
In Batman Rising, there are THREE references to Robin if one has the time to see and here them.
Reference 1: Alfred talking to Bruce in the Batcave and he refers to LOSING HIM.
Reference 2: For a moment or two you see reflected in the background a ROBIN UNIFORM
Reference 3: Blake's full name contains the name of ROBIN
I use references from Robin Year One.
It starts out with Bruce's POV, but then ends with Alfred's.
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A LOSE BEYOUND RECONNING
By
AJ
"He's dying, Alfred!" Batman raced from the Batmobile to the medical bay carrying his partner.
The ashen face of the butler was all too real, and yet he did what he could to save the boy, but it wasn't enough. Dick Grayson succumbed to his injures, and something in Bruce snapped.
"Master Bruce, you cannot . . ."
Bruce did not listen. Returning out to the field, he hunted down Two-Face. He found him terrorizing another family, Gordon's family, in his mad quest. Bruce wanted to bring him in for his crimes, including for the murder of his partner, but that wouldn't happen. Two-Face was dead, and Batman stood accused of killing him, but someone else had pulled the trigger. Bullets were flying everywhere, and Bruce barely made it out alive. He hadn't noticed the wound in his thigh until he was heading back to the batcave after evading the police.
"Master Bruce, do you know what you have done?"
"I don't care Alfred."
"They are saying you killed Harvey Dent."
"Batman didn't kill Harvey," Bruce said. "Harvey died the moment that acid destroyed a portion of his face. He . . . " Bruce couldn't finish the words. The boy that lay on the table in the medical bay needed taken care of. He had warned Dick not to go after Two Face alone, but the headstrong youth was bent on trying to save his mentor, and in the end, Two-Face had killed him, beating him with a baseball bat.
"What will you do about the boy?"
"What?"
"The boy, how will you explain his death?"
"He has a name," Bruce had answered.
"Not any more. And what of your own injuries?"
"Alfred, I'm tired . . ."
"I must tend to that leg," Alfred said.
But Bruce didn't hear him. Instead he hobbled over to the medical bay. He picked up one of the towels and started wiping the blood from Dick Grayson's face.
"Sir, if you do not let me tend your wound, the damage may not be repairable."
But Bruce did not hear him. Instead he picked up the boy in his arms and held him tightly against his chest, and wept. He wept for the senseless loss, for the loss of the fun, punning boy that was his partner, for the boy that was his ward, for the boy who became his son.
It would be an hour before the loss of blood finally caused Bruce to nearly collapse. Only then would he allow Alfred to work on him.
"With this amount of damage, it will take months for you to recover," Alfred said. "But knowing you, Master Wayne, you will probably not let that stop you from going back out . . ."
"I won't be going back out there," Bruce said. "Batman is done. I've given all that I can give. I've lost everyone I've ever loved to . . . " Bruce slammed a fist against the computer screen that was in front of him, causing it to shatter.
"Very well. I shall take the boy up to his room and make arrangements for his burial. An explanation will have to be given. I'm sure I will think of something. What should I do with his uniform?"
"Burn it for all I care."
Alfred heard the anger in Bruce's words and knew he did not mean it. He was hurting, shattered, his life in ruins. Alfred's hand moved to the letter that he kept in his pocket, the letter from Rachael. He meant to give it to Bruce, but now, perhaps it was best he burned it. Rachel had chosen Harvey Dent over Bruce. This had been before the accident, before someone had thrown that acid in his face. Rachel had seen Harvey Dent as the crime-fighting hero that Bruce was not, but in the end, she too lost her life. Alfred couldn't add to that pain, not now.
Alfred moved to where the boy's uniform lay. He was tempted to do just as Bruce had said, but instead, he would take the uniform and clean it, and place it back where it belonged. Perhaps when Bruce was ready to move on, when he had a clearer head, he would decide what to do with it.
At least he was grateful for one thing Bruce would no longer be risking his life. He made a promise to Martha and Thomas Wayne that he would keep their boy safe. It was not an easy promise to keep. Perhaps Bruce will move on now that he decided that Batman was done.
Alfred picked up the cowl that Bruce dropped and placed it back in the case. He retrieved the uniform after removing it so he could treat Bruce's wounds, the worst being his right thigh. He placed it back in its glass case then watched the case lower to its hidden compartment. It was like burying a piece of someone he knew. Secretly, Alfred hoped that Batman would stay buried. He just hoped that Bruce would not stay buried with him, and that he would rise above this new loss.
End