COMEBACK SEASON

One of the criminals that really troubled the police was Victor Szasz. He was a psychopath serial killer that savored slitting throats so much, some would say he was addicted to it. He had no interest in wealth or power; he simply enjoyed taking lives using his knife. He was a bald guy of average height, crazy eyes, and tally marks all over his body. Initially, I thought they were tattoos but Batman informed me that he would heat up his knife and brand himself with the tally marks. Each mark stood for a person that he killed. His preference was to abduct a person and take his time running his mouth to them about all his bizarre philosophies for a few days before ending their life. Afterwards, he would leave the body somewhere on a random sidewalk in the city. The type of person made no difference to him, his obsession was quantity. He had up to 15 known victims to the list and based on an account of the one person that escaped him, his tally marks indicated he probably had about 40 total.

We didn't have any real leads so Batman put together a makeshift plan of action.

"Robinson Park makes the most sense for Victor to find victims. At night there aren't many people nearby but you will often find a person or two that stays out pretty late. So far his recent victims have been abducted in Old Gotham, Burnley, East End, and Otisburg but he likes to move around and he will get to that area eventually. Diamond District is lighted too well and he would stick out too much in Chinatown. Let's set up some camera's to monitor it in real time and also sweep the area once a night."

It became the most boring job ever for me. Night after night I would sweep through but saw no signs of Victor. Batman encouraged me to stay on it because he deemed it the best prediction. Even though the other victims were found elsewhere he strongly felt that this was the best option to get ahead of Victor instead of behind.

24 days after the latest murder, I saw someone in a hoodie walking closely behind another man leading him towards the Arkham Lake. I used my binoculars to get a better look and confirmed the man behind had a knife against the other guys back. I alerted Batman immediately; it appeared that they were heading for a canoe and going to cross the lake. If I let them get in the water it would be impossible to pursue them without them noticing me.

"Batman, it looks like they are going to a canoe and will cross Arkham Lake towards Tricorner Island." Tricorner Island was a decommissioned naval yard.

"I know you want to be here for this but I'm going after him now. I don't want to risk losing him, that man's life is at risk."

"I don't like it, but I see your point. Just remember, don't rush this. Victor is not a martial artist but knows how to kill. He may have some extra knives on him so watch out for that too. Quickly engage but be patient afterwards. Good luck."

"I'll be fine. I got this. Robin out."

I tried to move as quickly and quietly as possible. I didn't want to run towards him head on in case he panics and kills his hostage so I had to take a circular route to get behind him. My batarang aim had improved immensely and I knew I could get a square hit from further away then I use to be able to. I took my time, concentrated and flung the batarang directly for the back of Victor's head causing him to fall on his face. I sprinted at Victor hoping I can reach him before he had time to recover. While still getting up he reached into his boot, took a look over his shoulder to me and flung a knife heading directly for my stomach. I jumped as high as I could to dive over it. I banged my left elbow and right knee pretty good but had too much adrenaline to notice it. This gave Victor the time he needed to grab the initial knife he had dropped when I surprised him with the batarang. I sprung back up as he approached me holding the knife in his right hand. I thought a little bit about Batman's training regarding fighting people with a knife. Dodging attacks is preferred but if I have to block an attack I have to focus on contacting the wrist and not the hand to keep the knife away. Also, seizing the opportunity to grab the wrist and putting them in a quick submission that does not allow them to use the knife or forces them to let go.

I let him thrust and swipe at me while I did my best Muhammad Ali impression moving my feet and body to avoid each attack. I threw some punches and kicks to keep him off balance and frustrate him quicker. Soon he started to tire and his attacks were getting slower. I telegraphed a straight thrust towards my chest. I used my left hand to grab his wrist and direct the thrust to my right while simultaneously stepping to my left. I performed a quick spin and elbowed Victor in the temple with my right arm while still holding onto his wrist with my left. Then I put his arm in an arm bar submission. He screamed and screamed but there was no way I was breaking my hold.

"Batman, I got him."

"Good work, don't let up or get complacent Robin, he's still dangerous. Gordon and Detective Montoya are headed your direction so don't be alarmed by the cop car. They won't give you any trouble."

As I tied him up I started thinking about my journey to get back into the costume. I wondered if this is what it felt like to be an athlete recovering from a serious injury. I had been out of the vigilante game for a full year and it felt good but nerve wrecking to be back in the field. I took a deep breath as I waited for the police and started to think deeper about the previous year.

My first year as Robin was tough. Batman and I battled against Black Mask's eight assassins which left me physically and emotionally drained. Bruce and I got the job done but the fights I had with Copperhead and Deathstroke left me bruised and scarred. Bruce decided to take me off active field duty and keep me on the sidelines for a while. Initially, I figured it was just for a short recovery but it turned out it was much deeper than that. Bruce reminded me that he had trained seven years before his debut as Batman and despite the fact I had progressed well, I was far from the human weapon I could become. There was a lot I could learn on the job, but he felt strongly my growth would be limited if I didn't master the basics and build a better foundation for myself as a complete crime fighter.

First off, my 16 year old body was still outmatched by the grown men I was battling. Batman was able to lay a decisive strike and flow from one enemy to the next so fluidly and I simply didn't have the power to knock someone out like he could. I needed to maintain a consistent weight training program to strengthen all my muscles and that meant no more long nights out in the streets. My schedule became jam packed with sessions on weight training, gymnastics, running, and parkour. Being sore and exhausted everyday was brutal but I certainly noticed my body changing and felt more invincible than ever as each month passed by.

My second biggest deficiency was that I only used the high-tech gadgets on a basic level. Batman conserved much more energy than me by letting his gadgets do half the battle for him. Also, if he can see many of the assailants in an area he was scoping from a distance, he would plan his whole attack out and what items he would use when. When he had a good opportunity to game plan, it was a work of art. Sometimes he placed timed smoke bombs in the last part of the area he was going to attack and the exact moment he got there, the smoke bomb goes off. I also envied his creativity and misdirection. Sometimes Bruce would throw smoke bombs or batarangs in the opposite corner of his position causing all the adversaries to turn away from him so he can move around to beneficial hiding spots. I needed to experiment and study the full abilities of the gadgets and allow them to become a true extension of my abilities instead of just tools to use in emergencies.

The next focus was my core fighting technique. On the occasion I actually faced adversaries that knew martial arts, it was a struggle. I excelled in using capoeira but still viewed hand to hand combat as an area I could get exposed on. Bruce suggested that we work more with weapons and see if I have a natural affinity for any. After doing some light training with a collapsible bo staff I took a liking to it. We had staff matches and I excelled in it well so Batman suggested I carry one with me permanently. Alfred customized my Robin suit to hold the staff on my back hidden under the cape. The grapple gun was the only piece of equipment too big for the utility belt so Batman and I had it attached to our backs but Alfred found a way to fit the staff as well. In its collapsed form the staff was 1 foot in length and extended to 4 feet. This was shorter than typical but more suitable for me. I needed it to be small enough that I didn't notice it while moving around and my 5'4 body height had limited back space. The training staffs Batman had were about 2 feet when collapsed and 6 feet when extended and I found the shorter one to be more difficult to handle at first since I had to be more precise with my hand placement but once I got the hang of it, I preferred the smaller staff.

My favorite training was developing my motorcycle skills. Batman had given me a crash course on riding the motorcycle I named the Redwing, but now laid out specific tasks for me to master. The first technique was practicing riding at very slow speeds to help blend in with traffic when needed. The technique requires easing up on the clutch lever just enough to ride it at the friction zone so the rear wheel is getting just enough power to keep going but not too much to speed up. After I got down that control better I was able to move on to making sharp turns from a stop. It's seems simple to do but it did take some practice to be able to make hard turns smoothly due to the actual dynamics of riding a motorcycle. Afterwards I moved on to high-speed breaking, push steering, and learning how to relax more while driving. When I was done Bruce allowed me to take the driving test for cars and motorcycles so I can get an official driver's license. Then the lessons moved into speeding through the city and losing a vehicle that's giving chase. Bruce even signed me up to do some dirt bike racing as well to give me some different experiences.

The time off to dedicate to training was certainly beneficial but I was itching to get back. However, the required achievements that Bruce set for me to rejoin him were a big leap from where I was at the time. I had no idea how long it would take me but I was determined to keep training until I reached it. While I was sidelined, Batman was getting acquainted with his most notorious nemesis.

It took me most of the year before I reached Batman's set goals for my training. During that time he let me go out on some low level cases, but mainly my life was consumed with training and studying. It was frustrating but needed. I could feel that I was on a whole new level. My strength, endurance, skills, and toughness had drastically improved over the course of the year and the new rogues of Gotham were in for a surprise.

After Montoya apprehended Victor she became overjoyed and gave me a quick hug and thanked me greatly. She left me her card and assured me that I can call her if I ever needed anything. I left and it was all over the news that after a year of absence Batman's sidekick Robin took down serial killer Victor Szasz by himself. It felt good to be back. It was official; my comeback season was under way.