Hey guys, this is for all those wonderful people who e-mailed me about more Gotham scenes, and some Origin stories. This one is the combined least popular ones. Robin kidnapped, Robin tortured, Batman rescue, Secret revealed to Gordon, No Batgirl, Black Mask. Well, I hope you like it.
The Justice Chronicles: The Origin of Black Mask
Robin heard the scream of someone in trouble and jumped down, landing in a crouch, and saw three men trying to hurt this woman in a shawl.
He went to help, when he felt an arm wrap around his neck and a cloth pressed to his face.
"Sleep now, Little Bird," said a sickly-sweet voice. And he blacked out
Robin awoke in a basement of sorts, his arms cuffed behind his back, and his hands stuffed into mittens. Smart man, he thought, without the mittens, Robin would have already gotten free and radioed the police. With them on, he didn't have a chance.
A man sits in a chair across from him, a crow bar in hand and a crazed look in his eyes.
"Good, little Bird, you're awake."
Robin glared.
"What, are you going to blackmail Batman?" He hissed with his usual sarcasm.
The man stood, and smacked Robin across the cheek with the crow bar with a flick of his wrist.
Robin gritted his teeth, and felt blood begin to trickle down his cheek.
"You know, I'm not after Batman," The man said, he would only be in his mid-thirties; his face was covered by an obsidian mask, shaped like a skull, with glowing red eyes. "All my qualms are with you, little Bird."
He smacked Robin on the hip, and that's when the Boy Wonder noticed his utility belt, boots and gloves were gone. Very smart man, he thought; spitting a globule of blood on the floor, he knows where my tracking systems are.
The next strike was harder than the others, and knocked him to the ground.
He gasped as he shoulder was almost dislocated.
The next blow cracked a rib, and the one after that broke three.
He didn't know how long the man beat him mercilessly, but eventually, he stopped, leaving Robin curled in a tight ball, blood pooling around his small frame.
"I bet you're wondering why I'm doing this," the Man said, crouching down and grabbing Robin's jaw.
He hauled the boy to a sitting position, Robin's left eye had swollen shut and his right eye was caked shut with blood that still wept from a shall cut at his hairline.
"The…the thought-ha-has cr…crossed my m…m…mind..." He croaked out with a bloodied, lopsided grin. "You're…ah…a crazy…son-of-a-bitch"
The man pressed his thumb into Robin's fractured collarbone. The Boy Wonder screamed.
"You abandoned my daughter, little Bird. She idolised you, and you leave her to burn to death in a fire!" The Man yelled. "Instead you save me! Why did you do that? She was perfect, and you killed her!"
Robin's jaw dropped slightly.
Six years ago
Robin raced through the burning building, searching for the father and daughter still trapped in the fire.
"Where are you?" He screamed, "I can't find you!"
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his ankle and he saw a man trapped under a beam. His face was badly burned and he needed immediate medical attention.
Kneeling down, the seven year old Boy Wonder hauled the beam off the man and grabbed him.
They ran out of the building.
"Anna! Anna! You have to get her! She's only seven! Please! You have to save her!" The man begged as Robin dropped him off at the EMTs.
Robin nodded and pulled out his grappling gun, he was about to shoot, when the building collapsed.
"NO!" The man shrieked, and then turned to Robin, who was frozen in shock, and attacked him.
Gordon wrestled the distraught man to the ground and the EMTs gave him a sedative.
"You'll pay for this, Bird! I swear, you'll pay for this! You murderer!"
Gordon wiped the blood from his chin and went to stand beside Robin.
"You okay, kid?" He said.
Robin didn't respond for a moment, and then burst into tears, falling to his knees and sobbing uncontrollably.
Gordon knelt down and wrapped his coat around the Boy Wonder, before picking him up and carrying him to the police car.
"Tell Murray to turn on the Bat-Signal," He told one of the Officers.
He set Robin in the passenger seat, buckled him in, and then got into the Driver's seat.
Twenty minutes later, he handed the shaking child to The Dark Knight, who held him tightly in Kevlar wrapped arms, murmuring words of comfort into Robin's ebony hair.
"It wasn't your fault, Baby Bird," he crooned.
Robin sobbed again. "Y-yes it was…I should have grabbed her first…"
Present Day
"I didn't…kill her…there was n-nothing I could have d…done…" Robin rasped, "the building…wasn't going to last any longer…"
The man grabbed the mask and pulled it off, revealing horribly burnt skin. His face was melted and red raw still in some places.
Robin winced. This was like Harvey Two-Face, irreparable damage.
"I'm…I'm sorry," he struggled to stay awake, "but I could-couldn't have done…" he forced his drooping eyelids to stay open. His injuries were beginning to take their toll on his body. "Anything, either way…she would have…died."
"You lie!" The Man shrieked, "She was a perfectly healthy little girl until you let a building collapse on top of her!"
Robin leaned against the wall, unable to fight the exhaustion any longer.
"I've read the autopsy report." He managed, his voice slurred, "she had led poisoning, high amounts of heroin and cocaine in her system. The fire was started by a Meth lab explosion." He gasped for breath that was becoming harder and harder to take in. "Your Meth lab."
The man roared and grabbed Robin by the neck. He forced he boy against the wall and squeezed.
Robin clawed uselessly at the man's hands. It was no use; the man was stronger than him, especially since Robin was succumbing to exhaustion.
"I did no such thing! My Meth labs are far away from my home! You have no right to suggest I gave my little girl coke and weed!"
Robin's vision dimmed, and he blacked out.
Batman landed on the roof of GCPD HQ, his cape fluttering off to the side in the light breeze.
Gordon stood beside the Bat-Signal with a cold cup of coffee in his hand. It was shaking.
"What do you want commissioner?" Batman asked. He didn't have time for this. Robin decided he'd go out for patrol by himself and left all the tracking equipment behind, even his Comm-Piece.
Gordon swallowed thickly and handed Batman his phone.
On the screen was a photo of Robin, lying there broken, bloodied and exhausted against a wall, his hands tied behind his back, his fingers taped together, and a filthy gag in his mouth.
Batman's body went numb.
"We don't know where the photo came from," Gordon whispered, blinking several times, "but its somewhere in Gotham. Because judging by his injuries, they're fairly recent.
Batman nodded. "He went out on Patrol by himself earlier today without letting me know. He didn't bring any of his tracking devices. I thought he was mad at me…" He bit his lip to atop the sob that tried to escape. "But why would they send the photo to Gotham PD?"
Gordon shrugged. "I don't know, but we have to find him soon, because it looks as if he's broken multiple ribs."
Batman nodded and followed Gordon into the Commissioner's office.
"It looks like he's being kept in a basement. The dirt floor means slums." Batman rambled, "By the size of what we can see, I'd say just off of Crime Street, an apartment complex there, maybe?"
Gordon nodded. "So you want to look there, Mr Wayne?"
Batman nodded, he studied the map for a several long minutes before his preoccupied brain registered what Gordon had said.
He stared at the Commissioner, white eye slits wide.
Gordon chuckled. "I've had my suspicions, Mr Wayne, but I have never had the time to ask you."
Batman grinned, a real, genuine grin. "Danny took about a year to find out."
Batman's grin disappeared and was replaced by a sad frown, and then an angry scowl.
"We'll talk about this later. When Robin is safe and alive."
Robin didn't know how long he was unconscious, but when he woke, his injuries were loosely bandaged; there was even a cast on his fractured collar bone.
"Didn't want you dying before I got my revenge, Little Bird," said the man.
"Go…to hell." Robin snarled. He tried to sit up when sharp, blinding pain shot through his body. He lay back down and swallowed.
"I sent a photo to Commissioner Gordon. I'm sure he's already shown it to Batman." The man said, "good, because I want him to see every minute of your death."
Robin felt a few tears escape his eyes and drip from his mask.
"You…leave him…alone." He growled. "This…is between you…and….me. Batman stays…out of this…"
The Man roared and shoved his masked face into Robin's.
"He deserves to be punished! He made you his partner! He let you take that fire by yourself! We are both Fathers, and he deserves to watch his only child die, just like I did!"
Robin sobbed.
"I am Black Mask, and I will rule Gotham one day!"
Robin closed his eyes as Black Mask stalked out. He curled tightly into a ball as much as he could and sobbed.
He stayed like that for several moments before slowly, carefully, sitting up.
He swung his legs under his arms and made the sign of the cross. Father. Son. Holy Spirit.
"God, I'm scared. That's it. I'm scared for my life and Bruce's. I don't know why you decided that girl's time was in that fire, that I'd be the one who'll never forget the ear splitting scream that echoes constantly in my nightmares. I've got a lot to be thankful for. Bruce is one, Riki is another, I love them, and they're my family. If you decide my time will come at the hands of Black Mask, so be it, but don't let my family split apart. That is all I ask of you. Amen."
He made the sign of the cross again and lay back down. He closed his eyes and let himself drift into sleep.
Batman growled in frustration when the basement came up empty again.
"Is there anywhere else?" He yelled as Gordon got into the Tumbler. Gordon pulled out a map and said "The big executive building on Crime Street has a dirt floor in the basement. It helps soak up the…the blood."
Batman swallowed. "Alright." He murmured.
They drove t Crime Street and Batman parked the Batmobile in an alley across from the building.
They got out and Batman noticed Gordon had adjusted the passenger seat.
"I think Robin had that chair just right." Batman mused, smirking.
Gordon chuckled. "Tell him I'll buy him an ice cream to make up for it."
They walked into the building and the secretary nearly had a heart attack.
She pressed a large red button and a siren filled the building.
"Crap," Batman muttered, pulling out a Batarang.
"Basement, now." Batman snarled.
They ran to the basement and immediately saw Robin, barely conscious, on the floor.
Batman ran over and used a laser to cut Robin's handcuffs off.
In a pile off to the side was a garbage bag filled with Robin's equipment.
"Commissioner, grab that bag."
Gordon nodded and slung it over his shoulder.
Batman unhooked his cape and wrapped it around Robin's shaking body. "I've got you, Baby Bird." He crooned, gently stroking Robin's hair out of his face.
Robin curled into him. Looking smaller and more fragile than the night Batman saved him from the streets.
"Bl…Black…" He rasped, his voice slurred.
Batman carried him outside, where an ambulance; and a lot of cops were waiting.
"We got the guy who did this," Said Lieutenant Smith, Gordon's second in charge. "Crime King of Gotham, calls himself Black Mask. Drugs, weapons, assassinations, he's got them. Nuts, if you ask me. We caught him welding a mask to his face."
Batman nodded. "I'll deal with him when I can."
The EMTs loaded Robin into the Ambulance, and Gordon said he'd go with him and keep the Dark Knight informed.
Batman accepted, pressed a soft kiss to Robin's forehead, and went to the Tumbler.
He followed the armoured van to Arkham and waited until Black Mask was secure in his cell before going in for interrogation.
He stepped in and removed his cape and gloves.
"How is the little Murderer?" Black Mask sneered.
Batman hit him in the chest. "Dying, thanks to you," he spat.
"Good. Now we've both lost our children. Maybe when I get out of here I'll go after Batgirl? She's only what, six? I love little girls, you know."
Batman's blood boiled and his body tensed. "You stay the fuck away from my family, you sick fucking excuse for a human being!" He screamed, punching Black Mask in the jaw. The masked man's head was knocked to one side and he went limp.
"Batman," said the guard, holding a phone, "it's the Commissioner, he says he has new about Robin."
Batman took the phone and held it to his ear.
"They went into surgery about five minutes after getting to Gotham Presbyterian," Gordon murmured, "the nurse has just informed me that none of his major organs are damaged. Half of his liver died, but it can regenerate. But there is nerve damage to his shoulder, and they don't know if they'll be able to fix it before the arm goes dead and they'll have to amputate it. He's a minor and would need a parent or guardian's permission to amputate."
Batman felt tears prick behind his eyes.
"I will. But it won't happen. Robin is a fighter, even when he was little."
Gordon hung up and Batman left Arkham. He headed to Gotham Presbyterian and saw Gordon leaning over a trash can outside, vomiting.
"Commissioner?" Batman asked.
Gordon looked up. "They…they saved his arm…" He rasped, "one hundred per cent function."
Batman fought back a grin, but allowed himself a small smile, then frowned. "Then why are you out here?"
Gordon held up his phone.
On the screen was a photo of a young woman, lying dead in a pool of blood, waste, and intestines her womb was ripped open, two umbilical cords hanging out. The picture was dated 1995. She had soft black hair, pale skin, and the blue eyes stared up at him were the same ones that looked at him every day, except the woman's didn't have that silvery shimmer to them.
"Olivia Wilde. I never saw the crime scene photos. No one ever told me she had twins." Gordon said.
Batman's eyes widened. "Are you telling me, somewhere out there is Robin's twin?"
Gordon nodded. "And she had just as an unprivileged childhood, not any less violent than Robin's."
"She?" Batman said.
Gordon flicked to the next photo. A pretty girl with dark hair, tanned skin, and gaunt features. She didn't look anything like Robin, but her green eyes had the shimmer, the shimmer Bruce loved so much. She wore a Crawford Academy Uniform. That was Robin's school.
"Her name is Jennifer Bertinelli. When she was six, an agent of a rival Mafia family kidnapped and raped her. Her parents sent her to Crawford and assigned a bodyguard named Sal to protect her. At age eight, she witnessed her Parents' murders at the hand of a Family head named Luigi Auditoria. She still has her Bodyguard, who refused to leave her side, apparently they grew close over the two years he protected her. He's working to adopt her."
Batman swallowed. "How am I going to tell him?" He asked.
"I don't know. I wouldn't tell him unless you have to."
Robin looked up as his Hospital room door opened to reveal Batman.
"Hey," He rasped. "I had a blushing Nurse in before."
Batman chuckled. "The entire League is here. Batgirl wants to get here, but she's stuck in Alaska, blizzard."
Robin nodded. "I take it Kid Flash and Superboy want to see me?"
Batman nodded. "If you're not ready, Baby Bird…" He murmured.
Robin shook his head, his eyes shining. "Let them in. It'd be nice to see those idiots after…what happened…"
Batman nodded and stepped out. A moment later, Kid Flash zipped in and buzzed around Robin's bed, poking and prodding him.
Robin grinned. "I'll be fine, KF," He said, "It's just a few broken bones. I've been through a lot worse?"
"When?" Superman asked, poking his head in, along with the other Leaguers.
Robin gave a one shouldered shrug. "I was gutted by Joker when I was eleven. It's a long story."
Superman turned greener than J'onn and left.
"Really?" Kid Flash whispered. Robin elbowed him in the stomach with his cast. "Of course not, KF."
Superboy smiled. "Glad you're okay, Little Bird."
Robin went rigid, and Gordon stepped in. He hadn't left Robin's room since he was out of surgery. He didn't want to chance someone taking advantage of the Boy Wonder's weakened state.
"Out. All of you." He said in a no-nonsense tone.
Everyone except Batman left. "Get some sleep, Gordon, I'll take the night shift." Batman said.
Gordon nodded. "Alright."
Half way through the night, Batman heard Robin sniffle.
"You okay, Baby Bird?" He asked.
Robin sniffled again and shook his head. "Sometimes, when we're not in a life or death situation, the League calls me Little Bird, except Supergirl, because other than Batgirl, she's the only one shorter than me. That's what Black Mask called me. Little Bird. He turned a pet name my friends use into something that I'll fear for the rest of my life!" He sobbed, "Superboy said it before…and all I saw was Black Mask's face! I wanted to scream and cry and…I haven't felt this helpless in years, Bruce! Years!"
Batman gripped Robin's uninjured hand, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders carefully.
Robin gripped onto him and didn't let go. He sobbed brokenly into the war Kevlar while Batman hushed him, told him he'd be alright.
Then, Batman sang a song he used to when Robin was little.
"Hush little birdie, don't make a cheep,
I'm gonna stay til you fall asleep,
Hush little birdie, please don't cry,
Or are those happy tears that I spy?
Hush little birdie, go dream and play,
No one's ever gonna take you away…"
Robin fell asleep and Batman laid him back down. He pecked him on the forehead and left.
Diana pulled him into a hug and he returned it. He wouldn't cry until he was home. But he needed to sleep.
He sat down and closed his eyes. Diana wrapped her arms around his chest and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Tonight had been bad. But tomorrow would be better. It always was.
.
.
.
END
How did you people like it? Okay? I hope so. NINE PAGES! I'M SO EXCITED! LONGEST CHAPTER EVER!
Well, give me requests, and I'll put them up. BYE!