I had hoped to see the boy again, not in the Jump City news, mind you, but in person. I had wanted to talk to him, inquire about how his life had gone without us and such things.
But all questions had been wiped from my mind, seeing his expression.
"Don't go near him", Bruce had told me, jaw firmly set and seemingly regretting something.
Knowing him I didn't have to guess. Whatever had made Richard look like that and even come back to Gotham must have been very horrible. Of course Bruce was blaming himself for that, for letting him go, for not being able to protect him. It was who he was.
I went on to prepare breakfast, I was sure they were hungry. It irked me that I could not talk to Richard. I knew for certain that he had accepted me as one of the few authority figures in his life and one of the few people he trusted completely. Yet I could not reassure him and I was certain he needed reassurance.
I wondered why. It could not have been a risk of infection, Bruce had been freely touching him by the shoulder and even if he had already been infected himself he would not have risked spreading it through the corridors.
I could also rule out mere psychological trauma, I would have been able to help with that and Bruce would not have told me to stay away from him.
It had to be something else.
"Don't bother making it for three, Dick won't be joining us for breakfast", he said , standing behind me all of a sudden. That was one of the habits he only dropped when he was Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy and owner of Wayne Enterprises.
"Is he leaving already?", I turned around to him, carrot paring in my hands.
"No, he's staying here, he's just not having breakfast, not today and not ever again", he hit the wall with his fist, which caused the jars on the spice rack to shake.
A horrible thought came to me.
"He is not dying, is he?", I searched his expression for clues.
"No need, he's already dead", the bitterness in young Master Bruce' expression was more that visible, it was almost tangible.
After a few seconds he turned to me. I had not noticed my shock was so evident on my face until his eyes widened.
"Not dead like that, he's become a vampire… somehow", he shook his head. I heard disbelief in his voice.
"Shall I buy some blood then?", I inquired.
He looked at me for a long time. So long actually I almost considered going back to my cooking.
"That might be a good idea… and maybe some cow blood from the butcher as well", he turned around to leave.
"I need to make a phone call", he seemingly remembered on his way out.
I could hear him dial the phone in the hallway and continued to make chips from the brown lumpy potatoes in front of me.
"Hey Lucius, it's me Bruce… No, actually, I need a cage… Do I look like that kind of person? …that's a job for the police, not Batman… Then I would've asked for the cage earlier… No, I don't… The strongest one you have… Unfortunately the person isn't human and experimenting now might not be the best idea… As soon as possible… Tomorrow sounds good… I'll just rent a van, the helicopter would draw too much attention… While we're at that, would you mind organizing a donation for Gotham Central? I hear there has been a break-in which caused a lot of damage… Nope, it was already wrecked when I came there… Then I'm not gonna hold you up any longer… Until tomorrow", he put down the receiver.
"A cage, Sir?", I called out to him.
"His own request and it sounds like a good idea", he sighed.
The cage was solid steel, thick metal bars that seemed so unnecessary. Richard was dressed in some of his old clothes now, reading what looked like the phonebook. I had tried offering him a better lecture but he had only answered that coming near him, even with the cage was too dangerous. According to Bruce it had been 50 hours since his last meal and I could see he was getting more and more agitated.
Bruce had made a couple of phone calls but judging from his mood none of them had been successful.
I was at a loss what to do. None of my contacts would help and nothing I knew was needed in this situation.
I could only watch over Richard via the security camera and hope it would turn out alright.
I worried for the boy and I was not the only one. A few hours ago a girl had called, asking if 'Robin' was here, the concern in her voice had been more than obvious. So he had found friends then, that was a small source of comfort. Bruce had told her that he was in good hands.
Every now and then he would go talk to him but it did not seem to help, from what I understood Richard refused to drink any blood, he would turn away if offered any so Bruce stopped.
The hours passed and he changed. At times he would grip the book tightly and not move for a few minutes. Eventually he threw the book aside and stood up, pacing in the cage. By morning he was throwing himself against the bars, desperately trying to get out.
"His monster has taken over", Bruce' voice was dark. He turned towards the door.
"You don't plan on going in there, do you, Sir?", I faced him with an expression that told him exactly what I thought of that idea.
"It's the only way to know for certain", he left.
I could not help but watch the screen intently.
There was no audio, only sound so when Bruce entered, raised his hands in a very non-threatening way and spoke I could not hear him. No doubt he was reassuring Richard.
The boy was gripping the steel bars tightly and baring his teeth. I doubted he really understood anything that was spoken. I was not much of a lip-reader but the word 'focus' was unmistakable amongst the thing said to Richard.
The boy seemed to calm down, he was staring at his warden now with big eyes and a blank expression.
A few more lines from Bruce and he even closed his eyes in what could only be concentration.
The young master closed his eyes as well so he could better guide Richard through this.
That was what the monster had waited for. In one quick movement the bars were bent and he had latched himself onto the cervical artery of the man that had wanted to help him.
I rushed out to… I was not entirely sure what I planned on doing once I was there but it seemed like the right thing to do.
The scene that presented itself to me was fortunately not the one I had pictured in my mind.
Bruce sat on the floor, one hand pressed onto the wound on his neck. No doubt if I asked him how he was he would answer 'peachy'. So I didn't ask.
Richard was standing a few feet away from him, hands clasped over his mouth, looking shocked.
"Don't worry, it's not bad", Bruce said, sounding a bit surprised.
"Do you require stitches, Sir?", I asked, helping him up.
"Band-aid should be enough", he shook his head.
"No need, it'll be healed in a few minutes… at least that's what happened with Beastboy", Richard said.
I turned my head to him, he had actually said something. He had sounded exhausted, regretful but not quite so frightened anymore.
"Well, Beastboy is special", I threw an odd look at him before moving my attention to the boy.
A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips before his face went blank again.
That was the Richard I remembered.
