(A.N: The big One Oh! This is the longest running story I have in the works right now! I'm actually really invested in this! This will probably be the longest chapter yet. Thank you so much to ask of my wonderful readers/commentators- your favorites and feedback keep me writing every week! Merry Christmas! )
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"Dickie! Dickie, where'd you go? Dickie please, I'm scared!"
The boy could hear his sister calling for him, clearly and sharply as a knife in his brain, but he couldn't see her. The man they were supposed to call Master had woken them up early, so early that his eyesight had been wet and blurry when he dragged them out of bed. Some men had pulled his sister away from him, no matter how much he fought and how loud she cried.
He could hear her crying now, somewhere in the dark, cold maze where he was. She sounded so close, but when he stuck out his hands and waved them he couldn't touch her.
Her sobs broke his small heart. The little boy shivered and swallowed his tears back, twisting and turning and glancing around in the big scary darkness. "Minnow? It's okay," he squeaked. "It's okay. Don't cry."
He couldn't see anything, anything at all... His heart thudded horribly in his thin chest, and he gasped for air. Fear made his skin slick and his tummy hurt. He could hear things sliding and slithering in the dark all around him. Wyllow hated creepy crawlies. "Don't cry, don't cry..."
"Di-ckieee...please..." Something moved fast, in the dark, and he jumped when he heard her give a terrified shriek. "DI-CKIEEE!"
"Don't cry..."
"Don't cry..."
When Robin next woke up, those words from so long ago were still on his lips. His sleeping mouth had formed them, and their mumbled echo lingered in the air. He lidded his eyes- they hurt like he had sandpaper behind them. He sighed and shifted, gazing lifelessly around his cell.
A day and a half in the League's little cage and he was going nuts. Other than the occasional interrogational visitor, he was alone in the holding cells. He didn't even LIKE the other villains, but he wouldn't have minded the company. The silence only served to remind him of Wren, and how lonely he was.
Robin sighed and closed his eyes all the way. Thinking about his sister was like pouring salt into his own eye. His worry for her was a constant pressure in the front of his mind. He wanted to help her, and the urge was an itch he couldn't scratch. Without his sister, he was only half of himself. He needed her and she needed him, point blank, even though Slade had told them long ago to fight as a team, but not for each other. Simply put, they were supposed to leave each other behind in situations like this. But he somehow knew that she wouldn't leave him, Slade's fury be damned.
He didn't know how he knew, but he was also pretty sure she wasn't dead. And he also knew there were worse things then being dead. Much worse.
The Leauge swore they didn't know where she was, but he didn't believe that for a second. The longer he went without knowing, the more volatile and angry he became, and the less he was willing to chat them up. The Leauge had tried so many tactics with him- trustworthy, stern, reasonable, motherly. The warm, caring act by Black Canary had been particularly hilarious. The Flash had tried to out talk him.
Robin glared at the shadowed glass walls. He needed to find a way OUT of here. His stomach rumbled, roaring emptily, and he flinched. He hadn't eaten since...before the mission. He craned his head and glanced over at the door, and the tray of food that still sat there. He didn't trust it, but...
His stomach shook again. God... He was going to risk it. He wouldn't save Wren by dying of hunger. Being drugged was better than digesting himself. He stood fluidly and pulled the tray towards him, inspecting it. Thin tomato soup, a roll of Saltines, a banana, and a cup of purple juice. Yum...
He started wolfing it down, nearly choking and having to slow down. Robin ate like an animal, hunched low over his food protectively. He was hungrier than he first thought. The food was cold, but it was good. When the tray was empty, he restrained himself from licking the bowl and pushed it away with his foot, belching behind his hand. As per his habit, he saved five crackers in a napkin and tucked them away. Who knew when he was going to eat again?
After that, he just sat there, once again not knowing what to do with himself.
«»«»
"So it's you. I'm glad you actually showed up tonight."
Super Boy smiled awkwardly at the brown eyed redheaded perched on the roof next to him. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But we've been really busy." The girl snorted and scratched at her tangled bun. Even from a foot away, he could still smell her bubblegum. "Right...saving the world, and all that jazz." She turned her mahogany stare on him. "Do you really expect me to believe that you're a superhero?"
"But I am, Erin."
"Mm-mm, sure. Flying around, rescuing poor, sweet damsels...Hey! You leap any tall buildings lately?" Conner ignored her skeptical tone. "Joke if you want- it's true. I just helped take down the major factory of a dangerous villain."
"Let me guess- Scarecrow? No, wait- Mr Freeze."
"Nope...Deathstrike."
Erin laughed at him. "You're delusional, Conner. You know that, don't you?" Super Boy frowned. Why didn't she believe him? "What will it take for you to believe me, Erin?"
Erin didn't respond, and he doubted that she even heard him. "You know Conner," she said abruptly, "you might just be my best friend. Even if you are crazy and you think you're a Super Hero." The street girl grinned to herself and kicked her feet over the edge. "You tell nice stories, I'll give you that.
Conner smiled, even though he was being insulted. He didn't know Erin that well, but he knew that being called her friend was no small feat.
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It wasn't fair. It simply wasn't fair. The older earth super heroes were keeping Robin locked away like an animal, and for some reason, it did not sit well with Starfire. She knew that he was a criminal, but something somewhere in her heart told her that he was not truly evil. When she looked at him, she saw pain, and a cry for help that she couldn't ignore.
The Tamaranian princess paced fitfully in her room at Titans Tower, staring out over the bay and watching the setting sun glimmer on the deep blue water. She thought that Robin was not in control of his actions. The Titans had battled him before, and she knew how manipulative he could be. The memory of the blood probes made her skin crawl. Slade WAS pure evil, and Robin...his accusations against her made her soul ache. They had failed him.
Some villains were unreachable, but he was not one of those. She was sure of it.
The Leauge was wrong. She believed she knew best how to talk to him, and she would. If she could appeal to his human nature... They would thank her when Robin decided to help them.
Starfire chewed on her lower lip. Cyborg would be displeased, but her heart would not let her be on the matter. She had to speak to Robin, and convince him that cooperation was the best way.
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"Enough of this. I'm going in, now."
"BRUCE! Bruce, please, wait. We're not at that point yet."
"We are PAST that point, Clark! I warned you- make him talk, or I would. You failed. Step aside."
Batman pushed roughly past Superman and pressed the pad of his thumb into the keypad on the door to the detention units. "Just a little longer, Bruce." Superman pleaded, following him.
"No. No more time. We're running out of time the longer this little bastard plays us for fools. I'm going to do what you clearly can't to get answers." Watching helplessly as Batman advanced on the cell, Clark Kent tried one more time to derail him. "Bruce...he's just a child."
Batman paused for a millisecond, tightening like a frozen rubber band. "No, Kent. He's not."
With that, he activated the door and swept into the cell.
«»
At the sound of the door, Robin kept his head reclined and his eyes closed. He sighed loudly and waited, but to his surprise, there wasn't a sound. He lifted his arm and waved it aimlessly. "Well? Aren't you going to say something, whoever you are? Maybe try explaining the dire-ness of the situation to me one more time?"
Silence. Confused, Robin lifted his head and looked around. He saw nothing but the empty tray and the metal walls. His brow furrowed. "What the..."
A rough hand grabbed his collar firmly, choking him for a second. He was snatched out of his chair so abruptly he didn't even have time to fight it. The unseen assailant threw Robin into the far wall with frightening strength, dazing him as his head smacked into the cold surface. Adrenaline burst and flooded into his veins. He got up and spun around, adopting his fighting stance. "What the hell?!" he snarled.
His vision danced for a few moments, and when it cleared, he was staring at a uniformly black figure. The cape and cowl was unmistakable. Batman glared silently at the junior criminal. Robin gulped dryly, feeling beads of sweat dew on his hairline and on the back of his neck. For the first time, unease showed itself on his pale features.
He knew that the Dark Knight was not like other heroes. He felt a prickle of genuine fear crawl down his spine. The witty retort he had been about to make died in his throat as the Batman gazed icily at him with all the hate and utter disgust he could muster. "I'm going to ask you this one time, do you understand me? One. Time." he rumbled. "So pull your greasy head out of the plaster and pay attention. Where is the Kryptonite?" Robin's pale eyes darted around frantically... And focused on the door.
The OPEN door. Directly behind Batman, the door to the cell was gaping open like the gate of heaven. His brain whirred- if he could just distract Batman for the tiniest second, he could be out that door and out of the mountain, on his way to finding his sister and making things right with his master.
"You are trying my patience. I'm not going to ask you again."
He didn't have a weapon, not even a smoke bomb, unless the fork he'd eaten with counted...
Batman stepped forward threatningly, and Robin blanched. It would have to do. He ducked when Batman reached for him, and feinted to the left, then dashed to the right. He grabbed the silver fork from the empty tray and chucked it into Batman's face with strength enough to puncture an eyeball, then dashed under his arm and made for the door.
He almost made it... He could feel the breeze from the hallway brush against his face. Half of his foot was out of the door, he could see the cell opposite his own, he was FREE-
Something slammed painfully into his back, and he was dragged backwards, kicking and howling with rage. "LET ME GO! LET ME G-"
And then he was flying again, and this time the back of his head struck the wall first, followed by his spine. Shuddering pain shot down his backbone, and his brain rattled in his skull. Not even the sidekicks had hit him that hard. Two instincts fought for dominance -the urge to fight, and the urge to cower and curl up and protect himself to weather it out. His eyes registered superhero, but his body registered Slade. Batman hit him like Slade hit him.
Robin started to slide down the wall, but he forced his knees to lock and stood upright. He shook his ringing head and focused back on Batman, who for all accounts looked like he hadn't moved. The door loomed beyond, taunting him. He had to keep fighting. His sister was out there.
He yelled and lunged forward, swinging his fists. Kick, jab, punch, kick, kick... Batman evaded his hits, looking bored. By chance, one of Robin's punches connected with his hard jaw, leaving a large bruise. Robin shouted triumphantly and reached back to hit him again. Batman blurred in his sight, and then his hand was being crushed by the crime fighter's vice like grip. His weakened wrist snapped easily, and Robin choked on his yelp. Batman leaned in close, catching his other hand and holding their faces inches apart. "This is me," he growled, "not asking again."
He spun the boy around and shoved him face first into the wall, hiking his arm high up his back into a painful curve of obedience. Robin's humerous screamed in protest. He bared his teeth and struggled. Batman pulled his elbow even higher, making him cry out. "I will break it," Batman warned. Robin panted loudly and flailed. "You...wouldn't..." Calmly, Batman yanked his arm the rest of the way, and Robin yelled hoarsely. His arm didn't break, but it was wrenched out of its socket. His arm flamed, then went dead and numb. Batman pushed him away, and he stumbled into the corner, but he still didn't fall.
'Keep fighting...keep fighting...' His training kicked in, and he stagggered forward again. Kick...Jab...Punch...Punch... His hand swung out. Batman caught his fist once more and pulled him forward to deliver a crushing punch to the face. Robin reeled back, and three more punches, each harder than the last, followed him. His nose shattered and his eyes throbbed, but he kept going as if he was on autopilot. He kicked down towards Batman's knee, and the Dark Knight swiftly hooked his foot and pulled, twisting his ankle severely.
The stitches on Robin's hair line had split, letting blood leak into his face and blind him. He couldn't even see where the lightning fast hits were coming from.
Elbow to the gut, punch to the throat, fist to the spine, hit to the shoulder...Batman held nothing back, and soon Robin looked nearly identical to how he had looked after the first battle. Adrenaline and fury kept him going. Stomach churning, face aching, eyes swollen, every bone in his body feeling splintered... He surged upwards again-
A vicious, stinging slap knocked him backwards as Batman backhanded Robin across the face. The spikes on his gauntlet tore into his skin and threw him aside. His legs disappeared out from under him, and he toppled to the floor. He felt his lip burst, blood trickling down his chin and into his shirt. His head spun and swirled as he struggled to his hands and knees, shaking, until another barrage of spinal hits and kicks to his arms forced him down. Batman's foot struck him in the stomach, tossing him, gagging, onto his side.
"Do yourself a favor, boy. Stay down."
His lungs didn't want to inflate right. He couldn't see...His spine had to be broken, his legs felt like burnt rubber, his head was splitting apart every time he moved...Still, Robin's elbows stuck up, fighting to push himself to his feet.
He felt a cold hand on his head. "Stay. Down." Lightly as a feather, Batman pushed, and Robin finally collapsed. Every heartbeat was like the beat of a drum in his ears.
SLADE...SLADE...SLADE...SLADE...
He had only seen Slade's real face three times in his life, and he would not have been surprised if the same hateful face lay behind both the Bat Hood and the Slade Mask.
As he lay on the chilly floor, streaked with his own crimson, he heard Batman's voice floating in his ears. "You are not a Robin. You will never have the strength or the courage or the bravery to be a Robin. You shame that title. I knew a real Robin, and you will never match up to him."
He leaned down, close to his ear. "A real Robin would have the bravery to stand up to Slade and tell us where that Kryptonite is."
"Can't...betray...kill us...hurt her..."
"Your sister is here right now."
A tidal wave of blind, homicidal anger swept through Robin, burning through some of the pain. He twitched and raised his head, clenching his fists against the floor. They were LIARS. They were LIARS!
"Li...ar..."
"Am I?" Batman asked coldly. He stood up and rotated his wrist, then turned to leave with finality, but Robin's agonized croak stopped him.
"There's...really no...difference, is there?" he coughed, forcing his throat to let the words through. The air inflated the blood in his nose so that it popped in gruesome bubbles. He lifted the bloodied tissue of his face up to the light, revealing it in all its battered glory. "Here...or there...Home or...Cell...You and...HIM. There's no...difference...is there..." He shuddered and closed his eyes, cradling his dead arm.
"Is there...Master?"
Batman's eyes narrowed to glittering chips of ice, and he swept away without another word.
«»«»«»
"That's it, Diana. He's been shown there far too long. I'm pulling the plug on this." Superman left his chair at the conference table and activated his communicator, keying it to Batman's signal. He wasn't sure if Wayne would really hurt the boy, but the look on Batman's face when he entered the cell...
Wonder woman watched him worriedly for a second, then tried to pull up the footage from the detention hall. The giant screen pulled up a smattering of thick grey static, and a flashing ERROR signal. Her eyes widened in shock. "Clark! He must have disconnected the cameras! I can't see anything down there!"
"And he's not answering my call." Kent reported, bristling with frustration. Before she could respond, the P.A system hissed to life, and the Flash's voice sounded in the room, tense and confused. "Uh, S-Man? The Manhunter's here from the Watch Tower. He says Bruce called him about the Kryptonite situation."
"Bruce is in the detention halls." Superman snapped. "Send J'onn J'onzz down and tell him to bring Bruce back up, pronto."
«»«»«»
He was lying. He had to be. He had to believe that.
Robin had dragged himself into a supported sitting position against the wall. His body was still, but his mind was once again racing. 'It's not true, it's not true. He's screwing with you. He's lying.'
Batman HAD to be lying. If Wren were here, he would have known it. It wasn't true. They were just trying to break him. Lying about knowing where she was was one thing, but actually holding her here and not telling him was another. She was still out there, and he had to help her. Nothing had changed.
Footsteps...coming closer. More than one set. He forced himself to open his swollen eyes and let his neck fall to the side, glancing at the door. At some point he hadn't noticed, the tint had been deactivated from his cell. His vision was still blurred, but he could see two shapes advancing down the hallway, one tall, one less tall. As they got closer, he saw that one them was a girl, with long black hair.
A girl...fear, hope, and terror made his heart pound like helicopter blades, suffocating him. Robin gasped aloud and crawled closer to the door, pressing his face against it. He cried out in disbelief, wiping the drying blood from his skin.
It was HER. Wren was there, walking just outside his cell. Batman was escorting her down the hall. Her hands were cuffed together, and her head was bowed, but he was one hundred percent certain it was her. Seeing her was like taking a long drink of cold water after years in the desert. She was dirty, but otherwise unhurt.
"Wren! WREN!" he yelled, as loud as his bruised throat would allow. "WREN!" He rose up on his knees and slammed his fists into the glass to her get her attention. "WREN!" His relief was strong enough to knock him out, and his elation coursed through his veins, making him feel like he could float. It was like a shot of novocaine. All of the pain he'd been feeling from his two most recent beatings vanished in an instant, and he jumped to his feet, beaming like a fool. His sister was HERE, she was ALIVE, she was unhurt...most importantly, she was away from Slade and his rage.
Only one problem...She couldn't seem to hear him. She hadn't looked at him once. Robin hollered even louder, straining his vocal cords and bashing his fist so hard into the glass it looked like he was about to break it. "WYLLOW! Wyllow, it's me! It's Robin! WYLLOW!"
Nothing. Not even a glance. She didn't stop, didn't speak. Robin's attempts grew more and desperate the farther away she got. "Wren! WREN! No, Wren! Look at me, look at me!" He slammed his shoulder into the wall, but it was like trying to get the attention of a brick wall. She didn't respond.
"No...No, no, no...MINNOW! Minnow..." Robin slid back down the wall as her back disappeared down the hall and out of his line of sight. The relieved joy in his heart soured, broke into a million pieces, and faded, leaving him cold and empty. "No, no..." It was like one of his nightmares come to life, watching his sister vanish into the mist and darkness. She couldn't see him...She couldn't hear him. She didn't even know he was alive.
Robin fisted his hands in his sweaty black hair, tugging until the roots burned. He was so stupid...so stupid. How hadn't he known...His eyes burned, but he held the tears back, knowing they wouldn't help him. Never cry in front of the enemy...
'Don't cry...don't cry...'
'Don't cry...'