Chapter Nine: The Voices in My Head

"Why isn't the Riddler in Arkham, like he is supposed to be?" Buffy asked right before she spooned milk drenched raisins and bran into her mouth. "And why haven't we heard about him being loose before now?"

Bruce hid a smile as milk dribbled down his wife's chin, which she wiped away quickly. "Maybe because the cops don't know he's escaped Arkham yet."

"How can they not know? I mean, how do the people running Arkham not know a prisoner is not in his cell?" Buffy picked up her bowl and drank the last of the milk.

"They could be under some kind of spell," Willow offered, sipping her coffee thoughtfully.

"I guess we need to go there and find out," Buffy stated, leaning back in her chair.

Alfred came over and picked up the dirty dishes. Richard jumped up to help him.

"We as in Richard and I," Bruce said. He met her angry glare and shook his head. "I am serious. We can handle this."

"You are going to take an 8 year old boy into an insane asylum?" Buffy asked, folding her arms over her chest. Willow knew the action meant trouble. She knew that Bruce was aware of this fact also. She also knew that he didn't seem to care.

"No. I am not an idiot. He will stay in the Tumbler while I go and have a quick look around. I am not going to go in unless I have to." He pushed his coffee cup away from him. "I will only go in if I have to."

"Why can't I go?" Buffy asked. Pouty face. Worked every time. Usually.

"You are retired, remember?" Bruce met Buffy's eyes intently, and something passed between them. Willow had a feeling there was more being said then was actually being said.

"I wasn't retired the other night when I saved you from that plant chick," Buffy whined – actually whined – and more pouty face. She was really pouring it on thick.

"And I thank you for that," Bruce stated, leaning forward, taking one of her hands in his across from the table. "But I really think it is a good idea if you not go looking for trouble, especially now." His smile was sincere, but it was saying something that Willow could not understand.

They were defiantly keeping a secret.

Buffy was silent for a few moments, contemplating, and then she abruptly turned to Willow. "So, how was the Riddler able to communicate with you?"

Willow was so shocked by the sudden change in the conversation that she nearly choked on her coffee. Not only that, but she could not believe that Buffy had relented so easily. Her usual next step after 'pouty face' was a little bit of angry arguing, followed by more angry arguing, with some sarcasm thrown in for good measure.

"Um." That was all the witch was able to formulate for a moment. She cleared her throat and sat down her cup. Bruce and Buffy were still holding hands across the table, and both were looking at her as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Like secret keeping. "Mind to mind spell. Telepathy. Thought transference."

"Whoa! I have enough voices in my head without a resident bad guy coming to visit." Buffy kind of shuddered.

"Did he say anything useful?" Bruce asked.

"He said that Kennedy, who calls herself Harlequin now, disguised herself as a nurse and drugged him. When he woke up, she and her insane boyfriend were there, prattling on about taking over Gotham. Then the next thing he knew he woke up hanging upside down from a hook in a meat locker. He said there was a spell on him, like a stasis spell, but he was released from it."

"Wait a minute," Buffy began. "I don't know as much about magic as you do, but I do know that there are only three ways to be released from a spell: the caster ends it willingly, it has a certain duration and it has reached it, or the caster is incapacitated in some major way and can't retain the magic. Right?"

Willow nodded. "Yes, right, but I can't see the Joker releasing him willingly and stasis spells do not have durations. They keep going and going and going until someone breaks the spell. It is possible that someone did that, but it isn't easy especially if the caster is up and running."

"So, you think the Joker is debilitated in some way," Bruce mused.

"It's possible."

"So, how did Riddles get out of the meat locker?" Buffy. Fidgeting now.

"I might have done a locating spell and then opened the door for him," Willow admitted sheepishly. She waited for the scolding but it never came. She looked between the two of them that were sharing the table with her, but both seemed to be elsewhere, as in mentally.

"Well, that is nice," Buffy said, standing from her seat. "I am going to go check on the baby. Honey, you should come with me. To check on the baby. Before you have to leave. For your meeting."

"Right. Good idea." Bruce joined her and together they walked out of the kitchen, leaving Willow alone to stare after them, contemplating their strangeness.

Richard came back in, and picked up the coffee cups, saucers, and whatever else needed to be washed.

"Do you know why Buffy and Bruce are acting so weird?" Willow asked him.

She could tell by the look on his face that he did, but instead of telling her, he just shrugged. "They always act weird to me," he said with a smile, and then he left the room, leaving her alone once again.

Sighing, Willow got up and went back down to her floor. She had some work to, but she wondered what was going on with her friends. She figured they would tell her when they were ready to, but that didn't make her any less curious.

That night was the first official night that Richard got to wear his new armor.

It was not the flat black that Bruce wore. Rather it was a very dark green, and while it was made of the same Kevlar weave, it was more flexible so he could move as he was accustomed to. And he did not wear a cowl; just a mask that covered his eyes. But he had all the gadgets that the Batman had, even the gas powered grapple gun, and batarangs. Bruce thought it was funny that he called them this, but it seemed to be sticking.

He found out early on that it was going to take some time to get used to how the cape worked and the flying bit, which was what he was looking forward to the most. Bruce walked him through it after he had taken him flying a few times. Richard had held onto the Bat's armor as they had soared over the city. It was the most incredible thing Richard had ever experienced: being so high, floating amongst the sky scrapers, the wind all around him. He had laughed the entire time, with tears in his eyes from the joy of it.

Then it was his turn to try it on his own, and he hated that he was hesitating. It was not because he was afraid: he certainly wasn't afraid of heights and he wasn't afraid of falling. He knew, without a doubt that if he messed up and fell that Bruce would catch him. The Bat would not let him fall. What he was afraid of was failure, or what that failure could bring was more to the point. He could handle failure on his own, but he could not handle the disappointment it might cause Bruce – the Bat. He wanted to prove himself, he wanted to help. He wanted to protect those he loved, but more importantly he wanted to make his Ruh Baba proud of him. That was what he wanted more than anything.

"Is something wrong?" The Bat, directly behind him.

Richard shook his head. He was standing on the wall looking down at the street some forty stories below, but he was completely unfazed by that. "No, I just…"

Batman knew the boy was not afraid, but there was something that was holding him back.

"What is it? You can tell me," he urged gently.

"I don't want to fail you." It was whispered so softly that Bruce barely heard it.

"Failure is not always a bad thing. You learn from it. You try and whether you succeed or fail, you do your best, and that is all I ask."

Richard sniffled, turning so his face could not be seen. "I don't want to disappoint you."

Bruce sat down on the wall next to the boy. "You could never do that," he whispered. "I love you like you are my own flesh and blood." He turned the boy's head to make him look at him. "Do you have any idea what your coming into my life has done for me? You, Buffy, and now Marti? I was trudging through this darkness that was so profound that I thought I would never find my way through it. But now have these three beacons of light to guide me." He smiled at the boy. "You gave me light."

Richard turned and hugged him. "You won't fail us either. I know you fear that more than anything, but you won't." He stood back up, and looked out over the city. "And I know that no matter what happens, you will always be there when we need you." And with that, he jumped.

The first try was more of a plummet, but he caught himself two stories off the ground.

The second try went much, much better. So much so, that the Bat wondered if he would be able to keep up with him. But the sound of the boy's laughter on the wind was the best sound in the world to him, so he kept him in sight, but let him fly free.

When Batman caught up with Richard or Nightwing as he chose to be called, on top of a sixty-two story building, he was alarmed at how pale he was.

"What is it?" He asked, deeply concerned.

"Something bad has happened?" The boy answered, staring off into the distance. "Blood has been spilt not too far from here."

Batman knew to trust the boy's instincts. "Where exactly?"

Nightwing hesitated for just a moment and then pointed down toward the Bowery. "In there. I'll show you."

Once down on the ground, he led Batman to a tunnel. Halfway down the tunnel, the boy stopped and made a sign in the air. The air in there was dank and moldy, but there was also another smell wafting to them from the way they were headed, a smell that was unmistakable.

"Blood," Batman stated. He put his hand on Nightwing's shoulder. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Batman made his way down the tunnel finally coming to the carnage beyond. The bodies had been here for at least a day by his estimate. The entire room looked as if it had been hit by a tornado. He searched, but did not find the Joker. He did find Kennedy, however, lying face down, a wound from a sharp blade in her back.

"Moartea este penitenta, asa ca am fost aratat," the boy said from behind him. He was staring at the body of Kennedy. Batman turned to shield the boy from the sight. Nightwing stepped away from him, defiantly. "I have seen death before. They are empty now." He did keep his eyes on Batman. "I am sure this will not be the last time. You cannot protect me from everything. If you try, I will be of no use to you."

Batman knew this to be true, but that did not mean he had to like it. Every fiber of his being wanted nothing more than to protect Richard from all the dark and evil things in the world. But, he thought, if he was to do that, then why did he have Lucius make the armor for him? Why was he and Buffy training the boy? Why do all of this if he was not going to take up this mantle someday? It was two sides of a coin, a double edged blade. Sighing, the Bat turned back to Kennedy's body where he noticed the handkerchief that was lying on her head. He bent down to retrieve it and when he did, he saw the initials sewn into it.

R.A.G.

He stood quickly, and, picking the boy up, flew down the tunnel the way they had came, his cape billowing and snapping behind him. He activated the remote control on the Tumbler, calling the vehicle to their location. Richard knew the Bat had found something important, but he did not ask what that thing was. He could tell Ruh Baba was on edge about it, whatever it was. When the Tumbler arrived, Batman called Commissioner Gordon and told him about the tunnel and what he would find in there. Gordon said he would send some cops and the Coroner right away. Without another word, they climbed into the Tumbler and returned home.

Note: Romani - Moartea este penitenta, asa ca am fost aratat - death is your penance. It is Turkish, I believe. A friend of mine looked it up for me. It could be Romanian or Turkish. Not sure which.

Also, I know this chapter is a little touchy-feely. Sorry, but it is necessary.