Hush's Last Stand
Good Soldier
Trapped in an igloo cell, Dick Grayson waited in a subterranean lair not unlike the Batcave. Thomas Elliot has assembled a grand army. Not only did he have an army of brainwashed battered wives, but also he had allied himself to a number of Batman's worst enemies. From what he could see, The Joker, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze and Hush inhabited this underground bunker, each desperate for the opportunity to take out Batman.
When Bruce Wayne arrived, he'd have to take them all on. Hopefully, that insufferable loner had not made the mistake of coming alone. Anyone of these guys could finish him off. The Bruce Wayne disguise had worked on pretty much everyone. Scarecrow didn't buy it though. Apparently, he knew the true identity of Batman.
This place must have taken a year to build. It had all the amenities, like a five-star hotel for freaks. It had a refrigerated storage area for Mr. Freeze. It had a chemical laboratory for the Scarecrow's inventions. It had a surgery room for Hush. It also had a jury-rigged electric chair, a must for the freak that enjoyed torturing innocent people. As Robin the Boy Hostage, he had seen the insides of a lot of lairs. This one had its finer points.
Ever since his parents died, he had joined Batman in his war to rid the world of the evil that claimed their parents. Like any war, they had casualties. Barbara Gordon, the only woman he ever truly loved, received a spinal cord injury that robbed her of her ability to walk. Less said about Jason Todd's fate, the better.
As the Oracle, Barbara Gordon provided tech support to the members of the Bat Family. Unfortunately, she left the Clock Tower for a week to recover from routine surgery. It meant that they had to fly a little more blind than usual. It also meant that he could not see her until she returned. She needed her privacy during her "vacations."
Like a good soldier, Nightwing had followed orders and acted bravely. Then, he saw it. The city across the bay, Gotham's ugly stepsister, Bl dhaven. Dick refused to sit by and do nothing. Batman and him had a falling-out over the issue of expansion. He wanted to spend more time solidifying their foothold in Gotham. Dick wanted to reach out Bl dhaven now. The disagreement ended in an ultimatum. Drop it or leave.
Bruce Wayne always operated like that. For the first ten years after the death of his parents, he listened obediently and politely to anyone who would train him. For the next ten years, he expected others to do the same for him. Which just went to show how little he knew about raising children.
Still trapped and going nowhere fast, he remembered the revelation that had occurred at the police stations mere minutes before Mr. Freeze kidnapped him. Commissioner James Gordon shut off the cameras and told everyone to leave him alone with the suspect. Dick Grayson feared the worst. He sincerely thought that the Commissioner might try to rough him off. What happened next changed everything.
"I figured out your secret . . . Dick. A good father should have known where his own daughter goes at night. Listen. You have to get word to Bruce. Hush planted a bomb in Barbara's spine. If I don't go along with this charade, she'll die." The words seemed unreal. How could Bruce Wayne have allowed such a lapse of security?
Hush had outdone himself. He had framed Bruce for murder, blackmailed the Commissioner and turned the Oracle into remote-controlled explosive. Dick needed to escape. The Commissioner knew a way through the back. At just that moment, Mr. Freeze had broken through the front door of the police station.
Dick Grayson must have heard the familiar sound of smoke pellet exploding or the welcome noise of someone's nose breaking because he suddenly knew that Batman had entered the lair. Judging by the commotion, he had backup. In the early days, Batman used to fight these guys altogether. Hopefully, he still knew how.