Hush's Last Stand
Boy Wonder
Timothy Drake always knew the truth about the Batman. While the other boys at school feared him and made up stupid ghost stories about him, he knew that the Batman fought on the side of angels. He fought to restore Gotham to its former glory. His mother used to tell him about the Gotham that existed less than two centuries ago, a Gotham devoid of street crime known for its reputation as a decent God-fearing city populated by hard-working men and women.
Only in the latter generations did Gotham turn into a postmodern morality tale. His own father used to work as a low-level enforcer for Carmine Falcone. When his empire collapsed, he went freelance, selling his services to the highest bidder. Men like his father got their thirty pieces of silver for betraying Gotham and all it once stood for.
Tim knew that to avoid his father's fate he would have to find the Batman. Only then could he help treat the plague of corruption and crime. He made a list of all corporate entities that had the means, the motive and the opportunity to fund Batman's crusade. He narrowed it down to Queen Industries and Wayne Enterprises.
Seeing how he could not afford a bus ticket to Star City, he began with Wayne Enterprises. He visited its owner, Bruce Wayne, at his home. He busted him after some clumsy surveillance, but not before he deduced his secret identity. After that, Tim made it clear that he would not leave until he accepted him as his apprentice.
So what did he do? Bruce Wayne adopted him, a decision Tim's biological father met with violent opposition. Still, what could a two-bit criminal do in court against a man with a net worth of 6.8 billion dollars? He told him the risks. In a rare instance of emotional honesty, he even told him what happened to the last Robin.
Jonathan Crane, otherwise known as the Scarecrow, had doused Tim's nervous system with a hallucinogenic drug designed to manifest fears. It made perfect sense that the Scarecrow armed with a hardwood plank turned into the Joker armed with a crowbar. Tim felt the splinters buried in his chin but still saw a crowbar in the Joker's hands.
If he didn't regain his balance, the Scarecrow would beat him to death. Bruce Wayne told him that the hallucinogen's effects disrupted the brain chemistry, but not the psyche. If he could summon the resolve to confront his fears, he could defeat the Scarecrow even in his altered state of consciousness.
The mock Joker smiled. "You know what I did to the last Robin. I beat him to death with a crowbar. I guess you could see he couldn't quite prove his mettle." The laughter echoed in his mind. It took every once of willpower for Tim not to believe what he heard. The Scarecrow's fear toxin had violated his senses. This seemed all too real.
Parrying the crowbar with his quarterstaff, he looked the mock Joker in the eyes. "Forget it. You wouldn't kill me no matter whose faces you steal." In a moment of acrobatic martial art skill, he disarmed the Joker and bashed him over the head with his quarterstaff. Even knocked unconscious, the Scarecrow's illusion did not wear off.
He turned around to face the sight of an ice demon in an astronaut suit. The fear toxin also had the effect of amplifying the presence of already scary places and people. The ice demon extended his hand and released a blast of arctic ice. The toxin had transformed Mr. Freeze, a mere human transformed by a cryogenic accident, into a demon in Tim's mind.
Demon or not, Mr. Freeze had one weakness. Tim delivered a sharp blow to the glass of the containment suit. Causing a breech, Mr. Freeze retreated back to a refrigerated area. Of all the enemies Tim fought; he pitied Mr. Freeze the most. Beneath the cryogenic weapons and the triple human strength, Victor Fries survived in a state of living death only marginally better than the one his wife succumbed to.
"At that's why they call me the Boy Wonder." Pride swelled in his voice as he gazed onto the battlefield. Tim Drake pulled off the impossible. Scared to the point of wanting to vomit, he had neutralized two major villains. Now, he needed to find the Catwoman. Last time he had seen her, she had gotten into serious trouble.
