Chapter 29 Rabbit in a Snowstorm

Dean was restless. He could only stare at a white wall for so long. The computer had some sort of parental controls that he couldn't bypass. It was humiliating. He mostly took to pacing the cell's many rooms, and training in the gym area. He had to admit that he was in much worse shape than he had been in a while. He had actually come to appreciate the place he was locked in. It kept him safe, and comfortable. He ordinarily wouldn't have had many issues with it besides the fact he hated being locked up. The thing that made him nervous was that he had felt a growing sense of urgency that he couldn't place. It was as if the rooms were closing in on him, and he had this need to get out. Alfred had taken to dispensing his foot in an outlet that allowed Dean to grab it. It had been a long time, and Dean hadn't had visitors, not that he expected any. He wondered what they were waiting for.

He sat on his cot foraging through the greens to the good stuff. He felt like he could see the rest of his life laid out before him. He would be here for a lifetime, nothing to stare at but these white walls. He would have every comfort he could ask for, but no contact with the outside world. He wondered what was happening with Sam, if Sam even was Sam. There was so much he didn't know. He hadn't done it in a while, but he began to pray.

"Hey Cas, I don't know if you've got your ears on, but um… I need to talk to you. I've just been trying to think clearly and I just keep thinking about how it use to be, you know? I think about Sam and how he was before that thing crawled inside his body. I think of my own life when I didn't have this mark on my arm. I think of you, having to watch me fall down into a downward spiral of self destruction with no power to stop it. I don't have you to watch out for me anymore, Buddy. I have made mistakes, horrible mistakes that I… I just need you here Buddy. I can't do this without you. The mark is getting stronger every day. I don't think I can hold it back this time. There is a part of me that doesn't want to, and that scares me. I can't stop it, Cas. It's like it's trying to get me to do something, like I have some important job to do, but I can't know what. I feel castrated wandering these empty rooms not being able to do anything. I guess you can't hear me. I wouldn't deserve your help if you could. I just feel like I'm losing it, man. I am just so tired that I don't have the ability to deal with this crap. I don't know if you can hear me, but please, man, I need your help." Dean said to the air.

"He seems quite disturbed, sir." Alfred said as Batman stared at the live feed of the man.

"I would seem the same at times Alfred." Bruce said.

"Yes, but this man doesn't even feel like he can control his homicidal tendencies." Alfred said.

"What would you have me do, Alfred? I can't put him in Arkham, he would tear them to shreds. I can't let him go, because he would just run into more families in back alleys. He cannot be killed, and if he is he comes back worse. I have been running simulations for weeks and there is no cure. What would you have me do?" Bruce said.

"There is always the Phantom Zone, Sir." Alfred said.

Bruce contemplated the possibility for a moment. "No Alfred. This is between me and him. I cannot rest knowing he is out there in another dimension in space. Can't you understand that? If I can cure him, he will be able to make it right for someone else. I can allow that. I can live with my parents killer free if he stops something like that from happening ever again." Bruce said.

"But sir, he is a lost cause, you heard him yourself! We have been down this road before. You were convinced that the Joker could be cured and every time he had proven the fact that his mind is broken and he is beyond saving." Alfred said.

Bruce turned and looked Alfred in the eye. "No one is beyond saving, Alfred. You taught me that." Bruce said.

Alfred didn't have anything to say to that.

"Do me a favor and open his cell at eleven tonight. I will show you what kind of man we are dealing with." Bruce said.

"I hope you know what you are doing." Alfred said. Alfred was apprehensive about this whole plan. He trusted Bruce with his life, and that had to count for something.

"So do I." Bruce said.