The Value of Heroes
Chapter 37: As My Father Made Me
Author's Rantings: This chapter took me almost two months to write and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it. Mostly because trying to keep the confrontation between Dick and Bruce from NOT sounding like the similar fights Batman has had with Jason Todd was a crap load harder than I originally thought it would be. Even though Jason doesn't exist in the DCAU I still wanted to make it apparent that Dick's reasons for straying onto the vigilante path are a lot different than his replacement's motives were. Regardless of whether you read the comics or not I hope I somewhat achieved that.
"If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved."
George Santayana
-Gotham City-
(Arkham Asylum)
7:37 AM
In the stone walls were lunatics dwelled… countless strangers were about to share the same fate.
But there weren't just prisoners here.
Teddy the guard in the main lobby rubbed the sleep out of his weary eyes as he nursed cold coffee and the fatigue that came with spending a night burning the midnight oil.
The cleaning lady in the east wing continued to sing off key taking small pleasures where she could as she set down a new coat of wax.
And just making their morning rounds for the day were the ever present voices of reason at Arkham: Dr. Leeland and Dr. Bartholomew. The two patient souls who continued to work tireless days and thankless nights committed to finding sanity in a Gotham gone mad.
There were so many more faceless innocents inside the asylum… too many to even try to guess. Though they all had nothing in common they still shared one single bond with the criminally insane that lay just past Arkham's intimidating steel gates.
Because even though none of them knew it yet… they all only had a few minutes left to live.
-Jump City-
(The Abandoned Factory)
"HARLEY!" Kid Flash bellowed as the computer screen flickered and a strange passage flashed before his eyes. "I think I got something! Get over here! Quick! Now! Pronto!" Rocking back in forth in the chair he moaned, "Why aren't you here yet?"
"I'm injured not deaf, World's Fastest Doofus." The clown girl groaned as she raised herself off the crate and hobbled towards him before smacking him across the head, "So how bout we use our 'indoor voice' before you wind up back in the emergency room?"
"GEEZ! Why is violence always the first place you go to?" The boy exclaimed when her fist connected with his skull. "Learn to grow from love, Harley."
"Believe me, I didn't damage anything you were actually using." Harley sneered before she peered down at the writing on the screen and read Robin's cryptic hint aloud:
"I sit before the 'Mirror of Reason' asked to find the task that will make me my own master. But I'm cold and lost and can longer see what lies before me. What is it I seek?"
Glancing at the red head from under her Harley squinted, "I can't tell if that's supposed to be a riddle or if Bird Boy's just rambling."
"Me either. But let's not look a gift horse in the mouth, Harl. At least he's still leaving us a clue." KF trailed as he lost himself in thought. "Though I've got to be honest, all this has me a lot more creeped out than I ever was when I was dealing with Rob the last time. At least when he was beating the crap out of me, he still seemed like him. Just a crazy him." Scratching his head he muttered, "But all this? I mean the Robin I know doesn't leave people bread crumbs. It goes against everything Batman ever taught him."
"Well... he isn't really the Robin you know anymore." Harley stated matter of factly before the look on his face made her cringe. Green eyes lowered the boy looked about as down as if she had just kicked a puppy in front of him.
Clearing her throat the girl quickly tried to find a way to reword that, "Aw, I didn't mean it like that kid." She stated lightly patting his shoulder.
"No, maybe you're right." The boy responded dully. "Maybe the truth is that I never really knew him to begin with."
Whacking him once more for good measure the girl tried to hammer the gloom out of him by using so much force Wally was almost thrown out of his chair. "Oh c'mon, you don't really believe that do you?" Harley asked flashing him a smile.
"Insane devotion is your specialty, Quinn not mine. And unlike you I still have to live in the real world." Wally retorted sourly.
Not affected by that comment the girl shrugged, "Fine. So call me crazy then." Sitting down on the desk Harley hugged her legs together before she voiced a strange new idea. "But I'm starting to think that maybe Bird Boy's doing all this cuz deep down he really wants Bat's to stop him."
"What do you mean?" KF muttered as he raised a brow.
"Well think about it. Robbie knows better than anybody just how off his nut he really is right now." The blond explained, "But with Slade's little party pill damaging his Orbital Frontal Cortex the kid doesn't have a shred of self control over himself. He isn't like the rest of Bat's crazies who got carted off to the funny farm because we snapped over time; in Tweety Bird's case ol Slade pretty much just cut out the brakes on his mind." Mashing her face together for good measure she reasoned, "There's no gimmick behind that kind of crazy, no motive that drove the kid to becoming as twisted as the rest of us schmucks. Which is why the poor brat seems more like a joke that doesn't have a punchline now." Glancing at KF Harley stammered, "Take it from me, even crazy people still have reasons for waking up in the morning albeit they ain't always legal ones. But in Bird Boy's case Slade took all that away. Robin doesn't have a purpose anymore, he's just hollow inside. Even his insanity is empty, that's why the kid's raging at the world. Because violence is the only thing he still understands."
"So what you're saying is you think that all this is really just Robin's cry for help?" KF asked exasperated.
"Right-o-Rooney!" The henchwench exclaimed cheerfully. "That's the theory anyways. But you gotta remember I'm a shrink, not a brain surgeon."
Thinking about it Kid Flash had to admit she made a good point... even if she did it in a criminally insane kind of a way.
If anyone could have pulled off mass genocide on the scale that Robin was planning, the Titan's leader could have done it without a hitch. But instead of executing a perfect plan that would keep him undetected until the last possible second the former Boy Wonder had instead chosen to take the hard road at every turn imaginable.
Inducing syringes into each individual Titan, leaving a blatant challenge to Batman, even crashing the tower's front door... it all seemed totally counterproductive if all the Boy Wonder really wanted was to kill people.
Maybe Robin really did want to be stopped.
Mouth curling into a grim smile Kid Flash muttered, "You know you almost sounded like a doctor back there, Harley." Rapping his forehead he teased, "Even if you're still the last person on earth that should be psychoanalyzing anyone."
"Yeah, well don't get too impressed." The clown girl scoffed, "Either way you look at it, it still don't change the fact he's gonna kill a lot of people unless you do something about those toy rockets behind ya."
Coughing into his fist Wally looked away and blurted, "Thanks, Harley."
"For what?" Harley asked blinking.
"For giving me that little bit of insanity I needed." KF answered, "Even if it's stupid... even if your theory is wrong, I think I still needed to hear it. Because deep down I really want to believe in my best friend." Rubbing the tip of his nose the freckled boy weakly tried to laugh, "No matter how nuts it seems."
"Kid... in this line of work sometimes crazy is all you get." Was the only thing she could answer.
-Titan's Tower-
Time seemed eerily slow as Robin watched the others.
In fact the timer on the cannons barely even seemed to move, the seconds almost as frozen as he was.
Staring at panel the former Boy Wonder couldn't help but start to wonder if he'd make it in time.
But then Batman had never once disappointed the bad guys, in fact he almost seemed to materialize at the very mention of crime. And despite whatever the Joker had waiting for him, or how many people had gotten hurt along the way last night... deep down Dick knew Bruce would be there before the clock ran out.
There wasn't much Robin really believed in anymore… but still he somehow knew his partner wouldn't disappoint him.
After all no one could defy destiny the way Batman could.
And then all too suddenly... he was there.
The familiar silhouette of the Dark Knight appeared out of the smoke and ash like the phantom of men's nightmares. Teeth clenched, and all but coiled with rage Batman had an unfamiliar look blazed in his masked eyes as he saw the damage that had been done to Titan's Tower.
Along with the bitter reminder of the very real danger they were all still in as the electronic face on the cannon continued to count down each passing second.
But the look of betrayal on Batman's face was something Robin had been expecting. Because despite his failures in the past, this time the boy knew he had crossed a line. Bruce had finally seen the real him… and with it the cruelty Robin was really capable of.
There was no way to undo damage like that.
The Titans were all bloody and beaten to high hell as Batman stepped out onto the playing field.
Despite their obvious injuries though, the worst out of the bunch was still the Dark Knight's former partner.
Fifteen layers of nomex interwoven through the metal plating of Slade's apprentice uniform hadn't been enough to protect the kid from most of the fire damage he had sustained. And it was more than obvious that if Robin hadn't been locked in Raven's powers the youth would have had a hard time even standing at this point.
The wounds and gashes on Robin had been placed almost strategically, making it obvious that his opponent was much wiser and far more seasoned than anyone the Boy Wonder's own age.
Injuries like those weren't something the Titans were capable of.
Rather it was all too clear that Slade had made sure that each piece of seared flesh and tattered cut the child had sustained had been delivered with the utmost cruelty.
So while Batman had never prepared himself for the day he might have had to face his former partner as an enemy, he had always dreaded the thought that Robin's confidence might mean he'd one day lose the boy. There were times Bruce often doubted he would never see Dick Grayson live to become a man… or even get the chance to grow up.
Because despite all the training, all the brilliance, all the strength, under all that Robin was only human.
And it was clear now that Bruce had never properly taught the child how to fear death.
The Teen Wonder was as pale as a sheet, dirt and blood caking his tattered clothing as he straightened himself to meet Batman's gaze full on. But his injuries did nothing to curb the warm grin he flashed his mentor as Batman treaded soundlessly towards him.
"Hi Boss, hard day at the office?" The boy asked casually as the Dark Knight approached the Titans. "Joker must have really thrown one heck of a party this time-"
"End this. Now." Was all he got in reply as Batman cut him off bearing down on the boy with clenched teeth and slanted eyes.
"Holy lame intimidation tactics, Batman." Robin replied rolling his eyes, "Save it for the two bit thugs back home." Lips thinning into cruel smile the youth added, "After all it's not like you'll kill me if I say no."
"Slade and the Joker are finished." The Dark Knight declared, "So hand over the encryption string."
"You're the World's Greatest Detective." Dick said with a light challenge, "Can't you figure it out?"
Towering over him until he was so close that they were almost eye to eye, the Caped Crusader spoke with the same cold and distant tone he always used. "Dick... I don't pretend to know what the Slade and the Joker have done to you… but madness isn't an excuse for this."
But then the voice wavered ever so slightly.
The white lenses from behind Batman's cowl ached with something Robin could no longer understand as his mentor stated, "You're throwing away everything you've lived for aside like it was nothing. Following through with this plan doesn't make you as bad as the scum we hunt, it makes you worse. Because they never stood for anything. I'm giving you the chance to stop this now before it's too late."
"You're a walking fortune cookie, Batman. And a stale one at that." Robin countered before he let out a sigh, "For the first time in my life I finally see thing's for how they really are. And I'm not killing innocent lives here, I'm killing scum. Evil, sadistic bastards that have spent years monopolizing a system that doesn't work." Eyes narrowing the boy flashed a nihilistic smile as he spat, "No one is going to care if I blow Arkham and Belle Reve off the map. Heck when all this is over, most people will probably thank me. Some might even consider me a better hero than you ever were."
"Murder doesn't equal justice, Robin." Batman countered, "Just because we work outside the law doesn't mean we're above it. I thought you understood that."
"Yeah, yeah... there you go again being a self-righteous hypocrite." Robin sneered, "For years now you've talked about the sanctity of human life. But it's hard to swallow that same tired story when we're practically choking under the piles of human victims we couldn't save. After all this time Batman, you'd almost think that delusional morality of yours would be funny. But even as crazy as I am, even though the world looks like nothing more than a sick joke to me now... I still can't find the stomach to laugh at you. You're just pathetic, old man. And I've outgrown you and your mission."
His tone didn't change but a madness whirled in the youth's eyes as he sized Batman up.
The resentment Robin felt couldn't be dispelled by a few half hearted words but he asked anyways, "Does protecting those boogeymen really make us better people, Batman? No, I'm starting to think that the real reason you do it is because it's more important for your ego to know that you kept the monsters in Arkham alive. By hiding behind justice, by not crossing that line, it's all just a way to make you feel better when we fail people." Letting out a bitter laugh the boy snarled, "But I'm not like you, Batman. By staying in the lines, following that strict moral code, always making sure to follow your rules... it just isn't enough for me anymore. Because I've realized that even though we never pulled the triggers, there's still so much blood on our hands. And why? Why do so many people have to die for sake of that line? You've been called the most dangerous man on earth and madness still claims your city."
Getting a glazed, almost deluded look on his face Robin sighed, "That's the real problem though. That's why we fail."
In a single word he spelled it out for the hero, "Madness."
"Because the crazies have never been afraid of you. Over the years, you've become something more than human... you practically haunt that city. And most people are smart enough to be scared of you. But there's still one fatal flaw in that blanket of intimidation of yours."
Staring at Batman point blank the boy concluded, "The monsters of this world will never take you seriously as long as they know you won't kill them."
With downcast eyes and a expression that almost seemed haggard Robin looked sad and empty despite the smile still on his face, "Despite all that darkness inside you, Batman... you still have such a nauseating amount of respect for human life. Which is why you can't understand that the only way to stop all this madness is to join it. That's why I'll do it for you."
Closing his eyes in a half-lidded grin the boy explained, "I don't expect you to understand. I don't really understand myself anymore either. But regardless you're too late to stop me. I'll protect you guys... even if it means becoming something you hate."
"You're wrong, Robin!" A smaller voice cried out. Clenching his fists, angry tears were burning in Jericho's eyes as he spat, "Destroying something in hopes you can protect something else never works! If you start to think like that than you really will become just like Slade!" Panting the smaller boy fought with his own body to curb the fury radiating through it, "That man spent a lifetime learning to prey upon the senseless vendettas built on human greed. And he lost everything he ever loved, all because he thought destroying other people's happiness was alright as long as he was protecting his own." With a small pleading voice Joey quivered, "It's true that you and Slade really are a lot alike... but please... after everything that's happened... Robin don't prove him right."
It was true that being a monster meant one thing but somehow the weight of Joey's words struck a cord in Robin's core.
Glancing at the timer on the clock, the panel was dwindling away the seconds like they were nothing now.
They had less than a minutes left...
"I never wanted to admit how much me and Slade really are alike. No matter how hard I tried to be like you, Batman... I always fell short." The insane boy almost laughed, "You can somehow always do the impossible. There was a time that I used to cling to the belief that I could do it too if I only tried harder. All my life I've been trying to prove that you made the right choice when you offered me this job. I wanted to show you that I wouldn't break under the pressure... that I could still become everything you wanted me to be. But I failed you... I can't be like you."
Completely lost and with eyes that seemed all but dead Robin rambled, "When I was little you told me that the reason we don't take lives is because our identity means more to us than our morality. You said that as long as we can choose that, then we get choose who we are in the world... and that way no matter what other people say about us we still get to choose to call ourselves sane."
Blue eyes burning Dick turned his gaze up to Bruce and asked, "If I'm not sane... does that mean my identity disappears too? So if I'm not Robin... then what am I... Batman?"
"I don't have an easy answer, Robin. It's never that simple." Batman answered frankly, "But men are what they are... and everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions." Glancing at Slade's unconscious form the Dark Knight muttered, "You may be right though. The world probably would be a better place without people like Slade and the Joker. But no matter the reason for your actions you'd still go down for this crime."
"Give me the encryption code, Dick." Batman ordered as he outstretched a black gloved hand towards his partner, "I don't care how many lives these lunatics have ruined, I won't let them ruin yours."
"My how my ears are burning." Slade's voice purred before the area went white as a well placed flash disk tore into the open plain.
Temporarily blinded the Titans and Batman shielded their eyes as the battle torn form of Deathstroke the Terminator materialized in the distance.
The assassin carried himself with all the ferocity of an animal backed into a corner as he bent down to retrieve the gun he had lost during Starfire's assault.
Bleeding out of almost every orifice he had, it had been a while since Slade could remember the last time he had been beaten to this extent.
Which was exactly why his good nature had been worn painfully thin.
Glancing at the timer on the cannons yards away his inhuman eyesight immediately caught the mere moments that remained before the detonation.
Though Slade didn't really have to wait for the missile at this point… since even now he could imagine just how much of his computerized plague was ravaging through his body. Even if it was dormant the disease was still there, circulating, coursing through his arteries.
Like a whisper, a voice rising from the dark.
"Better men than you have tried their hand at playing god, young man." Slade grinned, "Though I have to admit few people have gotten this close to actually killing me." Slade grinned.
And just like that the last sliver of Robin's humanity all but drained out of the soles of his shoes.
It was that smile.
Something about the smile Slade was wearing reminded him of the same one Tony Zucco had on his face the night he had murdered his parents.
And somehow seeing it on his greatest enemy made Robin's mind snap even more.
Anger rising up in a dark boil that bubbled up through his insides there was little the half-demon holding him could do other than stagger backwards as Robin used the chaos from Slade's blast to slam his fist into Raven's shoulder.
Lashing out half blindly with her powers she quickly struggled to recapture him before the force behind his blow connected her with the hard metal casing of the timer panel. Raven's face cracked against the machinery and echoed like a gunshot as her vision crossed. A sharp stinging pain radiated through her forehead as warm, wet blood oozed out of the newly formed wound.
Even as the demon girl struggled to see past the red trickling down her face she knew she had already lost him.
Titan's Tower had mere seconds left before the detonation and Robin still seemed hellbent on spending his last dying breath attacking Slade.
But this time the boy had finally found his answer.
"Batman!" Dick shouted turning back for a moment and looking his mentor dead in eyes. "The main detonator for the missiles is attached to a timer that's operated by a trigger. If you blow the trigger, you'll stop the explosion. With or without an encryption string. So if you want to stop this... find the person holding the switch."
"You heard him, Dark Knight." Slade taunted as set his sight on his last target. "Though even with that hint time doesn't seem to be on either of our sides."
Slade wasn't aiming for the Titans or Batman as his gun fired its final shot.
Being a military man himself Slade Wilson was no stranger to the concept of Lexicorp's use of chemical oxygen iodine lasers. COIL technology is designed for the sole purpose of effectively heating objects until a target tears itself apart from cellular stress. On it's own all the chemicals inside the device weren't particularly flammable. But when they mixed together to power the laser H2O2 generated a chemical reaction between chlorine gas and an aqueous mixture of hydrogen peroxide and potassium hydroxide. Ultimately the process tended to leave the filtration tanks on the cannons filled to brim with potassium chloride.
And that's really flammable. In fact potassium chloride is usually the chemical that puts the 'bang' in plastic explosives.
The tanks cracked and hummed for a few brief seconds as the shot impacted. Gas sizzled escaping from the metal casing with a ripping force before the area was blanketed by a wall of fire.
Suddenly the earth roared and every window in the Tower shattered as the oxygen was ripped out of the air by the sheer pressure of the blast.
Insane waves of heat pummeled the heroes into the ground as if they were no more than insects as their island hissed and screamed in agony against the bursts of flame.
And then all too quietly a shadow fell over the group.
Despite all it's effort Titan's Tower had finally given up it's fight.
It could stand no longer.
There wasn't time for coherent thought or even the chance to scream as the stone and glass of the massive structure plummeted to the ground, swallowing the heroes in a sweltering inferno.
Across the ocean the panicked onlookers of Jump City could only look on in terror as the beacon that had brought them hope for so many years disappeared in a pillar of fire and crashing ocean spray.
... ... ...
To be concluded...