Chapter 16:

Conall's apartment:

Robin was smirking in his mind. Conall had been pacing throughout his apartment for the last half hour, mumbling about somebody named Faolan and often using the word 'revenge'. The man thought the boy had no memories of anything, and Robin was going to use that to his advantage. His entire body was throbbing and weak so he was biding his time. Resting was best, but he needed to get out of here soon.

Everything. After exactly fourteen minutes, the Boy Wonder had remembered everything. The Darkling, the circus, broken bones, a jeering crowd, being arrested, going to the State Pen, Lt. Copple, Ned – hopefully the man was okay because Robin hadn't seen him since that night he had been taken to see the Interim Warden. Joker, no food or water, solitary, broken noses, blood – so much blood – being shoved into water and yes, he remembered giving up and dying. He had died but now, somehow, he was back.

"How do you not remember anything?"

Conall was suddenly in front of him again. Frustration was plainly written all over his face and his eyes were full of anger.

"I'm sorry," Robin said softly, his voice full of sadness. "I don't know what happened."

It was lie, a big one, but the teenager felt that it was okay since his life was on the line. If he admitted remembering anything, Conall would immediately enact his revenge. Robin couldn't let that happen, wouldn't let that happen. Batman was probably worried about him. Did Batman even know he had died?

That was one thing he didn't remember. What had happened between the time that he had died and the time that he had woken up in this apartment? Was it Conall that had whisked him away from solitary or had Batman found him? The Caped Crusader would be crushed if he had seen a dead Robin. He would blame himself for everything.

If Robin could just get out of here alive, perhaps he could make it back to the Batcave. Or, since they were in the city, maybe he was near Police Headquarters. They could call Batman, who would come get him. Then Alfred could take care of his injuries…

The Boy Wonder's thoughts were interrupted by a fist landing on the right side of his face. Apparently, Conall had been speaking to him but Robin had tuned him out.

"I asked you a question!" the man shouted.

"Um…sorry," Robin mumbled.

"Do you remember any part of your life?" Conall demanded.

Robin's outside expression was thoughtful. Inside, he was frantically trying to think of something that would satisfy the man without giving anything away.

"I…don't like peanut butter?"

"Why are you askin' me, lad? I donna' know what foods you do and don't like!"

"Me, neither," the teenager sighed regretfully.

He really hated lying but, again, he figured it was justified.

Conall turned around and walked away, muttering about teenagers and food. He disappeared into what Robin assumed to be his bedroom. This was the Boy Wonder's chance. If he could get to the door, there was probably an elevator. If he could get inside the elevator without getting caught, there was probably somebody in the lobby. If he could get to the lobby, perhaps that somebody could tell him where Headquarters was in relation to this apartment complex.

But Conall reappeared and Robin sighed again. He had missed his chance.

Or not.

That was his only thought when the man went into the bathroom and closed the door. Conall probably thought that he, Robin, was too weak to do anything except sit on the couch. Well, the man was partially right but the teenager was very motivated to get out of this place.

Gingerly, Robin placed his hands on the cushions and slowly pushed himself to his feet. He was swaying and the movement brought all the pain to the forefront of his mind. But if he was going to escape, it had to be now.

The Boy Wonder made it to the door just as Conall walked out of the bathroom.

"Where do you think you're going?!" the man shouted as he stalked toward the boy.

Without answering, Robin braced himself against the wall with his hands and kicked his right foot behind him. It collided with the middle of Conall's face and the man stumbled back. His head hit the wall that was four feet away, his world went black, and Robin limped out the door.

The Batcave:

Batman, after inspecting the damage and deeming the Batmobile acceptable to drive, had returned to the Batcave. Alfred was just stepping out of the service elevator when the Caped Crusader parked. He came out of the service tunnel and found Batman staring at the front end of the vehicle, which was slightly crushed.

"Master Batman, what happened?" he asked quietly.

There was no response and Alfred noticed the lack of a small body in the Batmobile.

"Sir, where is your young partner?"

Batman finally moved his gaze from the vehicle to the eyes of his butler.

"I…don't know," he replied sorrowfully. "There was a bomb and a hit to the head and when I woke up he was gone."

"Who, sir?" Alfred asked anxiously.

"I returned Joker to the State Pen so it's not him."

"Returned him, Master Batman?"

"It's a long story," the younger man stated with a sigh. "Right now I need to focus on finding his…"

Batman choked on the word and it didn't exit his mouth. Alfred immediately went to his side and pulled him into a hug. That was what did it, what finally broke him down. Batman slumped into the arms of his butler and allowed silent tears to slide down his cheeks. Robin – young, strong, faithful, smart, energetic, sarcastic, fun-loving, loyal Robin – was gone.

"I can't," the hero whispered.

Alfred, too, was silently crying. He knew exactly what his charge meant and decided that now was not the time to talk about retiring the cowl.

"I know, sir," he replied softly.

"I need him."

"We will find..."

"No, I need him. Batman can't function without Robin. Who is going to make fun of the villains even while tied up? Who is going to have my back in a fight with six villains after they escape from the State Pen? Who is going to smirk in satisfaction when we capture and turn in all the criminals?"

Alfred had no response. He certainly couldn't jump into Robin's role and he didn't know of anybody who could. Robin was Dick Grayson – they were unbreakably connected, even in death.

"I have to find his body," Batman whispered as he stepped away from his butler. "We need…he needs a proper…I have to find him."

"Do you have any ideas, sir? Anywhere to start looking?"

"The only person that really hates Robin, other than Joker, is Conall O'Reilly. But how would he get a bomb, and why would he be outside the State Pen, and why would he want a dead body? It's not like he can get revenge now."

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Batman strode to the Batphone and picked it up.

"Joker is in the State Pen," he snarled.

He slammed the Batphone down and dropped onto the nearest chair. The hero had no idea where to start. Was Conall living in Gotham City?

"Sir, I have an address. Maybe you should pay him a visit."

Alfred was at the Bat-index of Gotham City Residences machine. He was holding a card with the name 'Conall O'Reilly'. The address was an apartment complex near Police Headquarters.

Batman slowly stood up and walked over to Alfred. He glanced at the address, then at the Batmobile.

"Take the Batcycle, Master Batman. I'll work on the Batmobile."

"It probably needs to go to an auto shop," Batman commented quietly.

"Sir, do not underestimate the abilities of a butler who was once a member of both MI5 and MI7. I have a variety of skills, some of which will be very useful in this situation."

Alfred's tone was reproving and gentle at the same time. Batman stared at him, stunned, for several seconds.

"Perhaps, Master Batman, you should go," Alfred stated with a slight grin.

Nodding, the Caped Crusader turned toward the Batcycle. He climbed on, glanced from the Batmobile back to Alfred, then revved the engine and took off down the tunnel.

An alley near Police Headquarters:

Robin was huddled against the wall across the street from Police Headquarters. His legs had given out and he was sitting in a ball, his arms wrapped around his legs and his entire body shivering. The night was only slightly chilly but the teenager was barefoot and his former prison attire had been torn in several places. A fight with a villain in a confined area wasn't the best way to keep clothing intact. He had also just come back from being mostly dead, so his body wasn't as warm as it would have been had he not nearly died.

But Police Headquarters was right there. If he could just stand up and cross the street, he would be able to get help. Every time he attempted to stand, however, his muscles turned to jelly and bursts of flames flared up in random areas of his body.

He had thought about crawling, but had tossed that idea away when he saw Conall pacing back and forth right near his hiding place. The man was intently but unobtrusively watching the entrance to Headquarters. There was no way Robin could make it there without being seen. And, after being seen, he would have to beat the man to the door and make it inside. Robin wasn't sure if that was possible with the way he felt right now.

However, he also couldn't just sit here forever. The teenager knew he needed medical attention and the only place he could get it was the Batcave. He raised a shaky hand and carefully probed his face. It felt completely swollen, although he knew it wasn't. One eye was nearly swollen shut but he could see fine out of the other one.

Status report. Broken nose, swollen face, headache the size of Gotham City and the surrounding area, two ribs probably broken and two more at least deeply bruised, throat swollen and it hurts to swallow, several slightly bloody wounds on my head, muscles that refuse to work, fingers on left hand won't straighten out…

The list was getting annoyingly long so Robin stopped. He was extremely injured, that's pretty much all he needed to know. Then came a sound that he recognized but didn't expect. It was the engine of the Batcycle, and it was coming toward his position. But, why was Batman on the Batcycle?

The vehicle stopped near the entrance to the alley. Robin could see Batman's blue cape fly out behind him as the man got off. All the teenager had to do was get to the end of the alley and he would be safe.

With a quiet grunt of effort, the Boy Wonder pushed himself onto his knees. Slowly, he began crawling his way toward his partner, whom he could hear conversing with Conall.

"Where is he?" Batman growled as he strode up to O'Reilly.

Conall was pacing back and forth while staring at Police Headquarters. Something was going on but the hero had no idea what.

"Who?" the man asked with a hidden grin.

Actually, what he thought was hidden was in plain sight to the Caped Crusader, who could easily read the emotions of most people.

"You know who, I can tell from your tone and body language. You don't need his body, you can't get revenge on a dead person and I know that's what you want. So, tell me where he is and I'll take you to Headquarters instead of beating you to a pulp."

Batman thought his sidekick was dead. Conall internally laughed; of course he did! Robin had been dead when Conall had stolen him away and the hero had been unconscious on the road.

"If you beat me to a pulp you can't get information because I'll be unconscious, right?" Conall smirked.

"Tell me right now and I'll take you in. Or we can go to the Batcave, where I have some special machines that are very good at extracting information. After I get that information, I'll beat you to a pulp and then turn you in. Make your choice."

Batman's voice was matter-of-fact but the tone was dark and dangerous. Conall had no doubts about what the Caped Crusader could do. Revenge, especially avenging the death of someone you cared about, was a powerful motivator. And Conall had heard about the Batcave, although nobody really knew what was in there.

"Five…four…" Batman began counting as he moved closer and shoved Conall against the wall.

"I donna' know anything," Conall stated, cringing and hoping that Batman was bluffing.

"Three…two…" the hero continued as he clenched his hands around the collar of Conall's shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"He…"

Conall started to yell for help but it was cut off when his shirt was shoved into his neck.

"One," Batman growled.

"Es…cape…ed," Conall muttered through the pain in his throat.

"What?!" Batman shouted.

"Not…ugggg…"

Batman released the man's shirt and Conall dropped to his knees, gasping for air. The Caped Crusader crouched beside him and roughly grabbed the man's chin.

"Not what?" he snarled as he lifted Conall's head, forcing the man to look into his eyes.

"Not…dead," the man gasped. "But…gone."

"Not…" Batman started but immediately stopped.

The man had to be lying. Batman had seen it with his own eyes. Robin was dead – no breathing, no heartbeat, limbs turning cold, no pulse, no movement at all. Robin was dead.

"Joker had a potion," Conall admitted quietly.

He was no longer gasping, but talking hurt. And, Conall decided, the boy was probably dying again anyway. The man had been watching Headquarters ever since he had woken up. It was the closest building that Robin could get to and it represented safety for the boy. Robin hadn't shown up; he was probably lying in an alley somewhere, all of his injuries bleeding and killing him. So, confessing didn't really matter.

"I poured some drops down your sidekick's throat and he woke up," Conall continued.

"You're lying," Batman growled.

"No," Conall retorted, "I'm not. He's alive, but he doesn't even know who he is. I asked him to tell me something about himself and he answered by asking me if he likes peanut butter!"

"Not in a sandwich," Batman murmured.

"On…ba…nas," came a whisper from behind them.

Batman whipped his head around in disbelief. Robin was on his stomach, slowly army crawling his way out of the alley that was almost ten yards away from them. The boy's head wounds were steadily bleeding and his breathing was way off but…he was alive!

Robin had been snaking forward, propped up on his wrists, because his legs refused to help. He had made it six feet before his arms had given out. But he was so close; he couldn't give up. Blood was sliding down his face, making his vision red and fuzzy, and his body was yelling at the continuous movement over dirt and pebbles. But he was so close. The only other way he could think of to get there was army crawling. That was really going to hurt but at least he would get there. Hopefully before Batman decided to leave.

Batman said something about lying and the teenager growled softly. Yes, he had been lying to his partner but the Caped Crusader didn't have to go around telling people about it!

Then it was relief that filled his chest. Conall still thought Robin didn't remember anything. A lightning strike of fear raced through him when he heard the man's voice but then it was Batman talking again and the feeling fled.

His head slid out of the alley and he answered Batman's murmured thought.

"On…ba…nas," he whispered as loud as he could, his throat still protesting any sounds.

From the way Batman was staring at him, it wasn't hard for Robin to conclude that his partner thought he was dead. The Caped Crusader looked like he was seeing a ghost and the teenager wondered how long he had been presumed dead.

Batman was just standing there, stupefied, but Conall was already off the ground and running toward the Boy Wonder. Robin rolled his body left, preparing himself for the attack. The man kicked his foot out, intending to smash it into the teenager's face, but Robin wasn't called the Boy Wonder for nothing.

With a grunt of pain, the young hero grabbed the man's ankle just before the foot collided with his own broken nose. He twisted as hard as he could, surprising Conall and sending him sprawling to the ground.

For the second time in less than twenty minutes, the strong, muscular man was knocked unconscious by the strong, determined fifteen-year-old. It had taken all of Robin's energy reserves – there had been very little to begin with – so he flopped onto his back and closed his eyes.

A/N: Batman is pretty ooc in this chapter but I wanted to show the pain/angst that it caused him to lose his partner and ward.