Chapter 7:

Cell Block M:

"We can't even take showers?" a man at the other end of Robin's row whined.

People had been yelling ever since the guard had announced that there would be no breakfast. Robin wanted to tell them all to just shut up. But he didn't want to give the criminals another reason to hate him.

Then, a guard did it for him.

"Everybody shut up!" the guard by Robin's cell yelled. "You keep this up and I won't take you to lunch, either."

Please shut up.

Robin really hoped the other prisoners would listen to the guard; he needed sustenance. The dizziness that had begun after his most recent fight hadn't receded. He could feel his lips cracking and it hurt to swallow. Lunch was probably three hours away, at least.

Please just shut up.

From the cell four doors away from him, Robin could hear a creepy voice singing a song in a tune he was sure nobody had ever heard.

"Robin, my baby bird, Joker is coming. Joker is coming for yooooouuu. I can't leave you aliiiiiive 'cuz you stole him awaaaaay. Joker is coming for yooooouuuu."

Whispers were filling the hallway now and Robin caught his name several times. The guy in the cell next to him suddenly knocked on the wall. When Robin didn't answer, the criminal said seven words just loud enough for the teenager to hear. Seven words that made Robin's blood run cold and terror streak through his entire body.

"Payback, kid, is going to be fun."

Batman had decided to pursue the needle-in-a-haystack strategy. He was currently in Cell Block B, slowly searching every dark corner in each cell. Block A had taken almost an hour but this one was going a little quicker. There was more sunshine in Block B, so there were very few dark corners in which a small teenager could hide.

Block M – 11:55:

"Get up, kid, and come to your door."

The guard was different from the one who had been roaming up and down the cell block all morning. His voice was gruff, but he wasn't angry.

Robin, not wanting to find out what would happen if he didn't comply, did as he was told. His entire body was still trembling, and he suddenly wished he had at least wiped his face. The dried blood had crusted over his nostrils, making it difficult to breathe.

The dizziness increased as he stood up. He walked into a wall before swerving back to the bars of his cell door. There was a loud sigh and Robin almost fell to the ground when his door was unlocked.

Suddenly, his arms were behind his back and his wrists encircled with the sharp, cold metal of handcuffs.

"I don't know what you did, but my orders are to get you to the cafeteria before everyone else," the guard stated quietly. "I'm also supposed to keep you confined and stand over you while you eat. You look like you've had better days."

Ignoring the attempt at humor, Robin focused on putting one foot in front of the other. If he could just make it to the cafeteria, he would finally be able to eat.

One minute later the bell rang and the teenager began to panic. They were going to catch up, everyone, and they were going to take down the guard. And he, Robin, was going to have to fight with his hands literally tied behind his back.

"Relax, kid, we're here. You have about thirty seconds until the other inmates get here. Just enough time for me to hook you to the isolation table and get you a tray."

Without knowing how it had happened, Robin found himself sitting down. His arms were in front of him and the handcuffs on his wrists were chained to a ring in the middle of the table. The guard was gone but before Robin could turn around to find him, the man was back. He placed a tray of prison cafeteria mush and a tall cup of water in front of the boy.

The stuff in the bowl was gray and squishy but Robin didn't care. He grabbed the spoon off the tray, scooped up a large bite and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. That was a mistake, he realized as he began choking on a rather large cube that resembled a meatball.

A hand began pounding his back and the meatball slid down his throat. Robin glanced up at the guard with a grateful look, then scooped up some more mush. His hand was shaking, he noticed, so the teenager put down the spoon and picked up the plastic cup instead. He drained almost the entire amount of liquid before putting it back on the table.

"Geez, kid, I know your block didn't get breakfast but missing one meal isn't going to kill you. Slow down!"

"Not since got here," Robin mumbled before shoving more food in his mouth. He didn't care that it smelled like wet dog and tasted like mud. It was food.

"What?!" the guard exclaimed quietly. "When did you get here?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders but the guard wanted to know. He put his hand on Robin's arm, forcing the teen to stop eating.

"When did you get here?" he repeated, concern in his tone.

"I don't know, can't keep track of time."

"Yesterday?"

"No, before that. Night before, I think?"

"You haven't eaten in a day and a half?! No wonder you're shaking and swaying all over the place."

"Can I please…"

Robin glanced down at his arm and the man immediately removed his hand.

"Thanks," the Boy Wonder muttered as he scooped up another bite.

The guard leaned down and whispered, "Be right back, kid. Keep eating."

And Robin did. The last bite slid down his throat ten seconds after the guard left and then he drained the rest of the water.

"Boy Blunder got in trouble!" Joker's familiar voice rang through the general noisiness of the cafeteria.

Something squishy hit the back of his head and Robin growled. The only thing he would be able to do was glare, though, so he ignored the slimy stuff sliding down his neck and remained perfectly still. If only his hands were free; if only it was just him and Joker, alone in a locked room. If only….

"I got you some more but you've only got about three minutes."

The guard had returned. He had another bowl, half-full this time, and another full cup of water.

Robin was done with it all before the three minutes were up.

"Yard time!" another guard yelled and, five seconds later, the bell screeched in approval.

"Crap," Robin whispered.

"Don't worry, kid, I'll take you out last."

The guard stood in front of Robin, shoving away anyone who came near. The teenager was extremely grateful that he had a guard as an ally now. But then the man spoke again.

"Let's go," he said as he unchained Robin's handcuffs. "I don't have outside supervision duties so just stay by the other guards. Sorry I can't undo these," he stated, pointing to the handcuffs.

Grabbing a napkin off the table, the guard swiped some junk out of Robin's hair and then led him outside.

Robin looked up at the man, his light-blue eyes full of dread.

"Please?" he whispered, fear skipping around the word. "Please take them off?"

Glancing around, the guard replied, "I was told to keep you restrained. But you've got some trouble coming your way and I'm not going to let you get slaughtered because you can't defend yourself. Just try to stay by the other guards."

The man unlocked the cuffs and hurried away. Robin was about two yards away from the nearest guard. Joker was coming toward him, so the teenager moved even closer.

"Ya' think I got yur back, kid?" the man next to him asked with a laugh.

Robin recognized the voice of the unsympathetic guard who, apparently, didn't care if an inmate was in obvious danger.

"Good luck," the guard said as he sauntered away.

There was no time to move closer to a different guard; Joker was already there.

"So, Boy Blunder, are you having a good time here? The State Pen is so cheery, right? What did you do?"

Robin ignored both the questions and the man, choosing instead to stare at the wall behind the villain.

"I know," Joker taunted. "Batman didn't want to punish you for bad behavior so he sent you in here. We can do all the punishing he needs."

The man's red lips were curved up in a sneer, his yellow teeth glowing in the bright sun and his green hair waving around in the slight breeze. Robin was tired of Joker's face, his words, the sound of his voice, everything about the man.

So…the teen punched the villain in the face as hard as he could. This time the blood spurted from the nose of Joker, who screamed in agony.

"I don't need to be punished, Joker," Robin snarled.

"Too late," the man mumbled through his hands, laughter surrounding the words.

The Boy Wonder had his fists ready but no criminals were advancing on him. He was confused and suspicious.

"Hands behind your back."

A guard had come up behind Robin without the teenager hearing him. Startled by the loud voice, the young crime-fighter automatically spun around and swung. His eyes widened when he saw the face of a guard and he stopped his fist just before it hit the man on the side of his head.

But that didn't stop the guard from 'calming' an unruly prisoner. His nightstick was shoved into Robin's stomach. The teen was bent in half by the force of the hit and the guard's weapon slammed down on the back of the boy's head. Robin dropped to the ground, face first, and didn't move.

"I'm bleeding out!" Joker whined. "He tried to kill me!"

"Shut up, Joker, you're fine," another guard yelled.

"Man up," Robin whispered from the ground, smirking through the pain in his ribs and the throbbing of his head.

"You shut up, too," the same guard growled.

A man was kneeling beside Robin, grabbing his arms and forcing them behind the boy's back. Handcuffs were slapped around the small wrists and the Boy Wonder realized, too late, that this had been a trap.

"It's off to solitary for you," the man holding him snarled. "You've been in on every fight these last two days and I think you started them. You were standing by the light switch yesterday, you were first out of your cell this morning and now you punched that idiot in the nose. Maybe two days in solitary would be best."

Robin was yanked to his feet as the guard was giving his speech.

"I didn't start anything!" he attempted to yell through the blood sliding from his nose. "They're the ones after me because I put them here!"

"Come on," the guard snarled again as he began jerking Robin toward the door.

"That's right, guys," the Boy Wonder continued yelling, "you're in here because of me! I won't forget this!"

"Shut up!" the guard commanded but Robin refused to go quietly.

"Wait until it's one on one, Joker! Or Riddler, or Penguin or any of you! I'll take you down, just like I always do!"

The teenager was now struggling against the strong grasp of the guard. He was tired of everything that was happening and ready to take down a criminal.

But in here, he was the criminal and the guard did what he would do to any prisoner not obeying his commands. His nightstick hit the back of Robin's head and the boy's world went black.

Batman had finally made it to Cell Block M. It was mid-afternoon on Robin's second day in prison and the Caped Crusader still hadn't seen the Boy Wonder. The sun was beginning to lean west and the older hero was going even slower than he had in Block A this morning. There were many dark corners, all of them big enough to hide a small-for-his-age teenager.

Unbeknownst to Batman, Robin was a floor above him, being roughly tossed into cell number 4 in solitary confinement. The solid metal door slammed shut and the only light in the room came from the setting sun, whose last beams were gently weaving through the tiny, barred window near the ten-foot ceiling. But Robin was unconscious, so only having a small rectangle of light didn't matter to him.

One hour later:

There were six steel doors in solitary confinement and Batman was almost positive that none of them contained Robin. A light bulb would be on if someone was in one of these cells. Warden Crichton refused to let any prisoner languish in complete darkness.

"Robin!" Batman shouted, just in case. But there was no answer, so Batman left.

Robin heard his name but couldn't find the strength to answer whoever had yelled it. Then the identity of the voice burst into his muddled mind and he pushed himself up to sitting.

"Batman?" he yelled, although it came out as more of a weak shout.

But there was no answer. Robin sighed as he sat in the darkness. Complete darkness, he realized, as he glanced around himself. He remembered that he was in isolation but he knew the warden's rule about light. Why was there no light on, anywhere?

"I really screwed up," the teenager whispered.

Punching Joker first meant he had started the fight. Then he had nearly hit a guard. And then he had disobeyed the man's orders, yelling at the other prisoners and struggling to get away.

"Status report," he mumbled to the darkness surrounding him. "Giant headache, face on fire…"

The teenager stopped talking and gently probed around his face. Nose – definitely broken. He remembered falling on it in the yard, just before being handcuffed. Left eye – swollen almost shut. Right side of face – swollen everywhere except the eye. Dried blood crusted on his entire face.

With another sigh, Robin continued, "Chest hurts but nothing broken…I think."

This time he probed his torso, all over. It really hurt but there were no sharp edges. Something could be fractured – he had never been good at evaluating ribs – but hopefully he just had deep bone bruises.

"Nothing wrong with my legs, that's good," he commented, trying to find something positive. He was, after all, Robin.

His stomach growled and a picture of the gray mush raced through his mind. Would he get dinner in isolation? That was something he had never thought about before. Not surprising, since he had never had to think about anything like that…like this…before.

A light suddenly came on in the hallway of Cell Block N. The weak beam flowed into the teenager's cell through a long, narrow, barred slit near the very top of the solid, steel door. Robin stared blankly at the only exit, wondering how long he had been here. At least he now had a little bit of light.

He glanced around again and suddenly felt very, very alone. The cell was small, maybe sixty square feet, and the only thing in there was a toilet attached to the wall. No bed, not even a blanket. Then he realized, he wouldn't need a blanket. The temperature was warm and he was already beginning to sweat.

There was a creaking noise and Robin, who was sitting right next to the door, instinctively jumped to his feet. On the door, just above the floor, a rectangular slit flipped up. A large Ziploc bag was shoved through the small opening. The teenager dropped to the floor again and grabbed the bag. Some apple slices, a piece of bread and a smaller, sandwich-size bag with liquid sloshing around inside.

So, there was his answer. A prisoner in isolation did get dinner. It was a more like a snack but at least there was water.

"Five minutes," a deep voice growled.

Robin's jaw dropped in shock. He only had five minutes to eat?! That's what he assumed the person meant so the teenager began chewing and swallowing faster than he ever had in his entire life. Robin was grabbing the bag of water when the slit flipped up again. Quickly draining the liquid, he shoved the small bag into the bigger bag and pushed it through the opening.

"Sleep well," a high-pitched voice sneered.

The light went out and the Boy Wonder was alone again.

Robin wasn't here. That was the only logical answer. Batman had seen every cell, talked to almost every prisoner and had even checked solitary confinement. Most of the villains in blocks K-M were too busy insulting him to listen to his questions. They probably wouldn't tell him anything anyway.

Lt. Jameson. Batman had neglected to try to reach the man. He and Muschamp had gone out to the prison yard and then Batman had begun searching for his strong needle in this hostile haystack.

Climbing out of the Batmobile that he had just climbed into, Batman strode back into the State Pen and straight back to the processing department.

It was nearing seven o'clock now and Lt. Muschamp was briefing Lt. Copple. Both men looked up from some paperwork when they heard the distinctive sound of the Caped Crusader's boots stomping down the hall.

"We need to call Lt. Jameson," Lt. Copple stated when the hero stalked into view. "I'm surprised you haven't done that yet."

"I took the liberty of doing so," Lt. Muschamp stated. "His teenage son said his parents went out of town for their anniversary. He gave me the number for their hotel so I left a message telling Jameson to call me back as soon as possible."

With perfect timing, the phone on the counter began to ring. Batman snatched it up first.

"Lt. Jameson?" he growled.

"Batman?" the man on the other end replied in surprise.

"Did you take Robin to a cell?"

There was no answer, only static. Batman repeated the question, this time yelling through the receiver.

"Sorry…what…breaking…"

"DID YOU TAKE ROBIN TO A CELL?!" Batman roared into the phone.

"…bin? Yes, block…next to…space…room."

"You're breaking up, Jameson!" Batman shouted at the man. "Just give me a letter! What. Block?!"

"…up? You…cell…find…"

The dial tone abruptly began buzzing in his ear and Batman slammed the phone down.

"Robin's here," the hero growled, "but Jameson couldn't hear me and the call got disconnected."

"At least we know he's here," Lt. Copple commented.

"But where?" Lt. Muschamp vocalized the question that was in each man's mind.

The phone rang again. Batman didn't pick it up so Copple did.

"Jameson…"

There was a somewhat lengthy pause and then the lieutenant yelled, "What?! Why on earth…?"

Dropping the phone back on the receiver, Lt. Copple turned around and hit the wall with his fist.

"Block M," he snarled. "Jameson put him with the villains!"

"Let's go!" Muschamp shouted and all three men sprinted toward the hall that would lead them to Cell Block M.

They arrived in less than five minutes. Every cell they passed was full. The last one they saw was empty, except for a dirty washcloth lying on the floor in the middle of the small room.

"Whatcha lookin' for, Batsy?" Joker cackled. "Diddya lose a little birdie?"

Whipping around to face the man that was four cells away, Batman thundered, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, JOKER?!"

"Nothing," the villain replied cheerily. "It was he that did it to me."

"Where is he?" Batman whispered darkly as he strode to Joker's cell.

The Clown Prince of Crime shrugged, turned around and laid down on the bottom bunk in his cell.

"Your sidekick punched him, Batman!" Riddler giggled from the top bunk.

Turning back to the two lieutenants, Batman asked, "Where do prisoners who start fights, with or without provocation…"

At that word, Batman threw a Bat-glare into the cell of Joker and Riddler.

"…go?" the Caped Crusader finished.

"Cell Blocks A and B – murderers and inmates who start trouble," Muschamp reminded him.

"Lead the way, quickly."

The three men took off down the hall, heading toward blocks A and B.

"But he's iiii-nnn sollllllll-i-tary!" Joker quietly sang as they disappeared.

Both villains chuckled at the picture of an unconscious sidekick lying on the floor in solitary confinement.