A/N: Well, this story is obviously not being received well. (insert self-deprecating-laugh emoji) However, I refuse to abandon a story, even if it's a piece of crap. (insert same emoji) Plot development in this chapter (which means a lot of talking) but there's much more action in the next one.

Chapter 10:

Twenty minutes later:

Robin had rolled over onto his back and was wondering what was taking so long. Batman had said he would be back quickly but it seemed like it had been hours.

Laying a hand on his chest, the Boy Wonder attempted to take a deep breath. It hurt just a little bit, so he was back to assuming that he only had some bone bruises. Apparently very deep bruises, but nothing he hadn't dealt with before.

His face, though, that was a different story. It felt like someone was using a screwdriver on his nose. The right side was still numb, which worried him a little bit. And even though he didn't have a mirror, he was sure that his left eye was dark-purple. Not to mention the dried, crusty blood that covered his entire face. He really regretted not cleaning the blood off when he had been given the chance.

The Boy Wonder decided that now was the time to eat another Bat-bar. Then he changed his mind, he needed the water first.

With perfect timing, Batman arrived at number 4 in Cell Block N.

"I figured it out, chum. I'm going to put a straw in the water bottle so you don't have to drink out of a bag. Are you near the door?"

"No," the teenager whispered.

"Well, the straw isn't very long so I need you by the door."

With an inaudible groan, Robin sat up. He was exhausted, still shaky and now extremely dizzy. He tried to roll, but tipped over and nearly hit his face on the ground.

"Robin, are you there yet?"

What was taking the teenager so long? It wasn't like the cell was eighty yards long and sixty yards wide. He probably only had to move a few feet.

"Robin. Robin!"

"I'm here," Robin mumbled, his voice shaky.

"How many Bat-bars have you eaten?"

"Three. I got thirsty."

"I need you to eat another one after you drink some water."

"Yeah," the teenager whispered.

Batman unscrewed the cap on the bottle and put one end of the straw in the water. Flipping open the slit near the bottom of the door, he carefully pushed the other end into the cell. There was a jerk and then the water rapidly began disappearing.

"Robin, slow down! You're going to choke!"

Batman thought about removing the straw but before he could decide whether or not to do it, the water was gone. His partner was gasping and laughing at the same time.

"Robin?"

"I've always…wanted…to try…chugging…"

The man rolled his eyes but grinned. At least Robin was currently thinking about something other than being stuck in a small hole.

"Bat-bar, Robin."

"Uh, they're all gone."

"You ate them all already?! But you just finished the water!"

"Yeah, do you have more water?"

Batman had already unscrewed the top on the second bottle. He quickly switched the straw from the empty bottle to the full one. Half of it disappeared and then the straw stopped moving.

"Okay, chum?"

"Yeah."

And he was. He was full, and he wasn't thirsty, and Batman was here checking on him.

"Now what?" the Boy Wonder asked.

"The riots," the Caped Crusader replied.

"I was with Ned in the rec room and the guards were in the hallway before breakfast. Like I said, just some scuffling."

"How does scuffling warrant a 'no breakfast' punishment?"

"I'm not a guard, Batman, don't ask me!"

"Then I'll find a guard to ask."

"Have fun," Robin muttered.

The Boy Wonder stood up and began pacing, as best he could in such a small place. What was he going to do for another day and a half?! He couldn't just pace, talk and work out. Robin stopped and suddenly realized that the stories people tell about prisoners going insane in isolation were probably true.

"Batman, I don't want to go insane. Batman?"

But Batman, as he had said, had gone to find a guard.

State Pen cafeteria:

The guard sighed when he saw Batman striding toward him. All he wanted to do was eat lunch, but the crime-fighter probably wanted to talk to him. Again. He stood up and folded his arms across his chest.

"Whaddya' need?" he grumbled as Batman stopped in front of him.

"What cell block do you patrol?" the Caped Crusader demanded.

The guard burst into laughter. It took him a good ten seconds to calm down enough to answer the question.

"All a them. We rotate."

"Where were you during the riot in the rec room?"

"Imma guard, Batman, not a prisoner. Ya don't get ta interrogate me."

Ignoring the comment, Batman continued, "Where were you during the riot in Cell Block M yesterday, before breakfast?"

Rolling his eyes, the guard responded, "Like I said, I ain't a prisoner. Go find someone else ta answer your questions."

The guard sat down and picked up his ham and cheese sandwich. Before he could take a bite, Batman was grabbing his shirt and hauling him out of the chair.

"I don't only interrogate prisoners," the hero growled. "Either you answer my questions now, or you and I will go have a one-on-one in solitary confinement. Those cells are just big enough for me to force some answers out of you."

Batman was holding the guard almost off the ground, his hands clenched around the collar of the man's shirt, and glaring into his eyes.

"Okay, geez, ya don't have ta get all pushy!" the guard declared. "Put me down and we can talk while I eat. I gotta patrol, I don't jus' sit here all day!"

Releasing the man's shirt, Batman roughly shoved him toward the chair. The guard sat down and Batman loomed over him, waiting for the answers.

"I was in the rec room. The lights went out, there was some shouting and then the lights came on. Nobody got hurt 'cept a coupla guys who wouldn't calm down."

"Was Robin one of the ones who wouldn't 'calm down'?" Batman asked.

"Naw, he was against the wall, mindin' his own bidnez."

"Yesterday morning, before breakfast."

"Yur sidekick was out first and some guys didn't like that. They chased him, we stopped them, only a coupla injuries."

"Who was injured and how?" the Caped Crusader demanded.

If the 'guys' were chasing Robin in an enclosed hallway, it would have taken at least a minute for any guards to break up whatever had started.

"Ther' was a guy on his hands and knees, think he hit his head, complained about bein' dizzy. Another guy said somebody had swept his legs out from under him. And Joker was down but I don't know how that happened."

"And Robin?"

"Seemed okay, wasn't on the ground bleedin' or anything. Mighta got a bruise on his hand, think he punched someone."

Relief filled Batman's chest. Robin had been lucky during both riots; it sounded like he was uninjured. Except for maybe a bruise on his hand. He had one more question, though.

"Why weren't they allowed to go to breakfast?"

"Protocol, Batman. Anything happens when inmates are goin' somewhere, they go back ta their cells. Don't matta where they're goin'. I gotta go, lunch for inmates starts in an hour."

With that, the guard packed up his lunch box, stood up and walked away.

"Wait!" Batman shouted. "Why is Robin in solitary confinement when all he did is throw a punch? I was told that the isolation cells haven't been used for a while. It must take more than a punch. What happened?"

Turning around, the guard shrugged and replied, "He broke Joker's nose. Man had to see the nurse ta get it fixed. Apparently yur kid's actions were too violent for whatever guards were there. Gotta go."

Batman was slightly shocked that Robin had used enough force to break the villain's nose. This was definitely something he was going to ask his young partner to explain.

Cell Block N – 11:55:

"I have lunch for you, sonny."

An old guard with salt and pepper hair and a limp had just entered the block. He was carrying a large Ziploc containing a peanut butter sandwich and a sandwich bag of water.

"The bell rang?" Robin asked. He certainly hadn't heard it and that was surprising.

"It's about to, little one," the guard replied.

He passed the Ziploc through the slit in the door.

"Five minutes," he reminded the Boy Wonder cheerily.

But Robin had already wolfed down the sandwich and gulped the water. He pushed the bag through the door then laid down and started doing sit ups.

"Well, that was fast!" the guard exclaimed.

It didn't matter whether the inmate finished the meal in ten seconds or five minutes. As soon as the prisoner was done, the guard was allowed to go eat his own lunch.

"Have a good day, sonny!"

The guard walked out the door and straight into the chest of Batman.

"Excuse me, sir," the old man said as he stepped around the hero.

"What was 'lunch'?" Batman asked.

As he walked away, the man answered, "Peanut butter sandwich, just like every meal."

"Every meal?" Batman yelled before the man turned the corner.

With a glance back at the Caped Crusader, the guard replied, "That's what I said. Good day to you!"

If every meal was supposed to be a peanut butter sandwich, then why had Robin received apples with bread for dinner last night and a banana with bread this morning?

The bell screeched and Batman automatically covered his cowled ears. He strode to cell number 4 and heard his partner counting. The boy was at sixty-two, so he was either doing pushups or sit ups.

Batman waited until he heard a pause between numbers.

"Did you eat, Robin?"

"Yes," the teenager answered.

He started counting again, but not where he had left off.

"One…two…three…"

"We need to talk."

"Kinda…six…busy…eight…"

"You have plenty of time to work out, Robin, but I need to know something."

"Twelve…ask away…fourteen…might not…sixteen…answer…eighteen…"

"Did you know you broke Joker's nose?"

The counting stopped and, inside the cell, Robin's eyes widened. How much did whatever guard Batman had found tell him?

"Robin, I'm waiting."

Sighing, Robin stated, "There was some blood but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Apparently he was taken to the infirmary so the nurse could 'fix' it. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as broken."

"He went to the infirmary?!" Robin exclaimed quietly while gently probing his own nose. Why hadn't he been sent to the infirmary when his nose had been broken?

"That's what the guard told me…"

Then a thought burst into Batman's mind like a firework. When he and the lieutenants had been searching for Robin, they had gone to the infirmary. The nurse had told them that she hadn't seen anybody even though there had been two riots and some 'scuffling'. But the guard had said that Joker had gone to the nurse to have his nose fixed.

"Someone's lying," the crime-fighter murmured, almost to himself.

"Not…twenty-one…me…twenty-three…"

"Not this time, anyway," Batman growled. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, I have some people to talk to."

"I'll…twenty-eight…wait…thirty…here…"

Batman chuckled, "You do that."

"Thanks," Robin muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry," the Caped Crusader said, immediately sobering. "I didn't…"

"Just go, I have stuff to do. Thirty-six…"

State Pen Cafeteria:

"How is our boy doing in solitary?"

"I don't know, haven't checked since last night. Sent someone else with breakfast and lunch. Old man insisted on the peanut butter sandwich."

"Well, let's make sure dinner is a little skimpier, then. Can't have him at full strength. Maybe 'forget' the water?"

"I don't know, man. I saw Batman here earlier, talking to our big man. Don't you think he'll be checking on the kid? I don't want anything too suspicious."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll just do the same as last night. See you around four?"

The question received a nod. Then, one man went right while the other turned left.

The Infirmary:

"Sorry, Batman, can't help you right now!" the flustered nurse explained when the hero strode into the room. "Fight in Cell Block A, with weapons!"

With that short explanation, the nurse ran out into the hallway. Her hands were full of gauze, medical tape and the biggest pair of non-Bat tweezers Batman had ever seen.

"Do you need help?" he called, but she was already out of sight.

Sighing, the Caped Crusader turned around, intending to return to solitary confinement. But the bell rang again and Batman immediately changed his mind. It was yard time, the perfect time to talk to Joker.

The yard:

Joker was lifting weights, a five-pound barbell in each hand. Rolling his eyes, Batman strode up to him and folded his arms across his chest.

"Be careful, Batman, I'm feeling very strong today."

"I can tell," the hero replied sarcastically. "Let's talk about yesterday."

"Yesterday? I was only at three pounds yesterday so I'm improving!"

"That's not what I mean," Batman growled, "and you know it. What happened between you and Robin yesterday after lunch?"

Joker put down the weights, looked up at the sky and starting tapping his right index finger on his chin.

"Robin…" he said thoughtfully. "Does anyone know a Robin?" he yelled to the other prisoners milling around the area.

"I saw a robin last week, up in that tree," someone shouted back.

Batman clenched both his hands and his jaw. Joker always loved to play games.

"I see your nose is feeling better," the hero snapped.

Lifting his hand, Joker touched his nose and flinched.

"It still hurts soooo much," he whined. "Your sidekick was soooo mean! I didn't even do anything to him!"

"You may not have done anything but that doesn't mean you didn't say anything," Batman retorted. "Tell me what happened or your nose might not be the only thing that hurts."

"Did you hear that?" Joker yelled to the nearest guard. "This man just threatened me! Please take him away, I'm scared for my life!"

"Shut up, Joker," the guard growled as he turned around and walked away.

"Fine," Joker grumbled. "I went up to welcome him, asked him how his day was going and then he just flipped out and punched me!"

"And then?" Batman demanded.

"The guards pulled him off me but he resisted so they had to take him down. Then…"

"What do you mean 'take him down'?" Batman growled. "How?"

"It happened so fast," the villain stated with a smirk. "I was focused on stopping the blood streaming out of my nose, I didn't see anything else."

"And then?" the Caped Crusader asked through clenched teeth.

"He was yelling and screaming, making a big fuss and threatening everyone. I think I saw him trying to escape, too. Then a guard took me to the nurse."

"No, he didn't," Batman replied irritably. "Nobody went to the infirmary yesterday."

Joker's eyes widened in shock but he quickly shut down the expression.

"Well, the nurse wasn't there," he muttered, "and I was only there for a few minutes. It was the guard who fixed my nose."

"Which guard?" the Caped Crusader asked, sweeping his arm around the yard.

"Don't remeeeeember," Joker sang with a grin. "Where is the Boy Blunder, anyway? Haven't seen him at all today!" the villain finished with a cackle.

Batman knew he wasn't going to get any real answers out of the villain so he turned around and strode away. There were fifteen guards roaming the yard but the one he had talked to in the cafeteria had said that they rotated. The man who had 'taken down' Robin probably wasn't even in the yard.

Sighing, the Caped Crusader headed toward solitary. He was going to have to start pulling answers out of Robin again. Somebody had to tell him the whole story and the Boy Wonder was the only one that knew everything. If only his partner would just cooperate and give him a full report. Alfred's voice echoed in his head again:

"Sir, he's Robin. That's his nature. If he sees how distressed you are, you know he will immediately search for a way to make everything better for you."

"Or if he hears it in my voice," Batman whispered. "I'm fine, Robin," he continued loudly, trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible.

Which is the same thing he keeps telling me.

Cell Block N, number 4:

"Why, yes, Batman, I'm doing great. This is one of the best days of my life! Never been better, actually."

Robin was muttering to himself. There was really nothing else to do – he had already done an entire workout and didn't feel like bumping into walls by training. Right now he was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, his legs crossed in front of him. His left elbow was resting on his left knee and his chin was propped in his hand.

"This is so boring," he mumbled. And he still had a day and a half!

"Robin, I need answers. Now!"

Batman's demanding voice startled the Boy Wonder. Sighing, he tried to think of ways to avoid the questions he knew his partner was about to ask.

"Tell me exactly what happened, step by step, during the riot in the rec room. And then do the same thing with the riot before breakfast. And do the same thing with what happened with Joker at lunch. I know that right now you are thinking of things that you are going to leave out. If you skip any details, I will hear it in your voice. Do. Not. Lie. To. Me! Full report, no excuses, no sugar coating anything. Do you understand?!"

Rolling his eyes, Robin internally laughed. It wouldn't be hard to sound annoyed so Batman wouldn't hear anything in his voice but that. There was no way he was going to tell his partner that his chest now felt like it was on fire and his nose felt like it was about to fall off. There were other things he could say that would satisfy his partner.

"ROBIN!"

With an audible sigh of what Batman would assume was defeat, Robin said, "Fine."

The Caped Crusader sat down in front of Robin's door. The tone of his partner's voice meant that he had given in. Robin was going to tell him everything.

"The lights went out in the rec room and I may have been a little too far from Ned. He told me that he had my back and I should have stayed right next to him. But the lights were only out for a minute or two so nothing really bad happened."

There was a pause and Batman shook his head.

"Nothing really bad means that something bad happened. Details, chum."

"I got hit on the head but I wasn't knocked out or anything. Just rung my bell a little."

Another pause; Batman tried to hold back a sigh of irritation.

"And," he ground out through clenched teeth.

"A split lip but not that bad. The guards got everything under control quickly and efficiently. And Ned was there right when the lights came on. See, nothing really bad."

"Okay," Batman agreed, relief in his voice.

Robin smirked slightly. Just enough to get Batman to drop it. And if he jumpstarted the next part, his partner would assume that Robin was telling him exactly what had happened.

The 'back to cells' bell screamed at them, making both members of the Dynamic Duo flinch. There was a moment of silence and then Robin continued.

"I was out first before breakfast, so I could get to the cafeteria where all the guards were, but I didn't know where it was. So, of course…"

"Wait!" Batman nearly shouted, picking up on another discrepancy. "How did you not know where the cafeteria was when you had gone to dinner the night before?"

Robin shut his eyes and grimaced. He had forgotten that. But he wasn't going to tell Batman that he didn't go to dinner because he was in too much pain to get in another fight right away. So, what should he say?

"Your silence is very telling, chum. So, you missed all three meals on your first full day in the State Pen. You told me about breakfast and lunch so now tell me about dinner."

There was no answer and Batman did shout this time.

"What aren't you telling me, Robin?! Full! Report!"

"I wasn't hungry," Robin replied confidently.

He knew he sounded like an idiot and that he needed a better reason. And if he didn't think of one quickly, Batman was going to figure it out.

"RIGHT," Batman roared sarcastically. "AFTER MISSING TWO MEALS YOU, AN ATHLETIC GROWING BOY, WEREN'T HUNGRY."

"Geez, Batman, you don't have to treat me like an inmate you're interrogating. Oh, wait, I am an inmate that you're interrogating."

Batman took a deep breath. He was talking to Robin, not some random criminal. This was stressful enough for the boy without having the man yelling at him.

"I'm sorry," the Caped Crusader stated.

"It's fine," the Boy Wonder replied.

The silence was awkward and the tension was palpable. After several moments, Robin sighed.

"I wasn't feeling well," the teenager declared softly.

Because my chest hurt and my head hurt and it hurt to breathe and I needed a break.

"What does that mean?" Batman asked quietly.

"I had a headache."

"A…headache."

Why is this so difficult?!

Batman scowled as the question stalked through his mind. But he needed to remain calm, for Robin's sake.

"From the hit to your head?"

"Yeah."

"You chose to go hungry because of a headache."

Skepticism filled the voice of the Caped Crusader. A headache shouldn't have kept his strong partner from eating, especially after already missing two meals.

"Ned brought some food back. I was fine."

You're fine, it's fine, everything is always fine. Why can't you just be honest?

"Missing three meals in one day is not fine, chum. Robin, I can handle hearing details. I need you to worry about yourself, not about how I'm feeling."

"Why would I be worried about how you're feeling?" Robin asked, guilt dancing around the edges of the words. "You're Batman!"

"Back to the riot before breakfast. You didn't know where the cafeteria was…"

"I had to stop because it was a three-way intersection," the teenager sighed. "I got hit from behind but was able to recover and knock the guy down. The guards were there quickly so, again, nothing really bad happened."

"What's the something bad, kiddo?"

"I got hit in the head again."

More like the face but it's the same general area.

"No wonder you have a headache. Two hits to the head in two days and that bell screeching several times a day."

"Yeah, but…"

"It's fine," Batman interrupted, his voice matching the tone of Robin's voice.

"Um, yeah," the Boy Wonder whispered.

"Lunch."

"I ate, we went to the yard and Joker came up to me. I punched him and got thrown in here because I started it."

"Robin, you don't just punch people without a reason. What did he do, or say?"

"He asked if I was enjoying my stay. I was irritated – he was so cheery about it – so I just took it out on him. Stupid choice but what's done is done."

"And?"

"Then I ended up here, like I just told you!"

"How did you get here, chum?"

"Um…"

"You don't remember because you were unconscious," Batman stated with a sigh. "Don't answer that, I already know it's the truth."

"Well, I may have, um, accidentally almost hit a guard."

"WHAT?!"

"He startled me and I just reacted. I stopped my fist before it connected but I don't think that really mattered to him."

"Did you try to escape, Robin? When they were bringing you here, did you struggle at all?"

"I yelled at Joker and everyone else."

"That's not what I asked, chum."

"Fine," Robin sighed. "Yes, but only because I was trying to capture a criminal. That's what it felt like, Batman. All those times I've been kidnapped or captured, it was just like that. All I had to do was get out of their grasp so I could take down the bad guy. Only this time, 'their' happened to be guards at the State Pen. Then I woke up here and a while later I heard Lt. Copple's voice and then you."

"Did they beat you, chum?" Batman asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

"Just another hit to the head," the teenager mumbled.

"But hard enough to knock you out," the man commented under his breath.

"I didn't sleep well last night, Batman. And I'm really bored. I'm going to take a nap."

The Caped Crusader decided to let it go for now. Not that he really had a choice – he could already hear the deep breathing that meant his young partner was asleep.