PART 3: MADE IN HEAVEN
Let me take you to the river without a ford
Oh! And then one day you'll realize
You're all the same within His eyes
And all I've got to say just like before
Chapter 11: MAD THE SWINE
"What do you mean?" Robin asked. "What do you mean it's 'more complicated'." children had swarmed around him, begging him to play.
"Go and play with the children a while," Mad said. "There's someone I'd like you to meet, but I must go fetch him!"
Robin was dragged by the children to the center of the garden, where they pushed him against a pole childishly. "What? What's the game?"
"Hide and seek!" one of the children, a young girl with red hair and bright freckles. "Count to a hundred, and no peeking!"
"On my honor," Robin smiled. "I'll even count in Japanese." He closed his eyes and began to count. "Ichi. Ni. San. Shi," he muttered. He didn't notice the shadow looming over him until it was too late. "Juu-go, Juu-roku, Juu-shichi."
"Robin," the voice cooed. He opened his eyes and turned around. He never looked so happy as to stare into those bright green eyes that lovingly stared at him. "I have missed you so awfully much."
"Starfire!" Robin said. "I, I can't believe it. It's really you?"
Starfire nodded. "It is really I, Robin. And I have missed you. Have you missed me?" There was something calm about her, and he embraced her with all his strength.
"God, yes," he said. "I, I still can't get over it." He felt her arms move around him. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"I already have," Starfire said. "As I have forgiven Raven and any other who has trespassed." She smiled, "I am content as long as my friends are happy. And I am working here to slow down the decay."
"The decay?" Robin asked. There was giggling from the bushes. "Oh, right. I have to play with them. And I promised I'd count to a hundred in Japanese." Starfire laughed and covered his eyes for him. "Juu-hachi, juu-kyu, ni-jyu," he continued droning. He finally approached one hundred and opened his eyes to a quiet garden, without a single soul, not even Starfire remained. He looked around, trying to find the hiding places.
He found a couple of girls hiding under a table. "Hi," he said.
"Hi," they said.
"I found you," he smiled.
"Meanie," said one of them. The other stared at him wide-eyed.
"Are you really Robin?"
"Yeah," Robin said, rubbing his neck, "Why do you ask?"
"Starfire told us all about you," she said. "You gave her cooties!" Robin laughed and mussed up her hair.
"She told you that, huh?" he asked. "Let me tell you, she enjoyed it."
"She did?" one of the girls asked. Robin got a grin on his face.
"Yep. And guess what, boys like kissing too," he said. "Maybe you could see for yourself." One of the girls eagerly hopped up and went to the nearest hiding boy and kissed him on the cheek. He immediately leapt up out of his hiding place, voicing audibly his disgust.
"Found you," Robin said.
"No fair! That was cheating!" the boy said. "You used biological warfare!"
Robin chuckled. He moved to the kid and gave him a good-natured pat on the back. "Kid, when you're a teenager, that's the only kind either side uses."
"Aw, that sucks," he said.
The girls giggled at this, and soon enough Robin had found the whole lot of the kids, looking quite pleased with himself. "That was fun," he said. "I wonder why we don't play that sort of game anymore."
One of the girls tugged on his pant-leg. "Robin?" she asked, her voice barely pronouncing the hard R sounds. "Is it true?"
"What? What's true?"
The girl, he figured she was four or five, said, "That you love Starfire?" She looked up beaming. Robin laughed.
"Yes," he said, whispering in her ear. "I do."
"Do you ride a white horse and everything?" the girl asked. Robin looked confused, until a familiar voice again cooed in his ear.
"She believes that romance involves princes on white horses," she explained. "I told her that you were my true love, and wherever I was, if I was in danger, you would come for me." The girl beamed up at Starfire.
"It's true!" she informed her, happily.
"I know! Is it not glorious?"
The girl nodded and happily ran off. Robin turned to look her in the eye. "I was so weak. Starfire, won't you say anything about that? It'd make me feel better knowing you didn't hate me for what I did."
"I knew it was you," Starfire said. "I cried your name in a brief hiccup in my dreams. But I did not see you kill me. You offered me the grace of a quiet, painless death. Instead, you afforded yourself to your own sinister urges when the time came and you attacked our friends."
"I couldn't control myself," Robin said.
"I know," Starfire said. "I have forgiven you even if you've done nothing. You needed to be forgiven, I understand that."
"Star," he said, "I love you."
"And I love you." She looked to the children that flocked around her. "They call me their Mother. They do not remember their true mothers any longer. It is sad, truly. I wish I could do more."
"Who created this garden?"
"Pamela. She took the souls of the plants that died."
"Plants don't have souls," Robin said.
"They do," Starfire said. "God just did not realize it when he told his people such that they did not." She laughed. "Do not fret over such details. Pamela is also tending to the needs of the children."
She led him to a beautiful orchid. "It's beautiful, Star."
"Robin," Starfire said. "I am afraid."
"Afraid?"
"I was afraid when I died and now I am afraid again," she said. "I will miss you, but you must return to Earth."
"Why?" Robin said. "The world's ending. What is there left?"
"Our friends are suffering," Starfire moaned. "Most horrid treatment are they given! I am moved to tears by their cries. They need you, Robin. They need you now more than ever!"
"Why can't you come with me, Star?" Robin asked.
"Robin," Starfire began to say.
"That is most impossible," an elderly voice said. "Especially considering the state of her body. Already past three days gone. Yours, however, is still in the realm of the living. You are just mostly dead."
"Meet the Prophet!" Mad laughed. "He is the one who is aiding me. I have finally located him!"
"A pleasure to meet you, Robin. For the second time." He smiled. "When you were young, I visited your circus and watched you perform. I saw you after the show with your parents, looking so happy and carefree. The very image of Mr. Wilson at your age. And then tragedy struck, and with it came fortune. Isn't that right?"
"I suppose," Robin said. "I don't like the comparison to Slade."
"Would you prefer me to make another statement? Bruce Wayne perhaps. Or Clark Kent. Either way it doesn't matter. In the end, it's only Slade that matters."
"Why Slade?" Robin asked. "Why him?"
"Because you know him better than he does himself," the Prophet said. "You must give him the staff. He's the only one left who can use it."
Mad paled. "But I took it!"
"I know you did," the Prophet said.
"But I shouldn't have?"
"He wouldn't have been able to use it until the new world began." The Prophet sighed. "It was hopeless to stop you from taking it, but it also moved him into action the first time. When you took it back, did you give it to anyone?"
"Yes," Mad said. "Mr. Khashoggi, but...!"
"Khashoggi?" Starfire asked. "But he is a very bad man!"
"Good, bad," the Prophet said, shrugging, "It's very subjective anyway."
"So, how am I supposed to go back?" Robin asked. "Click my heels three times and say 'There's No Place Like Home'?"
"That's where it gets what's the word-- oh, right -- complex," Mad said. "You must face a challenge alone. And only you can face it, Robin."
"I understand," Robin said.
"You gotta follow me to the farthest reaches of Limbo, and then to Purgatory." He frowned, "And then you will have to face your deepest darkest most evilest evil. It's within your brain, eating away at it. I wish I could help, but it's out of my control."
"I understand," Robin again said. "Let's go."
"Robin, I shall accompany --" Starfire volunteered. Mad turned to her and shook his head.
"Starfire, you know you can't come. You need to protect the children!" There was a sense of urgency in Mad's whining tone.
"Very well. Robin, it seems that we must part already." She moved to bow her head and leave him when Robin took her in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. She returned the kiss with a gentle passion.
"I'll always love you," he said. "I can't think of life without you there." His voice caught and he turned his face away.
"But you must move on." She gently touched his cheek, knowing full well what he was hiding from her.
"I know," Robin said. He looked stoic in his response. "Let's go. Quickly." Mad was hard pressed to keep up with Robin as he left the garden. His little legs nowhere near as fast as Robin's long strides.
"What's wrong?" Mad asked, when they had left the garden. He heard the soft sniffling sound before an answer came.
"Nothing. I just didn't want her to see me like this," he said. "I didn't want her to remember me blubbering like a baby."
"It's all right to cry," Mad said. "Isn't it?"
"I couldn't show her my weakness," he said. "I needed to project the confident leader."
"I see," Mad said, downcast. He let the leader come to his senses, and then continued walking ahead of the way, leading him along in his excited manner, through a variety of different fields, neither the same, as each step took them to a new and daring location.
"Why isn't it safe after dark? Is there even a concept of night and day here?" he asked. Mad's face darkened.
"It happened yesterday for the first time," Mad said. "The Devil himself, calling himself BC, appeared in the garden and threatened the very soul of an innocent child. It was only Starfire who stood up to him and sent him away. We fear he'll be back tonight to try again."
"BC?"
"I never heard of him before, but Starfire claims that she was haunted by him. It's strange, but he managed to sneak by all of us and yet appeared to Starfire alone."
"And Raven."
"What?"
"He appeared to Raven. It was him," he said, "That's who she was talking to." His voice was dark and dangerous. "I don't know if it was ever the right thing to do."
"What?"
"Trust Raven," he said. "She turned on us all and now look where we are." Mad looked pensive. "I'm going to get back at her."
"You're angry," he said. It wasn't a comforting remark, but a sharp observation. He smiled. "Maybe you should try more positive things?"
Robin looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but continued walking with him. "I don't know. I really don't know anymore."
"I wish I could calm you down," he said. "Because you're our last hope."
"I am?"
"Yes," Mad said. "We can't just enter dead bodies. But yours isn't dead yet! It's mostly dead, but that means it's still sort of alive! It's just I don't know if we can make it there on time."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Robin said, "It's good to know you trust me."
"I trust you!" Mad said, "It's just that I don't know if you can do this."
They traveled from the Garden to Limbo's center-most location. It resembled a city, in every way, and every street was filled with the same amount of life as a city. No children played in these streets, and no criminals made them frightened to leave their homes.
They moved about in a daily humdrum, without so much of a concern for where they were. "This is a place where souls who refuse to move on reside," Mad explained. "They've erected a city and continue with their lives as if nothing has happened. They will never know true bliss."
"This may be bliss for them," he said. "They may enjoy the struggles and troubles of every day life. I never had a problem with it."
"But they could have Heaven!" Mad contended.
"But maybe they already have it," Robin pointed out in return. Mad shrugged, and walked down the street.
"We'll rest here for tonight. We've made half the journey. Tomorrow night you'll face your greatest enemy ever."
"Myself," Robin said. "For my sanity."
"Exactly," Mad smiled. "And then I will save you!" He laughed. "Come, I shall show you to the hotel!"
They passed by an elderly couple looking at an old building wistfully. "They don't make them like that anymore," they said. Robin looked immediately guilty, thinking all the while that all they had constructed was an illusion.
"No," Mad said simply, "They don't."
"But they're deluding themselves!" Robin said, when they had passed earshot.
"You said it yourself. They've constructed their heaven here," Mad said, smiling. "It's simply what they want. Who am I to take that away from them?"
Robin was silent. They passed into the hotel, and Mad struck up a conversation with the owner. Robin decided to sit down and wait. A young woman sat looking out the window. "It's pretty," she said.
"Yes," Robin said.
"I wish it were real," she said.
"Yes," Robin said, unsure of what to say.
"I see people saying this is life, and that whatever had happened was a hoax," the girl said, "But we're all dead. I can see that."
"Yes," Robin murmured. "And I failed to stop it."
"You killed me, you know," she said, conversationally. "What does it feel like to take someone's life? I've always been a bit curious. I was going to be a journalist, but I guess that's a moot point now."
"Uh," Robin said. "It feels," he paused. He was going to say it felt horrible knowing that the blood of an innocent was on his conscience, but that would be lying. He felt compelled to tell her the truth. "It felt exhilarating. There was nothing like seeing the life drain out of them. Damn me, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I can't just pretend I didn't. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Death does good for people," she said. "It certainly mellows people out. And some people are naturally graceful in easing into death."
"You really think so?"
"I'm thinking," she said, "Of becoming a reporter anyway. And write stories about this city. There must be a hundred people here, if not a thousand. Some people have been here longer than others. They must have built this series, and everyone else just latched on."
"Yeah," Robin said. He smiled. "What's your name?"
"April," the girl said.
"It's been good talking to you, April. I know it isn't much, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"It's worth enough," April smiled. "I'll accept."
"Thank you," Robin said, timidly. He rose from his seat and moved to check on Mad. He had finished talking with the hotel clerk and turned to look at Robin, a smile on his face.
"It seems like you've gotten that off your chest," Mad said. "Let's go see our rooms."
Starfire found her head nodding as sleep began to overtake her eyes. It was her body's own training to day and night that caused her such irritation. The children's yawning didn't help in her endeavor to keep asleep.
No body meant no being tired, but the soul kept the habits of the body for quite some time. Habits are hard to break, after all, and one as big as sleeping would be near impossible to break out of.
She knew she shouldn't.
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," a familiar voice cooed, "Now where did that name come from?" BC's mouth appeared in front of Star. "Starfire. I've heard you had a guest here today."
"Why would you care about who comes here and goes? You are always the one who sends them!"
"I care plenty!" he said, offended. "What makes you think I don't care about little Anna-Marie in your lap? Or little Brian Wilcox sleeping under that tree that, if I pull the branches away, we see is Pamela Isely."
She rose to her feet. "Leave."
"Please, five minutes. I won't attempt to kidnap a child again," BC said. "Or try to mangle them." There was a glare from Starfire. "Or scar them for life. Okay! So maybe I was thinking about it, but not anymore. Not with you here."
"Then leave."
"So angry!" BC whined. He made an expression that left her with a chill running down her back. "I'm here asking about dear, dear Robin."
"You will not find him here!"
"I know that," BC said. "In fact, I want him to return to his body. I've taken special precautions to make sure his body was kept with its heart ticking and lungs moving. In fact! In fact, I'm so eager to see him, I've asked an old friend to watch over him. So don't worry, I just wanted to know, this is posterity you see, what it is you're feeling knowing that you'll be sending him to stop me on his lonesome?"
"I," Starfire's eyes watered, slightly, but she fought them back. "I am certain that he shall prevail, no matter what cost!"
"Even his happiness," BC laughed. "I see. Such joyous sentiments. Play nicely with the children, dear, I have mischief to stir!"
Robin couldn't sleep. He tried as hard as he could, but sleep wouldn't wash over him, so he just stared at the ceiling expectantly. He had played connect the dots with the swirls and protrusions, but nothing had brought him any closer to sleep.
He decided to get up, and took a look out his window. There was a pounding rhythm down below, and he felt his body moved by it. So he descended into the nightlife. The streets below were filled with a different kind of denizen. Beautiful women and bored young men stared at each other from distances in clubs with pounding music. There was a glow to the city, and it didn't seem to sleep. There was an airy feel to the air, and the breeze didn't seem cold.
Robin wandered about until he came to a quieter part of town. It seemed as if it had happened as he passed a building. The lights weren't so bright, and the music wasn't quite so pounding, but still he heard the laughter of women as they came home from their night.
It was dreadfully familiar. He felt the terror grasp him. "This situation!" he said. He wanted to warn the women ahead of him, but it was too late. A familiar cloak launched from the shadows and barred the way of the two women.
"Hello, ladies," said the voice. "I think you may be a bit lost."
"No," one of the girls said, "We know exactly where we're going." She seemed upset that someone needed to tell her she was lost. "Get out of our way, weirdo."
"Now now," he said, "That's no way for a young lady to talk." His claws sharpened. The moonlight reflected off them, as they reached for the ground. "I think I'm going to have to teach you some manners!"
"No!" Robin said, launching at the figure of Death. The figure turned around and looked at him. There was no mask over his face. It was just him, baring his every feature for the world to see. "Why?"
"Why, Robin? Because, everything that goes on in your mind finds its way here," he said. "We're both two parts of the same equation. Evil and Good. Earth and Heaven. Yin and Yang." The women outside didn't seem to be in any better shape by Robin's intervention. They fell to the ground, dead instantaneously.
"And besides. You know the claws were only to scare the poor dears. It was always the X in the end," he said.
"What are you doing out here?"
"What do you mean?" Death asked. "You're the one dreaming about this. In your brain, this memory surfaced, and you've been reliving it. You're a little sicko, aren't you? You love the smell of their dying bodies, and you know it."
"Shut up!" Robin said, throwing a right hook at Death. The punch went right through, and instead of hitting the image before him, he hit himself quite clearly in the gut. He fell to his knees.
Death waved his fingers menacingly. "It's not time for that, Robin." He laughed, "It's time for you to wake up."
Robin awoke with a start. His breath was ragged and frenzied. "It was just a nightmare." He got up and prepared himself for the day. Meeting him halfway was Mad the Swine, who had taken time to order him a meal.
The food didn't taste like anything, really. It was all a careful delusion. However, it did give him some sustenance, and he'd need that if he was to make his way to Purgatory in a matter of hours.
Mad met him down in the foyer when he was done. "Are you ready?"
"I don't think I can stand this illusion one minute longer," Robin said. "I'm starting to see what you mean."
"I knew you would," Mad said. "That's why we stopped here."
"What?" Robin asked. "We didn't have to?"
"There's another establishment not too far from here. That's our next detour," Mad said.
"Why all these detours?" Robin demanded. "I want to get back now!"
"I know you do," Mad said. "But these are necessary. It's all part of the journey, and the journey's the thing." Robin didn't pretend to understand, and just followed Mad as he brought him through the seemingly disjointed landscape.
They came again to a town, this one small and a wreck, that the people within, stricken with pain and grief, had come to live in. There were huts constructed that made the best of collapsed towers and flooded streets.
"This place," Robin asked. "Is this what--?"
"This is Jump City," Mad said. "We had to come here to prepare you for what you were going to see. Because this is only the barest amount of the ravishes you're going to see." They walked across the water without so much a concern of getting wet. Robin didn't notice what had happened. "And this is where we approach Purgatory." There was a bridge on the other side of the city, past beggars and thieves that tried to make the best of the situation.
"Why did this happen here?" Robin asked. "Why Jump City?"
"Why not Gotham, you mean?" Mad asked. "Gotham was even worse. It became a No-Man's Land, and with no heroes to defend it, it descended into all-out war. Those who wanted to survive were forced to kill. Cannibalism will soon become their only option." Robin's face tinted green.
"I need to help them," he said.
"There's nothing you can do right now," Mad said. "The bridge is up." The bridge was indeed up. It connected the mainland to the old Titan Tower. The building was in shambles far worse than anything that he had ever seen before. "It won't be down for a little while yet. And once we enter Purgatory, the journey's not over."
Robin looked around. "Once we enter Purgatory."
"Once we enter Purgatory, you'll be forced to endure more dangerous trials. And I'll be there in spirit only to guide you through it."
"Why did you choose the HIVE as your team? Why not us?" Robin said, suddenly rounding on him. "I never figured that part out."
"Because," Mad said. "They were my friends."
Robin looked resigned. "It doesn't make any sense."
Mad laughed, "There's nothing really good and evil! They're just people and mistakes. You have to forgive them to be really happy."
"You're a strange kid," Robin said, bemused.
"Am I?" Mad responded. There was a loud yell to their left, and when they looked they saw it had been the start of a riot. People were throwing bricks at windows, taking whatever they could, and in their utter futility, they couldn't take it away.
"Stop!" Robin yelled at them. He tried to stop the riot, but only got smothered by it. He barely managed avoiding getting stomped on twice. "Stop doing this! You're not savages!"
"What do you know about savage, wonder boy?" one of the men asked, angrily. "We've worked our whole lives for this, and now it's fallen apart. I think we deserve to take what we can."
"But there's nothing there to take!" Robin said. It proved fruitless in the growing fervor of the riot.
"That was very brave," Mad said, dragging him from the crowd. "You do believe in these people. I'm happy!"
"Why?"
"Because now I'm not so worried about if you can fix your brain!" Mad laughed. "You should do fine! Because!" Mad announced, "You're a good person!"
BC sat at the bridge, waiting for it to lower. The riot he had provoked as a distraction proved interesting, but his attention span grew tired, and he moved to his next subject. He let the bridges lower, letting his body fade away and move down the sliding path of the bridge.
He found Mad helping Robin over. "Oh, is the poor child losing his footing already." Mad raised his head to look at BC. He had surfaced, looking much more ferocious than ever before. The two of them stood face to face, BC leaning over to look at the three-foot tall savior with a glow of satisfaction. "I won, you know that. I know you're trying to use your loophole. I haven't actually ended the world. But it's still my world."
"Who are you?" Robin asked.
"I'm the one who drove everyone insane. It's my job," he said. "I drive the world nuts. Like Starfire, who I made believe she heard voices in her head." He ducked around Robin, looking over his every feature. "Yes, yes. I can see why the ladies dig you. The delicate neck, the resolute face, that shapely posterior, yes, I can see why they love you."
"I could care less what you think," Robin said, disgusted and uncomfortable. "Are you going to stop us?"
"Why, no! What ever gave you that idea?" BC asked, looking offended. "Did I say I would? No! Never!" He laughed, "In fact. I'm here to help you!"
"What?" Mad seemed confused.
"I'm eager to see you try, Mr. the Swine. You see," BC said, "I'm already bored. I want some chaos stirring, and what better way but to revive the leader of the Teen Titans? Trusted side-kick of the Batman, the most intelligent of the Justice League! Skilled in combat matched only by his mentor, and an even better leader." He grinned, "I can see the headlines now. Hope will be restored, and I can slowly work to destroy it."
"You want me to become your pawn?" Robin asked. "In your dreams!"
"No, no, no!" BC looked for a phrase. "Let's get away from Chess. I understand it about as much as I understand how to move that horse thing. Let's say you're more like my competitor at a video game tournament. Victory against the best rival I can find will make me feel better."
Robin smirked, "Okay then. What are you going to do to help me?" BC grinned mysteriously.
"You'll see!" His feet began to disappear. "I must really be going. I need to keep an eye on my little servant girl. Ta-ta!" His body disappeared.
"That was strange," Robin muttered. "So this is the guy? Well, I can't say I'm impressed."
"One more thing!" BC's mouth said, appearing in thin air. "I heard that." He let his ears fade away. "Ta ta. See you in the morning!"
"I'm scared!" Mad whined, hugging onto Robin's pant leg. Robin, however, seemed reinvigorated. "Aren't you scared?" Mad asked.
Robin shook his head.
"Er, good!" Mad said, with a smile. "Then let's go to the gates of Purgatory."
"Okay," Robin said. There was a look he wore, that he only wore when he was facing an opponent that fascinated him.
"Please stop that," Mad said. "I'm getting chills!"
The gate to Purgatory opened much like the door to the Titan's tower, but with a burst of Hellfire that forced the travelers back. Mad sighed and sat on the ground, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, this is my stop," Mad said. "This is where you have to go along alone, Robin!"
"Wait!" Robin said, "How do I know where to go?"
"That," Mad said, with a bob of his head, "Is up to you. That's the test."
"But what if I fail?"
"Then," he hesitated, "Then you fail. That's all there is to it. Don't take it all so hard." Robin looked pensive before taking a step into the whirling abyss that would be purgatory. "Good luck, Robin!" the boy called after him. Robin turned to look behind at the wreckage and ruin all around the child, who smiled brightly.
"Thanks," Robin said, before stepping through the gate and beholding a ravage greater than ever before.
There were no souls here, he figured. Well, nothing that could be classified as human souls. There were merely the remnants of what had once been souls but had become something less, something more obscure. They had become spirits and ghosts, wailing about what was not so much a city or at least the memory of one, but a city of memory. The buildings were built out of sadness so vague that it touched his core.
"Lovely locale," an annoying voice said, "I should open up shop here!" Robin turned to look face to mouth with BC. "Hi! You looked lost, so I figured I'd lend you a hand." A hand appeared mid air, looking to be limp. "Take it." The Boy Wonder looked a bit nervous about doing so. "Go on. It won't bite." Robin moved to, but it wormed its way to life and grabbed his wrist. "Gotcha. Now, don't be so gullible next time." He waved his finger in the air, materializing. "I'm glad you finally made it. That means we can finally get to the business at, er, well, at hand! Funny how expressions move around in circles like that. Need a hand, at hand, one in the hand is worth two in the bush." He rambled on, much to Robin's chagrin. He talked more than Mad the Swine, and seemed ill-at-ease when he wasn't talking. Robin merely trudged through the ill-defined atmosphere. "What's wrong? Don't like to talk."
"I talk when I need to," Robin responded.
"Don't be so snappy," BC whined.
"Get used to it," Robin retorted.
"Fine."
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine," Robin said. He continued his trudge. "Why are you even here?"
"I'm here to guide you," he smirked, "By the hand. Come along! We have a day's worth of travel to do in five hours!"
"What?" Robin asked. "That's impossible!"
"Is it?" BC had a grin, and that was about it. "Now, now. I know a shortcut. It will take us through the deepest, darkest purgatory and through to the other end where your challenge awaits. Meanwhile, you could trudge on straight ahead and take a day."
"I think I'll go straight."
"Suit yourself," BC said, looking a bit miffed. "Suit yourself."
Whatever had passed as a day in Purgatory had begun to wear down on Robin's mentality. He couldn't take it any longer. His body needed sleep, and wherever he was, he would have to sleep. He sought shelter, and what appeared to be an empty plain was all that greeted him. He'd have to make do with it, he sighed, and set himself to sleep, his eyelids refusing to stay open any longer.
He dreamed, and that was certain, of his friends. They waited for him with open arms and happy eyes, but those eyes turned hollow in the cold light of the moon. There was a dark form in the distance, and he couldn't make it out. However, it turned to him and with mighty jaws ate the earth between him and it, leaving him with no place to run.
It was abstract, and no words stuck in his mind.
He woke up.
Something was looking at him. It wasn't like the other ghosts he had seen, this one had become much more feral. It was an old spirit, he figured, something that had been borne so early that there was no place to go but here. The spirit sniffed him, moving back, and snarling ferociously. It envied his defined form, Robin wagered, and wanted to tear it apart. He readied his bo staff, preparing for a fight.
The monster spirit jumped, and Robin ducked back, bringing his bo to wave it away. He couldn't touch it, physically, but it seemed discomforted by the shifting of its ethereal body. Robin took this as an advantage, spinning the bo fast enough to create a wave of wind to push the creature back. Then there was another snarl from his side.
All around him, the spirit's pack had rounded about and looked to be seeing the attack as a personal insult. Robin was forced to dodge a series of pounces, disintegrating their forms with a clean swipe, and preparing for them to reintegrate and turn on the offensive again. He was still a bit tired, but he felt no longer as weary, and fought carefully, letting the adrenaline wake him up.
It was still not the ideal situation. No matter what he did, he could only slow down their advances, and without BC or Mad the Swine around, he didn't know how much further he had to go until he reached his destination, so he just kept swinging his bo staff and moving about to keep them at bay.
He kept this up until a larger spirit cried into the air and the smaller, annoying spirits ran about. The larger one, appearing from on a distance in the field, moved towards Robin, its steps causing the ground to ripple and contort. "This is just great," he muttered. "I'm going to need a bigger staff." He turned and ran in the opposite direction, sending a wave of air back at the large beast to disrupt it.
It didn't seem to do anything but make it angrier.
"Need a little help?" BC asked.
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting."
"Waiting. That's great," Robin said. "Why?"
"Because you wanted to take the long way," BC said. "God knows why you don't trust me. Hey, that's right! I'm the Devil! Wow, that proves I'm God!"
Robin rubbed his temple. "Are you going to help me?" BC seemed to think on this for a while. "Well?"
"Okay, but just this once," BC said. He touched the surface of Purgatory deftly. "And that's a wrap," he said, bringing his hand up to stop the charge of the spirit. It began to compress as it drew closer, unable to slow itself down. It was like a great wind, pushing it into the hand of the Black Cat. "How'd you like that?" BC asked, once the creature was gone. He looked incredibly pleased and sought Robin's opinion on what he had done.
"I don't care," Robin said. BC looked upset at being brushed aside like that, looking at his hand as if perhaps there had been something not impressive enough about it. "All I want to know is how I get out of here."
"That's simple," BC said, pointing at the monolithic mass in they had converged at. "You go in here."
"This is it?"
"This is it," BC said, "And what an it it is. You'll love it, I'm sure of it. This is where your test really begins."
"Good," Robin said, with a smile. "I'm looking forward to this."
"I knew you would," BC said with a laugh. "You were always my favorite of our Horsemen. You had a personality. You knew how to put on a show. That's why I want to meet you face to face, in the flesh. I want to match your wits in a battle that will go down in infamy. I want to meet you, Robin. Don't disappoint me."
"I won't," Robin said with outward bravado, "You can bet on that."
BC vanished within a second, and Robin's face turned nervous as he moved towards the monolith. Entering it, though there weren't doors or windows, brought a sense of cold and uncomfortable silence to his essence.
Mad the Swine returned to the Garden. Everything looked so peaceful and quiet. The children had begun to play again after the nightfall had taken away their sleepiness. Children rushed to him, throwing their arms around him, and asking him to play. Mad laughed, and waved a hand, telling them without a word that he needed to talk.
Starfire looked up when she saw him. "Is he there?"
"Yes," Mad said, "I'm worried, but I think he can overcome himself."
"Is he really in much danger?" Starfire looked more wrecked than before. "That monstrous BC said he was going to aid Robin. I fear that he will only harm Robin."
"Don't worry," Mad said, sounding concerned. "He'll be fine, I know it. He has a good heart, and that is all that matters. If he faces his fears, he will be fine."
"I wish I could tell him again," Starfire said.
"He knows," Mad said, confidently. "We have to believe in him. Faith is all that can save us now."
There was something of a chill to the air, as Robin found himself outside of himself. He stared at the body, prone and lifeless, at the center of the room. He was now, he knew, inside a darkness that had harmed his own brain and left him in this limbo. His footsteps were loud, and only accentuated by a second set on the far side of the room. He looked up, and in turn the form he had tried to forget, the Red X -- the Death -- stared back at him. "So, you're my deepest, most horrible evil?"
"Something like that," Death said, "Or, let's try some of this critical thinking. Maybe you're the deepest, most horrible evil in me. Always wanting to do what's right within the law as opposed to what should be done. You know some of those criminals don't deserve life. You know what Batman does is stupid and plain insane." He laughed, "You just don't act on it."
"Excuse me if I feel sick listening to my own voice say that," Robin retorted. "I'm right, I know it."
"Prove it," Death challenged.
"Gladly." The two ran towards each other, the dying form of Robin fading into nothingness as their fists collided. They exchanged their next attack, which they both matched perfectly. Then Death launched a sweep. Robin fell to his hands, but flipped back, drawing his bo. Death in turn drew his scythe, and the two of them matched blows again. "Ever get the feeling," Robin asked, "That we're not getting anywhere?"
"No," Death said, "I've just been playing it like that."
"Good," Robin said, behind gritted teeth, "I was hoping you'd be a bit more exciting to fight than this."
"How come you're so excited?"
"I don't know," Robin said between whipping his staff around and throwing himself in for a kick, "I think it's because now that I'm fighting my own insecurities, I feel strong again."
"Who do you really fear," Death asked, his voice changing pitch slowly and gradually. "Me," he taunted, the mask transforming into something different. "Or me?"
"Slade," Robin identified. They threw themselves at each other, staffs at the ready. "You're everything I never wanted to be."
"But Robin," Slade retorted, "You're everything you could ever be. Now if only I could have gotten you to kill your friends." Robin's staff was knocked from his hands, and Slade tossed his own to the side. They stood, again, tensely waiting for the next move. "I would have been oh so pleased."
"You're sick!" Robin said, bringing his fist up to punch Slade in the face. The mercenary didn't make a move to block. He felt his fist tear apart the mask, leaving the face beneath exposed. "No!" Robin backed away.
"What's the matter, Robin?" the voice said. The two rising ears of the mask set a menacing shadow behind him. Robin couldn't find his feet any way to move quicker. "Afraid of the dark?"
"Not you," Robin said. "I don't want to be you!"
"But Robin," the shadow said, "You've always been my protégé. You've always been... my son."
"No!" Robin yelled. He tore at the bat, his fists up high, readying the strike. The counter was swift and effective, leaving Robin on the ground with all the air kneed out of his lungs. "I don't," he coughed, "Want to be like you."
"You're the one who asked," the bat shadow said. "You're the one who wanted to be my partner."
"No!" Robin said, "You tricked me! You just wanted me to be a tool in your personal vendetta!"
"Then," the voice of Red X, distorted and distant, said, "How are you any different when you used your friends?"
"You were willing to do anything to bring me in," Slade's voice said. The distant masks surrounded him. "You were willing to become anything." The voices of all his friends, and the various masks and faces that they wore appeared about the darkness. Robin charged at the shadow again, bringing his foot around in a spinning aerial kick. He was hit with a perfectly timed uppercut, sending him to the ground.
"You and I," The Batman said, "Have always been the same."
"You're right," Robin said. "We've both been hurt," he said, "We've both lost family, but we had each other. Sometimes, Bruce, I just wish you were the man I remembered when you took off the masks you wore and would sit by the fireplace on a cold winter's night, and we'd just be quiet. I miss that, Bruce."
He knew he was talking to himself, but it helped him gather his thoughts. The distant masks began to fade. "I'm not defined by this mask, though, Bruce. I'm more than just Robin." He moved towards the shadow, his face resolute. "Maybe I need to prove it."
Robin woke up.
He looked around, his surroundings seemed distantly familiar, though at the moment, in the darkness, he couldn't recognize it. He stood up and took off his mask. "This is crazy," Robin said. "Was all that real?" He moved to find a light, but when he tried to turn it on, nothing happened. This just infuriated Robin more and more.
There was a sound of something beyond a door, and he hid against the wall, waiting for it to pass. It stopped suddenly, causing Robin to panic. Then the door opened suddenly, showing a red light into the room. Whatever it had been was enveloped in black, the red highlighting his skin and muscles, or what passed for it. It moved mechanically into the room, looked around, before walking backwards back out and walking away. Robin barely had caught his breath when it had vanished and he left the room.
The halls were definitely familiar. "The tower," he murmured to himself. He walked around, almost in a dreamlike state. Whatever had been prowling about seemed to have vanished, but he still needed to be careful. Sneaking around, trying to avoid whatever that had been, he tried to reach the doorway to the floors beneath him. If his journey was real, and the state of the tower seemed to prove this, then the Titans wouldn't be in Jump City any longer. As he walked about, he found himself looking around, a bit and saw a spot of light, clouded as it was. He turned to look there. It was once a wall, but now it was torn apart and left open.
Robin looked out over Jump City. The ravages he had seen before were put to shame. The land was torn up, and buildings had been laid to waste by some unseen force. He looked uncomfortable, seeing the people moving about the city like ants. There was no law here. They just looted and plundered about. Finding his footing again, he moved away from the sight. He found a stairway, and began to descend the ten floors down to the ground floor.
BC laughed, "Finally!" The demons around him, as he sat watching one of a thousand various TVs that made up the room he was using, turned to look at him. They didn't know what to make of the sudden jubilation in their bored leader's voice. "Finally he's woken up!"
"Wonderful news," one of the demons said.
"Does that mean we'll get a new show?" another asked, eagerly.
"More violence! More gore!" another cackled.
"Silence!" BC said. "Yes, more shows. We'll follow the exploits of the Boy Wonder as he tries to rally a force to take me down. And it'll be the greatest spin-off of the show he's currently starring in. But I don't know, I can't think of how to market this. How to work this angle."
"Your brilliance has failed?" one demon asked.
"Yes," BC sighed, sadly. "If only I knew of a human with enough ingenuity to create a new, compelling show that will have the people going wild." The lump-like form of Raven moved towards her master, loyally, and bowed.
"I have heard," she said, "And I have an answer for you. I know of a human of no small skill in crafting diabolical games for humans to run about meaninglessly. My friends were once pawns of his."
"Speak more," BC said. "I'm interested."
"He took them into a ship, and tricked them into believing he was their ally. And then he turned them loose on their enemies, letting them fight their way out of his ship, touting their torture as a form of entertainment."
"He's good?"
"The best," Raven answered.
"Excellent!" BC laughed, "Find him and bring him to me, Mammon!" The wealthiest looking demon nodded and brought himself up into the air on a chariot forged entirely of gold. "Beautiful, Raven, you've served me well yet again. If you weren't so repulsive, I'd kiss you."
"Thank you," she said with a hollow voice. BC took a large drink of some unidentifiable liquid.
"Now, everyone," the TVs turned to a new image. "It's time for the Technis Imperative."
Robin was stunned by the damage the staircase had taken. He leapt from one broken down stairway to a clearer one as he went down to the next level, and eventually he reached the fifth floor, where he could no longer go down. The damage was too extensive, and there wasn't a single place to put his feet. He muttered to himself. It was becoming an annoyance. Regardless, he opened the door, slowly, and walked to the hallway of the fifth floor.
It was in almost pitch black. The only thing he could see was a brief pinpoint of red light. He paused, backing away. Whatever the red light had been had spotted him, and moved to look at him. There was a bright glow near the top, and he panicked. "Cyborg, is that you?"
.
.
.
God give me the grace to pass this place
And peace all around may be abound you