Chapter 14
For a second, maybe less, Batman just stands there and takes in the horror of the room. The dark haired man standing before Robin, with a smear of blood on his mouth from where he had been drawing on the wound. The floor covered in a mixture of vomit and blood. And worse of all, Robin chained from the ceiling, with almost as much blood on his body as the floor below him. Batman's mind takes in all of this before it shuts down.
A rage like nothing Batman has ever felt before quickly builds inside of him. All of his fears from earlier stare at him in the eye. Everything that Batman had worried about stands before him in this room and all he can now think of is one thing: revenge.
"Decided to show up and help your partner?" asks the dark haired man calmly.
Not able to utter one word to the man, Batman speaks the only language he understands right now. Moving forward with a speed heightened by his anger, Batman strikes out at the man who had hurt his partner. Lashing out with a fist, Batman strikes the man away from the bloodied boy.
Falling to the floor, Holdsworth stares up at the city's defender. For a second, his insanity allows him a moment of fear before the calmness comes back.
Launching himself at the sprawled man, Batman lands on top and rains down punch after punch. One hand draws back only for another to crash down onto the man below him. Lost in his rage, Batman finds that he wants only one thing: to the hurt this man before him.
Punch after punch, with no end in sight, falls down on Holdsworth. His face, neck, and shoulders find no protection from the winged avenger. Understanding that this dark figure will be his end, Holdsworth does not protect himself but allows the Dark Knight to end the world, as he knows it.
Gaining control over himself, Batman realizes that he is beating the man before him in to pulp. Standing up from the fallen man, Batman finally hears the sound of a soft voice calling to him.
"Bruce."
Turning, Batman stares at Robin. Striding over to the boy, Batman places his attention on freeing Robin. Noticing that the chains are a simple stick pin lock, he removes the pins and releases Robin's ankles.
Moaning softly, Robin fights back tears of pain as his legs hang limply. Reaching up to get to the ones that hold Robin's wrists, Batman finds that he can't reach it.
"The lever," whispers Robin, nodding his head toward the wall. "The lever controls the chains."
Nodding his head, Batman walks over to the wall and presses down the lever. Turning his head, the Dark Knight watches as the chains lower Robin. The moment his partner's feet touch the floor, and the boy puts pressure on his feet, Robin cries out. Stopping the lever, Batman rushes over to his partner's side.
"Robin?" asks Batman, not knowing what question to ask.
"One of the thugs took a bat to my knee," answers Robin to Batman's silent question.
Nodding his head, Batman slides an arm under Robin's buttock to lift him from the ground. With one hand holding Robin, Batman uses his other hand to free the boy's wrists. Finally free of the chains that held him, Robin relaxes into Batman's arms.
Laying the boy gently on the floor, Batman glances once over his shoulder at the bloodied man he left. Standing up, Batman walks over to the criminal on the floor. But as he stands over him, Batman notices one thing: the man isn't breathing.
Dropping to one knee, Batman takes the man's wrist into one of his hands and lays two fingers over his pulse. Not feeling the beat of the man's heart, Batman removes his fingers and checks for the pulse in his neck. Still nothing.
Placing his head on the man's chest, Batman listens for the missing heart beat, but can find no sign of it. The man is dead.
"I killed him," says Batman quietly to himself, shocked.
Standing up from the cooling corpse, Batman backs away from the dead man.
"Batman?" calls Robin from behind him.
Turning to look at his partner, Batman does not know what to say.
"What's wrong?" calls Robin, trying to ignore the pain that his body is wrapped in.
"He's dead."
"What?" asks Robin, staring at the Dark Knight.
"I killed him," says Batman, glancing down at the body.
Saying nothing, Robin waits for Batman. When Batman says nothing, Robin gains his partner's attention.
"Batman?"
Turning to look at the boy, Batman walks away from the body.
"It's done," says Robin, staring up at his partner from the ground. "Let's go home."
